Ok so taken this post back on to the subject .................
The model needed to be short-tracked and get some other special bits to achive the look I wanted so off we go.
Sorry I built through a lot of the initial progress without thinking to photograph.
The Kit

The dragon kit has a lot more detail than the previous Tamiya kit but in many sections it is over engineered, and doesn't achieve the level of enjoyable model making that the Tamiya kit does.
It does faithfully depict the details of a late model version and has a very nice addition of 2 sets of mounting rails for the Thoma shields - 1 with notches for the shields and another without, depicting the plain mounting bars as they appear in 'real life' without any shields mounted.
Some Extras




The extras should be fun and bring a bit more detailout of this kit bash modification.
The Build...........
Initially I just constructed the chassis and modified the bogies as per the ref photos . Some' wear and tear' was added to the rubber tyres and the track links constructed. I used the semi late model reurn rollers from the Tristar wheel kit to go with something a bit different from the previous early Tamiya build - the return roller can't be identified properly so why not!
I also added the TREX drive sprocket mount to model a little more detail and set the model to a time before the photo. There is some nice detail already on the chassis, underneath where the Drive Sprocket covers are mounted. I will detial these further on the left side as opposided to the cover still on the left side.
TREX Tow Hooks were added to the front plate as well as weld beads in the corners of the front plate, which were non existent on the kit.
The