Dragon Wagon: A Visual History of the U.S. Army’s Heavy Tank Transporter 1941-1945
By David Doyle and Pat Stansell
Softcover, 120 pages
Published by The Ampersand Group Inc., 2013
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-9895547-0-1
Dimensions: 11.0 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
“Dragon Wagon” was the unofficial but widely used nickname for the U.S. Army’s M25 Tank Transporter. Produced by Pacific Car and Foundry the Dragon Wagon was developed during the Second World War and served until 1955. The M25 designation applies to the M26 armored tractor and M15 40-ton trailer combination, as well as the later unarmored M26A1 tractor and improved M15A1 trailer.
This book is aimed squarely at the scale modeler. Authors David Doyle and Pat Stansell draw on U.S. Army technical manuals as well as period photos to show every detail of these interesting vehicles throughout every stage of their development and service lives. Included are descriptions of a bewildering array of tools and equipment issued to these vehicles to assist in their recovery operations, as well as how all this equipment was to be used and stowed. Photos from the technical manuals are reproduced several to a page, while portraits of the vehicles in service are generally given full page spreads. All are annotated and captions provide additional information.
This book presents numerous insights into how the Dragon Wagon was used in service and the wide variety of tasks which it could perform in the field. There is ample information here for the modeler to depict any version on the M25 engaged in specific recovery or transport operations. Details of the tools and equipment as well as the standard stowage are particularly useful. This is a valuable reference for the military vehicle modeler, highly recommended.
DenmarkCanadaLieutenant Michaela Curtis NZ Sea Sprite PilotFinlandNetherlands Army in MaliMajor General Ingrid Gjerde of NorwayNew Zealand Private Rachel PalmerFrench Resistance WWIIIDFPolandPfc. Tess Sandoval with AH-64 ApachePrincess Ingrid of NorwayUkraineUS Army (U.S. Army)IDFWREN (IWM)US ArmyPLAAFUSAFOPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM — (Clockwise from lower left) 1st Lt. Alison, Capts. Heather and Waynetta and, Senior Airman Lyndi, all from the 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, flew an all-female KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission over Afghanistan on Jan. 31. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Elizabeth Ortiz)Kurdish YPJPTE Paula Pires AustraliaATS Dispatch RiderRussiaUkraineKosovoIDFBrazil with Mi-35YPJUkraineGermanyWASPs with B-24RCAF Corporal RichardsonIDFUkraineRussian Paratrooper Yulia KharlamovaIDFUSN Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Petty Officer Nichole RobinetteIDFA-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, Lt. Col. Martha McSally.
She later became a US Senator.Cpl Alexandra Roy, 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron door gunner onboard CH-146 GriffonWest Indian Detachment ATSRoza Shanina, Soviet Sniper with 59 killsSoviet Po-2 pilot Natalya MeklinUS Air Force securityUkraineCanadian YPJ volunteer Hanna BohmanUnited KingdomPolandUS Navy sailor aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)IDFPolish MiG-29 pilot Lt. Katarzyna Tomiak-SiemieniewicPolish ATA pilot Stefania Cecylia Wojtulanis-Karpińska with SpitfireChileIDFSerbiaUS Coast Guard SPARs, WWIIUkraineIDFUS Army Helicopter PilotWASP mechanics work on a PT-22 trainer
To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:
Priming marks the last step of filling and sanding (boo!) and the first step of painting (yay!). Here is half the batch on sticks after a light coat of thinned Mr. Surfacer 1000. Given the size of the batch and poor fit of some of the kits there were a few more iterations of fill / sand / prime to go through before these were ready to paint.The IL-2M3 Arrows all received three-tone camos in one of three different patterns. This example is getting the “puzzle” camo unique to Zavod 1, masked off with poster putty and tape.Here is the paint photo showing the colors used for the green / black segmented schemes. The underside color is a mix as there is no direct match in the Mr. Color line, or most other paint brands for that matter. This is a problem with VVS colors in general.This is the Tamiya kit in the three-color NKAP #2 scheme. I’m not going to claim to have the color mixes exactly right as the documentation is thin. You can use this as a starting point either way, if you think I’ve gotten it wrong you will have a better idea what not to do!Two of the single-seat Stormovics were finished in a distressed temporary winter finish. I stippled on some liquid mask in high-wear areas over a glossy Future topcoat, then applied a light coat of white. When this had dried I pulled off the liquid mask with tape and thinned the rest of the finish down with fine sandpaper.The Academy single-seat kit has an excellent decal sheet with ten marking options printed by Cartograph, which is almost worth the cost of the kit all by itself. I used decals from this sheet on the lower Stormovic in this photo. The upper aircraft is an IL-2M marked with the decals from the Hobby Boss IL-2M3, another miss match from the HB kit. For modelers looking for a good set of aftermarket decals I would recommend Foxbot sheet 72-035 which contains markings for nineteen Stormovics of all major versions.After the decals were all settled in I applied another coat of Future and then Tamiya panel line wash. The excess will be