DRAGON WAGON UPDATE: BOX STILL INCLUDES A CAGED CRITTER, KIT NOW CALLED A CIRCUS WAGON

The Tom Daniel ‘Dragon Wagon’ from 1970 has been updated with a mould re-tool, a new name, and a new box. For 1:24 scale custom fans, it’s one of many similar kits on the launch pad from Revell-Monogram, even if this one is now called a ‘Circus Wagon.’

According to the kit’s designer, famed US auto customizer, Tom Daniel, “I was on a roll with these hot-rodded work trucks when I did the Dragon Wagon. Of course, the ‘Dragon’ was a metaphor for ‘Draggin’ or drag racing. So I put a baby dragon in a circus vehicle. I dressed it up with calliope injection stacks, a monkey for the hood ornament and tiger tail for the shifter. Overall it turned out pretty neat!”

Tom’s dream
There’s more from Tom in the kit instructions, “It all came… in a dream… being pursued by this fire-breathing dragon…” which he promptly captured (as you do in dreams) and built the wagon so he could, “…take it on circus tours, as the 10th Wonder of the World.” So the vehicle has a circus theme, with a caged dragon at the rear - though note that the bars are already bent.

Mods for the new kit
Because the mould has been retooled, a few modifications have been made along the way. Most noticeable, though it doesn’t change the overall look, is that the dragon now has four separate legs and two body halves, whereas the original made do with just two components for the whole thing.

Parts list
The kit has 76 parts, mostly moulded in yellow, with two chrome-plated runners for the bright shiny bits, and a clear, circular windshield. There are also four vinyl tyres - two front performance designs and a pair of wide rear slicks. When assembled, the 1:24 scale machine measures 160mm (6.3in) long.

Summation
An interesting kit from 1970, and it’s such good news that Tom Daniel’s designs are seeing the light of day again. I do wonder though, why he called it the ‘10th Wonder of the World.’ Given that there are usually only seven wonders, what happened to numbers eight and nine?

Visit Tom Daniel here.

Various Monogram custom kits here.

ROMMEL’S ROD - THE REAL DEAL

Mr J reports
Tom Daniel’s Rommel’s Rod makes a terrific custom model, but it did start us thinking about the inspiration for it, Rommel’s actual halftrack, named the ‘Greif’. That’s German for ‘Griffin’, a mythical creature of divine power, though there’s also a hunting dog breed with a similar name, so maybe Rommel liked both.

Airfix has an elderly (but still OK) 1:32 model that you can often find with some hunting around - we turned one up on eBay Canada. To a smaller scale, but newer and more useful as a diorama accessory is the beautiful little 1:48 scale Greif in Tamiya’s Military Miniatures series, complete with a reasonably lifelike Rommel figure, and two crewmen.

It measures just 102 mm (4 in) long, yet packs in plenty of lovely detail, including a radio, machine gun, frame antenna and floorboard texture. Of course, you don’t have to build it as a Rommel special - there were dozens of design variations on the basic vehicle, so the choice is yours.

On the SMN wish-list would be a Rommel’s Rod to the same scale, so you could park them next to each other on Mat Irvine’s builder’s sand diorama - oh well, one for 2010 maybe.

The 1:48 Tamiya Greif halftrack is available in model stores and online here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Tamiya 1:48 scale kit box.
2 Greif three-view scale elevations.
3 Greif shown in a diorama setting with another Tamiya 1:48 model, the Feiseler Storch spotter plane.

Pictures courtesy Tamiya.

ROMMEL’S ROD - THE MONOGRAM KRAZY KOMMAND KAR

Mat Irvine reports
When it came to modellers wanting particular kits reissued, one that was way, way, near the top for car enthusiasts was a strange ‘show rod’ produced by Monogram in 1969. Designed by famed custom car designer Tom Daniel, who had created many of Monogram’s other wacky creations, Rommel’s Rod was a take on what the World War II ‘Desert Fox’ Field Marshall Erwin Rommel should have driven, or be driven in, during his battles with Allied forces from 1941-43. Based (very loosely) on Rommel’s personal Mercedes-Benz half-track, Daniel’s design is ever weirder in that Rommel and his driver are represented by skeletons, maybe risen from the ever-shifting sands of the North African Desert!

Rommel’s Rod was one of Monogram best-selling show rods, and when the combined Revell-Monogram company started the Selected Subject Program (SSP) range in 1992, the ‘Krazy Kommand Kar’ was definitely slated for reissue. It was consequently listed in SSP Phase 4, dated Fall 1993, but then came a slight snag. Having announced it, the tooling couldn’t be found (it happens more than you might think), so it became one of three SSP kits that were announced, but never appeared.

But the idea never went away, and perhaps influenced by a Moebius Models proposal for a giant 1:12 scale Rod, Revell-Monogram did its own retool, so now we have a brand-new 1:24 scale Rommel’s Rod kit to build.

Purists and collectors note though - the new kit is not absolutely identical to the old one, as the opportunity was taken to modify some parts, including details such as the shovel that hangs on the driver’s door now being a separate item, instead of being moulded into the door panel as the original. But overall, Rommel’s Rod looks much the same as it did in 1969 - or should that be 1941?

Rommel's Rod is available in model stores, and online here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 The new box features a prominent Tom Daniels signature.
2 The 1969 box.
3, 4 Two views of the Rod, including a diorama I made specially for it. Palm trees from Britains, sand from a builder’s yard.
5 The Monogram SSP Phase 4 range in Fall 1993 advertised the Rod, but it wasn’t released.

Sample kit supplied courtesy Revell-Monogram.