[172WWII]

I have just purchased two "New" Dragon tanks from Ebay. The items are:
60095 - M1A1 Abrams - 3rd Infantry Division, Iraq, 2003 (Has #51 on the side of the tank)
60096 - M1A1 Abrams - 3rd Infantry Division, Iraq, 2003 (Has #92 on the side of the tank)

These are the same tanks that come with the Iraqi Freedom collection (60171), but here are some interesting facts:

What's interesting about these two item numbers (60095 and 60096) is that they have NOT been reported to exist on sites such as

• Dragon Models USA - Category: Dragon Armor
• World War II Tanks - Dragon Diecast 1/72 Armor, 60051-60100 - World War 2 Tanks
• Military Diecast 1/72 - Dragon Armor

A few facts about these tanks:

• They come in packaging that is different than all of the other Dragon releases (for example, the cardboard box is yellow and black)
• They do NOT come with a clear plastic display case, but they come with a black base.
• The package says"Five Star Collectibles"
• The date on the box is 2004, so they have been around a while.

Also, on the back of the box they describe other tanks, but no item numbers are listed, These include:

• M1A1HA - green/black with #12 on the side. (same as a 60171 tank).
• M1A1HA - green/black with #22 on the side. (same as a 60195 tank)
• M1A2 - khaki with #C6 on the side. (tank is the same as a 60016 and one of the 60171 tanks.)
• M1A2 - khaki with #322 on the side. (same as a 60171 tank)

So here are a couple of questions:
Has Dragon released other 1:72 tanks in this "Five Star Collectibles" Series?
Does anyone know the item numbers for the 4 tanks listed above in this "Five Star Collectibles" Series?

[hworth18]

IIRC, Five Star Collectibles was the line put out by Dragon that was sold thru Military PX stores and only available there. They seemed to be a "cheaper" version and not up to the typical Dragon standard.

[Legio LXXII]

hworth18 is right, they were only available through the Post Exchange (US military base retail stores). I saw some available on Ebay several years ago but gave them a pass. While on an army and naval base in Virginia a few months back I looked for them but they're no longer available.

[Legio LXXII]

Below is the 1/144 scale range of "Five Star Collectibles" available at the PX. Released under the "Can.Do" brand rather than "Dragon Armor".

[Legio LXXII]

There's also the 1/72 HMMWV collection...

[csiemers]

Originally Posted by 172WWII

• M1A1HA - green/black with #12 on the side. (same as a 60171 tank).
• M1A1HA - green/black with #22 on the side. (same as a 60195 tank)
• M1A2 - khaki with #C6 on the side. (tank is the same as a 60016 and one of the 60171 tanks.)
• M1A2 - khaki with #322 on the side. (same as a 60171 tank)

If anyone has the Dragon #s for these I'll get my web site updated.

Thanks!
-Cary
www.wwiivehicles.com

[Cavtanker]

Originally Posted by hworth18

IIRC, Five Star Collectibles was the line put out by Dragon that was sold thru Military PX stores and only available there. They seemed to be a "cheaper" version and not up to the typical Dragon standard.

This is true. These particular Dragon models were the ones that failed quality control, but were still sold. They had paint scuffs mostly.

[172WWII]

These particular Dragon models were the ones that failed quality control, but were still sold. They had paint scuffs mostly.

Maybe I'm lucky, but I very closely examined the two tanks that I have (60095, and 60096) and found no defects or paint scuffs. They look perfect to me.

If dragon was disposing of the tanks that failed quality control under the "Five Star Collectibles" brand, then why don't we see tons of Tigers, Jagdtigers, Panthers, T-34s, etc. I'm sure that there would be plenty of WWII tanks that failed quality control.

[Cavtanker]

that is true. I never saw any German tanks in the PX. Only U.S. forces. I was under the impression that these were either low-selling or defective diecasts as several that I purchased had paint scuffs. I bought a M1A1 that came with a flex .50 cal for a M1A2 model.

[Cavtanker]

Here is the #22 tank. It is also a 5-star collectible that I bought in 2005. It is also one of my favorite Dragon armor pieces.