FineScale Modeler 05 1999

Consisting of the M26 tractor and the M15 semi-trailer, the M25 was one of the biggest vehicles the U.S. Army fielded in World War II. Used exclusively in Eur-ope, it was a capable battlefield armored recovery vehicle and could haul everything from supplies to landing craft. It was also infamous for tearing off corners of buildings on tight turns! The Dragon Wagon soldiered on into the Korean War and found additional users in the European civilian market. Tamiya pulled out all the stops for its "Commemorative Thirtieth Anniversary kit." The plastic parts (nearly 600 of them!) are cleanly molded in olive styrene and are supplemented by photoetched, metal, and vinyl parts. Detail is top notch. The cab interior details match photos in the U.S. Army technical manual and even features the vehicle commanders desk. All the lights have chrome reflectors and clear lenses. Photoetched parts are provided tor tread plates. The trailer features wheel guards, ramps, tie down chains, and tire blocks. The 19 vinyl tires are beautifully molded, as are the four seated crew figures.

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Model Magazine International 03 2006

Like all the new Dragon kits there is a wealth of plastic sprues in the box as well as three sets of photo-etched parts, two brass shells, a turned aluminium barrel and two alternate hulls plus a bag of Dragon's fantastic Magi-Tracks. On looking through the instructions, you realise this is a 3 in 1 kit. You can choose from an early version, a late version, or the German Africa Korps. With ten different decal options ranging from the Eastern front - Autumn 1941, right through to Tobruk -April 1941. I decided to go for the DAK version because it opens up huge scope for weathering and showing vehicles not looking their best. I was building this kit 100% out of the box (bar the stowage on the rear deck - I was quite disappointed not to find a little bit more clutter for the rear deck included in the kit as the box artwork is slightly misleading). Construction begins as most kits do with the running gear. Each pair of road wheels comes in nineteen parts but when finished makes a quality set of working suspension. Whilst constructing these parts I noticed that the plastic tyres had 'Continental' printed on the sides and I then realised Dragon had excelled themselves again! I built the kit following the instruction in sequence without any major problems.

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