Embedded Files
“The Dragon” first started with a three sided trial issue back in May 1985 edited by club member Ken Butt. This was followed by a 6 sided issue in July 1985 and then a couple more. In November 1986 Gwyn Evans took over the role of Editor with a 7 sided issue No.4, and then with Issue No.5 in April 1987 it was produced every two months.
In January 1988 things moved up a gear with a dragon symbol on the front cover (thanks to Tim Neate who drew it for us, and who has supported us consistently over the years), and on the inside front cover we had a drawing of a Dragon Mk. III gun tractor, produced in the 1930s. We deleted the use of an Issue number, and just had the month and year of issue. The following issue March 1988 we had our first set of plans of a Land Rover 90 and 110, drawn by Tim Neate, and then with the YPR-755 that we had in our May 1988 issue.
Another significant change came with the March 1989 issue when we first had a black & white image on the front cover. This was converted into a dot matrix format for us by Tim Neate, which made the images better for photocopying, which is how the newsletter was produced, using a photocopier in a stationary shop in Bridgend. Gwyn Evans edited it, and I got it printed in a shop in Nolton Street in Bridgend.
The January 1991 issue was something of a first, with a number of photos from Tim Neate of vehicles preparing for deployment to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War. Tim experimented with some of the ‘Light Buff’ paint that he was given, applying it on its own, and with an olive green base coat. He gave us a sheet of self-adhesive labels that were used in each issue of The Dragon, so that everyone had a genuine sample of the paint used by the British Army during this conflict
Things changed in August 1993 when Gwyn Evans stepped down as Editor, to be replaced by Paul Williams, who was working for Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council at the time, and was able to pay them to print The Dragon for us in their print room. Paul also changed things to show the volume and issue of each edition of the newsletter.
The October 1995 issue was a “one off” with colour photos on the front and back covers and centre pages all about a large 1/35th scale diorama that we made of the Gulf War for the 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards Museum in Cardiff Castle.
The following issue December 1995 we changed permanently with colour photos on the front and back covers of The Dragon.
In the April 1999 issue we had some colour photos of German Bundeswehr ambulances in Castlemartin that we took during a guided tour of the camp. On the back cover we had two photos of the club, showing all eight of us. It is interesting to note that whilst hairlines and waist lines have altered considerably over the years, five of the eight are still members of the club, some 27 years later. Another feature shown here is that we regularly had 1/76th scale plans in the centre pages. These were mainly from Mick Bell, as shown here, with some also from Freddie Freeman and from John Church. Sadly, all three passed away several years ago, and we haven’t had any plans in The Dragon for some time now.
We were finding it a bit of a problem getting enough material to fill an issue, with no issues between April 2000 and November 2000. As a result, we reduced the number of issues to four per year, which we have kept ever since. This issue had colour photos of British Warriors at Split North Port taken by Dai Buckler whilst he was stationed there during his time in the REME, as the Workshop Sergeant Major.
There was another change in June 2001 when Paul Gandy took over the role of Editor, with The Dragon now produced and printed on his own home computer, still in A5 size.
In June 2008 we trialled an A4 sized issue with front and rear cover photos of Antar Mk.3s with ballast bodies hauling Leopard 1s on “The Castlemartin Drag.” It was now produced in A4 on a home computer and printed in A4 with colour photos throughout.
We changed again in December 2009. The Dragon was now put together on a home computer using Microsoft Publisher, with the files converted to PDF files, and it was then printed by Edson Print in Barry, who had been printing a church magazine for Mike Gill who told us about them. They have printed The Dragon for us ever since.
In 2016, the March, June and September issues were produced as a Gulf War 25th Anniversary Special. All three issues had articles and photos from Dennis Lunn, Dai Buckler and Des Burgess who each recounted their experiences of their service during The Gulf War, with three very different accounts as a member of the Vickers support team, a REME Fitter, and a QDG Corporal.
Since then, The Dragon continues still four times a year, with about half its readership who are members of our club, and the other half various members of the Miniature AFV Association or IPMS, or some not belonging to any other associations at all.
In February 2025 we changed the name of our club to South Wales Modellers, and so there was another change to the Dragon with the March 2025 issue, with a new logo and a new
front cover designed for us yet again by Tim Neate, reflecting the on-going evolution of our club.
We always welcome new articles for The Dragon about any aspects of model making, although most articles are about military vehicles, and mainly about Post War/Cold War subjects, but still with quite a number of WWII related articles. Our readership has always been small, but with many long-standing subscribers of over 30 years.
Interested? Why not consider subscribing?
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES (4 ISSUES PER YEAR)
South Wales Modellers Members £10.00; other UK & HM Forces £12.00; Outside UK £16.00
You can now renew your subscription with PayPal using our account
dragonresubs@gmail.com (PLEASE NOTE THE NEW PAYPAL ACCOUNT)
Back Issues £3.00 each from Paul Gandy. The older A5 sized issues of The Dragon are also available at £1.50 each
There is a pdf Index of all the articles available here - Index. Or if you'd prefer a searchable version, please contact Paul Gandy directly.
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