Dragon 1/72 Challenger 2 KFOR/Dozer

Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert. On anything. Whatever I write is from a position of hobby enthusiast and should be read and used as such and only as such.

BACKGROUND

It is latest in the line of British post-ww2 tanks after Centurion, Chieftain and Challenger 1 and shows interesting downward trend in numbers built and exported from almost 4500 units of Centurion used by 19 countries down to 420 and 447 units produced and used by Jordan and Oman respectively of Challenger 1 and 2. Compare it to 3600 Leopard 2 or 862 Leclerc tanks and it seems that British tank industry is not in all that great shape lately.

 Two Dragon Challengers in the spotlight of this article.

Challenger 1 entered service in 1983. and already in 1986. Vickers Defense Systems started privately working on its successor that was put in production in 1993., started replacing Challengers 1 in 1998. and completed replacement by the 2002. It is intended for it to remain in British Army inventory till 2035. with acquisition focus shifted towards Boxer and Ajax vehicles.

 Instruction sheet for KFOR version.

Challenger 2 is armed with rifled L30A1 120 mm gun that fires 3-part ammunition just because British need to feel unique and special, I guess. In addition, it has L94A1 EX-34 7,62 mm coax chain gun and L37A2 machine gun on loaders hatch ring. It can also mount Leonardo "Enforcer" remote control weapon system. It was designed with crew security as priority and is protected by much touted 2nd generation chobham armour that can be supplemented with ERA and bar armour.
On globalsecurity.org article I found following statement: "Challengers (1) did not suffer any hits from enemy guns or AT weapons during fighting (in Iraq)." How can one then claim how excellent it is? Also withstanding hits from unknown RPG's used by paramilitary insurgents is not the same as receiving direct hit from 125 mm tank gun or modern AT system operated by a professional. Not to mention journalist drivel like this one from Dailymail article: "Withstood the best Soviet-made tanks used by the Iraqi army in both Gulf wars." Which ones exactly? T-55? T-62? T-72 that retreated before having chance to engage? It baffles me how overwhelming rape of already morally and economically weakened 3rd world country that used obsolete equipment is considered perfect criteria to evaluate quality of one's armament.

 Instruction sheet for Dozer version.

Some could come to conclusion that I dislike Challenger tanks which is actually so far from truth. In my eyes these are some of the best looking tanks in the world today and it would be sad indeed if we never get to see Challenger 3. But then again I do not slave to the propaganda and popular opinion and think that, without facing best there are today under equal conditions, no tanks true strengths and weaknesses can be properly evaluated.

Content of Dozer Blade version's box. 

MODEL

To cut short my directionless blabbering, topic for today are Dragon 1/72 scale models of Challenger 2 KFOR from Armor Series No.7222 and Challenger 2 with Dozer blade from Armor Pro Series No.7285. Other Dragon releases include Challenger 2 Iraq 2003 Armor Series No.7228,  and Challenger 2 with Bar Armour Armor Pro Series No.7287.

 Sprues present in both boxes.

 Sprues exclusive to Dozer version.

 Hull and turret parts plus vinyl tracks.

PE parts available with Armor Pro Series.

Box content can be seen on picture above. All sprues are in separate plastic bags with two parts of hull and turret top in their own packaging. Vinyl tracks are on a piece of cardboard together with PE fret and decal sheet. As much as I can judge sprues are identical only difference being in Dozer version having two additional sprues for dozer blade assembly / add-on armor and PE fret (which is, in my opinion, unnecessary bringing nothing that would majorly improve the model look) but lacking any markings present in the KFOR box.

Casting is excellent and detail top notch on most parts but there are some issues and points to improve upon:

1. Drilling holes in towing and lifting eyes;
2. Reworking handles with thin copper wire;
3. Deepening holes in those lenghty parts on hull rear I have no idea what they are (Prevent turret from scraping and hitting hull top?);
4. Raised turret roof slightly on some places;
5. Reworking turret rear to get it closer to real shape;
6. Scratchbuild rear canister holder and cable drum on it from wire and thick paper;
7. Thin down mudguards with scalpel and sandpaper;

Turret has to have its shape following red line, not sloping downward where it does. Cut it on both sides along orange line and on right side along yellow lines and lift until it is straight. Fix new shape in position (I used pieces of plastic and Milliput) and sand it down. Turret rear bottom has to be reworked as well to conform with new shape.

I did not attach rear section of side skirts intentionally because it looked better without it but I did forget to fill in those big holes on hull sides where rather crappy vinyl towing cables should go. I planned to cover it with something, maybe foliage but I wanted to get the model on the shelf ASAP so it never materialized. Maybe one day..

Vinyl tracks are too short and need to be tied with lengths of wire, hiding that part behind side skirt section to the tank front.

I wanted to paint this beast to represent British army unit outsourced to some corporation in Southern Africa to protect their assets against Chinese/Russian-backed rebel groups. Something outside the Green, Green-Black or Desert Yellow.

I used Vallejo acrylics. First covering model with primer mixed with a little white paint. On that I applied a layer of English Uniform with little dry brushing. Everything was covered with Vallejo Matt Varnish. Definitely there is room for improvement but overall I like how it came out and intend to build some other vehicles as parts of same force.

In conclusion I can reccomend any of Dragons Challengers as they are nice models of a great looking vehicle!