Tiger I in Normandy/Ardennes

[AlanG]

Now i have my King Tiger (or Tiger II to you purists), i would like to have a look at a Tiger I kit.

I would like to do a version that was in Normandy and/or the Ardennes conflict. But as i have as much knowledge about them as could be written in bold on the back of a postage stamp, i am opening this up to you more knowledgeable armour guys.

What kits would you recommend? I'm not interested in full interiors etc. Just something of the standard of my Meng King Tiger. Obviously not something that is stupidly expensive either. So up to about the 40 mark

[Guest]

I can’t recommend any specific kits because I built roughly one and a half 1:35 scale Tigers in my almost 40 years of modelling, but you want a kit of a mid- or late-production one, as Tiger production ended in August 1944. If you pick a steel-wheeled version (that is, without rubber tyres on the wheels), you should be safe, but older tanks remained in use so you can also go for the rubber-tyred wheels if you like the look of those better. Mainly, you’ll want to avoid kits of early models, with the big tubes on the engine deck.

For accuracy, a kit that was new-tool in the last 15–20 years would be best. Earlier than that, and chances are it has the wrong shape of turret because there used to be a misconception about its shape: it was long thought the gun was off-centre, when in fact it’s centred but the turret is asymmetrical in plan (the Academy Tigers have this problem, and thus, the Airfix ones too). Good, modern kits should not suffer from this.

[AlanG]

Cheers Jakko.

Been looking at the new Trumpeter and Rye Field Models kits. No reviews on Scalemates on the Trumpeter kit though. But both are in my price range.

[Allen Dewire]

Morn Alan,

Are you talking about this Trumpeter kit?


If so, then the kit is well detailed and has minimal etch (grill covers). It has indy track links though,


Some people love them and some hate them. The best part is, you can add the Zimmerit or leave it off. The kit should work in the scenarios you want to portray. The Zimmerit is pre-cut, but there is no mention of what glue you would use to apply it with. It seems to be plastic, so regular glue should work,


If you go with this kit, you can nip off a piece of the excess and try out your glue to see if it holds. Decals included are for 2 Tigers in Poland, 1 in Germany and a captured one in French markings. You would have to find some aftermarket decals if you are building a particular tank in Normandy or the Ardennes. If not, then you could just go with generic markings for it. This kit is cheap in price for all that comes in the box. HTHs a bit..................

Prost
Allen

[AlanG]

Allen

I was thinking of this kit

Tiger I, Trumpeter 09539 (2018) (scalemates.com)

[Allen Dewire]

Hi Alan,

That's a good one too. Almost all the same parts as the late (kit 09540) including the indy links, etch and Zimmerit. Just has a lot of road wheel tires to paint. You can check out the kit here, including instruction sheet....

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10560092

Prost
Allen

[AlanG]

Cheers Allen

Looks a good kit to cut my teeth on. Enough detail and parts to keep me from messing up too badly lol