Model soldier likely to drop -- almost dead (7)
I believe the answer is:
paragon
'model' is the definition.
(a paragon is a model example of something)
'soldier likely to drop almost dead' is the wordplay.
'soldier likely to drop' becomes 'para' (a paratrooper drops from a plane).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'dead' becomes 'gone' (similar in meaning).
'gone' with its final letter taken away is 'gon'.
'para'+'gon'='PARAGON'
(Other definitions for paragon that I've seen before include "A perfect person - pagan or what?" , "A model as of virtue" , "An ideal" , "Exemplar" , "Perfect embodiment of a concept" .)