removed with Q-Tips and standard paint thinner working in the direction of airflow, any remnants of the wash will form streaks which contribute to the final weathering effect. Before I start this process, I set aside all lacquer thinners, thin glues, and accelerators so I don’t dip my Q-Tip in them by mistake, I have learned this trick the hard way.Most of the kits had the trim tab linkages molded on, a few used PE parts to represent them. I cut these off and replaced them with Evergreen rod.The Hobby Boss IL-2M3 kit comes with underwing gondolas for the Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 37mm cannons, an armament option which was only carried by the straight-wing IL-2M. To make a standard IL-2M3 you will need to fill the locating holes under the wings and add the internal wing guns, here you can see the wing cannon barrel made from brass tube. The shell ejection ports are a bit harder as the HB wing is a solid piece so it would be very difficult to cut the slots into the wing. Here I have represented the ports with black decal film, something which I also did with the Zvezda kit.The completed batch all in one shot. As I indicated in the first construction post, this batch grew bigger than I had intended and was made more difficult by the conflicting information in the references I had available. In many cases sources did not even agree on broad questions like camouflage colors or Stormovic version for the various marking options although these could often be sorted out, at least in broad terms. Some of these kits tested the limits of my mojo and others were excellent. In the end this batch took longer than anticipated so I am glad to finally get them into the case and move on to something completely different.
SUMMARY
SMER Single Seat IL-2
The SMER kit represents an early single-seat Stormovic, it has finely engraved surface details and the option for ski or wheeled undercarriage. It comes with a small PE fret but I didn’t use much from this as the flat PE parts wouldn’t look right in many applications anyway. Cockpit detail is sparse so plan on some extra work there if you want to open the canopy. The kit fit together much better than I was anticipating and it looks good when complete. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this kit!
Academy Single Seat IL-2
The Academy single-seat IL-2 is an excellent kit and just falls together. The cockpit looks great right out of the box and the canopy can be posed open to show it all off. It includes an excellent Cartograph decal sheet, just be careful using this as the camo color call-outs are erroneous. The one “gotcha” is the panels on the horizontal tail surfaces are represented as lap joints but this is easy to correct. Academy also boxes an IL-2M two seat version of this kit which I have no doubt is equally good. If you want a straight-wing Stormovic this is the kit to look for.
Dakoplast Kits
The Dakoplast kits have some good reviews online, they feature fine surface detail on the metal panels and different kits contain parts to build any major version of the Stormovic. However, I do not like this kit. The wing to fuselage joint is a dumpster fire and is located such that it makes it difficult to finish both the cockpit AND the exterior. Repeated filling and sanding sessions kill the enjoyment of the build and eliminate the surface engraving, the best feature of the kit. The cockpit needs work but the thickness and poor fit of the clear parts will hide most of this anyway. There are better kits out there for all three Stormovic versions so save yourself a headache and give the Dakoplast kits a pass.
Zvezda Two Seat IL-2M
I was expecting more from the Zvezda Stormovic given it is a VVS subject from a Russian manufacturer, but then again Zvezda still has some older kits in their catalog. This one has some simplifications of the contours under the fuselage as well as inaccuracies and gaps inside the ventral cooler, plus the cockpit is very crude and most modelers will want to put in some extra work to improve things there. Fit is not the greatest and filler is needed on the major seams. On the plus side Zvezda has done a good job molding the exhausts and the clear part is actually clear and fits well. This kit really shows its age, go with the Academy kit instead if you can find it.
Eduard Two Seat Swept Wing IL-2M3
The Eduard kit is now almost thirty years old and is an earlier example of their Profipack line. This one has a PE fret and several resin parts to enhance the appearance plus the plastic parts are excellent as well. I skipped most of the PE fret as I preferred to scratch the details from plastic. The kit has engraved metal wings and a wooden fuselage, but if you wanted to model a wooden-wing Arrow you could fill the panel lines on the wing. This is a good place to start for an IL-2M3 Arrow.
Hobby Boss Two Seat Swept Wing IL-2M3
The Hobby Boss kit is from their easy assembly line and it is certainly easy to assemble. Surface detail is excellent as is the fit but cockpit detail is sacrificed. Clear parts are also excellent. The Hobby Boss research team is very confused though, they have included parts for the 37mm gondolas under the wings which are wrong for the IL-2M3, plus one of the marking options is for a well-known IL-2M instead of an Arrow. The internal wing guns are missing and the 12.7mm defensive gun in the rear position will need to be replaced. Still, I like this kit. If you are willing to correct the issues with the guns and put some extra work into the cockpit the HB kit can be made into an excellent Stormovic.
