Dragon M1A2 SEP #3536

Robert W Martel
Wow, what a super nice kit !! I got the kit, brand new sealed, the wheel masks & the 2 decal sets for $34 shipped. The extras are worth that alone!
This thing is BIG, and the box is huge compared to the M41,,,, and it's packed full ! The hull of this baby is half again as big as the M41. It's a MONSTER !!
The detail on the parts is super nice, tons of parts, the tracks are something to behold (but you have to glue on the guides!!), really really nice PE sheet, bunch of little metal parts, round molded 2 piece barrel, etc, etc, etc..... it's Gorgeous!!
I think this has the best detail yet, the Hobby Boss is close, but I think this one wins on detail.
It's actually a 10 year old kit, but seems to have everything except an engine.
The reviews rated it highly w/ minor issues. They're all here on scalemates !
What I will take off points to Dragon for is the packaging, too many sprues in one bag, and the box is pretty packed. 2 is ok, but 3 or more is too much. I had a hard time untangling a few without breaking something. And I tried to add a bit of padding to the bags, but couldn't get it all back in the box, so I couldn't pad everything like I wanted to,,,,
Also the clear parts were just floating with the sprues, Not Nice!
I don't care for the HUGE instruction page either, it takes up my whole bench! ,,, and is pretty crowded!
And another thing I'm not sure I understand is,,, why are all the other kits molded in the basic color, but the HB & Dragon are grey ???? The dragon tracks are molded a nice desert tan color, why not the plastic??? It doesn't really make sense to me. So far the colors on all the other kits look just right,,,, why grey????? PITA. Who wants to paint it when you don't have too???
Anyway, take a look at the pics and check out the reviews if you're wanting an M1A2. It's a real beauty!