Tamiya Two Seat Swept Wing IL-2M3
Tamiya kits have a reputation for outstanding fit and excellent detail. Their Shturmovik lives up to that reputation. I enhanced this build with the Kelik cockpit set and some PE parts as well as various surface details. I don’t think sales matched expectations as this kit was only issued once and is now hard to find. If you have any interest in the IL-2, the Tamiya kit is the best one to get if you can find it.
A trio of Vought OS2U Kingfisher observation aircraft secured to the catapult atop the central 12” gun turret of the USS New York (BB-34). Photo taken while the ship was anchored in Casco Bay, Maine, on 16JUN43.
During the Second World War the British deployed several offshore fortifications to help defend the Thames and Mersey estuaries from German incursions. The British Army and Royal Navy each fielded their own distinct designs, both versions were named Maunsell Forts after their designer, civil engineer Guy Maunsell.The forts were built at shipyards and deployed by towing them out to sea and then flooding their support structures, the towers resting on the shallow sea floor. The Army forts were constructed using steel lattice structures. (IWM)The Army forts were arraigned in a circular formation. A central command tower was surrounded by gun towers, each equipped with 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns. An additional structure held a searchlight platform. The towers were interconnected by catwalks.An interesting view of one of the tower networks as seen from a supply boat. The tower to the left in the photo has pilings visible for a boat to come along side and an outrigger used to hoist supplies.A second view from a supply boat showing the towers to advantage. The British Army built six forts in total, three defending the Thames and another three defending the Mersey. The Army forts were credited with downing a total of 22 German aircraft and 30 Buzz Bombs during the war.Maunsell designed something completely different for the Royal Navy, although the mission was the same. The Navy design was constructed from steel and concrete and resembles the superstructure of a ship, it featured a large concrete footer to anchor it to the sea floor. Four Royal Navy forts were built.A rather dramatic, although intentional, view of a Royal Navy Maunsell Fort being launched. One side was flooded first and this side was equipped with a concrete bumper to protect it from damage when it impacted the sea floor. The platform would level out as the remainder flooded. Note the platform is fully manned while all this is going on, the crew can be seen gathered around the gun to left of the photo. The Navy fort at Tongue Sands was credited with sinking a German E-boat.After the war the crews were rotated ashore, but the platforms were maintained until the 1950s after which they were abandoned. Several still remain in place today and they have attracted squatters along with several pirate radio stations. Their locations offshore have resulted in rulings that British courts have no jurisdiction over them so they are in a special sort of legal limbo.
Lt. German opened his account on 16AUG41 by downing a pair of Luftwaffe Hs 126 reconnaissance planes. He was eventually credited with 17 and 1 shared victories and was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union. The inscription reads “For the Motherland”.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 of Lt. Grigoriy German, 42nd Fighter Regiment, Moscow, 1941. Armory kit and decals.
IDFFinlandUSAF LT Ashley Hallford T-6B TexanCanadaNew Zealand Corporal Ariana BlackwoodLance Corporal Kylie Watson MCNorwayFinland 1918USNBrazilMaj. Mary Jennings Hegar sits in the co-pilot seat of a helicopter in KandaharPolandIDFUSAFUkraineWRENs with Lewis GunsIDFCzechiaSerbiaChile T-35IDFUS NavyNorwayATSIDFUS ArmyThailandIDF Dog HandlerFranceNorwaySwedenLithuaniaWASPs with B-29 SuperfortressPauline Gower Commandant of the Air Transport Auxiliary Womens’ Section in the cockpit of a de Havilland Tiger MothUSAFUkraine
UkraineAustraliaAustraliaU.S. ArmySwitzerlandU.S. Army Pfc. Tess Sandoval_25th Combat Aviation Brigade, located on Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, Aug. 25, 2019IDFRoza Shanina, Soviet Sniper with 59 killsWAC Mary Scarborough inside a wrecked Japanese Betty bomber, PeleliuU.S. Navy WAVES servicing the R-1830 engine of a PBY at NAS Corpus Christi, 1942US Navy Master At Arms Rachel HigueraPolandSwedish soldier with Carl Gustav rocket launcherIDFPolandUS Marine with M 777 HowitzerMexicoLCOL Shawna Kimbrell USAF F-16 pilot19 year old Soviet sniper Roza Shanina, 59 confirmed killsUkraineIDFGermanyUS Navy WAVERussiaIDFAnastasia Apaseikina Russian Mi8 PilotTest pilots Dorothy Dodd Eppstein, Hellen Skjersaa Hansen, Doris Burmester Nathan and Elizabeth Chadwick Dressler front of a B-25 medium bomber.
To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:
WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS (LIFE,LIBERTY,AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS) IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE A NEW GOVERNMENT― Thomas Jefferson
Inch High Guy 
