Abandoned Project Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Please help me, I'm lost! I need to get a king tiger before I go mad. I've been inspired by PlaStix to build a king tiger (tiger II) but I am not sure which kit and aftermarket parts to go for. Should I go with the Eduard kit and PE/resin or Tamiya and PE/resin? So let your wisdom guide me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubster72 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 The Eduard kit is a re-box of an Academy kit, albeit with pe engine grills included. It builds into a nice kit, on a par with the Tamiya Ardennes Tiger II. Another option if your budget can stretch a little further is the Cyber Hobby 6662 kit. This comes with Magic Tracks, a full set of pe, ali barrel, clear periscopes.... I think Kingkit have it at just under £43 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Thanks for that. How does it compare to Tamiya? I remember as a kid there AFV kits always seemed to be very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubster72 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Well it's a Dragon kit under the Cyber Hobby name, so it's a good deal more fiddly than either the Tamiya or Academy offerings. But in terms of detail, it beats the others hands down IMHO. If I was going to buy a King Tiger kit, it'd be the Cyber Hobby one. Once you factor in the extra costs of aftermarket parts along with the cost of a Tamiya or Academy kit, you've probably reached the price of the Cyber Hobby one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 So I shouldn't worry about fitting any interior then? I did wonder as only tamiya has an aftermarket option from eduard for the engine and drivers compartment and will I need to get aftermarket tracks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubster72 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 There's really very little point in having interior detail unless you're planning a cutaway. What's visible through the open hatches is... well, barely visible! Tracks are a matter of personal preference. Tamiya & Academy kits come with the rubber band style. Perfectly adequate, but I prefer individual link tracks. I used some Hobbyboss ones on my Tamiya King Tiger. Cheap at about £5 The Cyber Hobby comes with the excellent Dragon Magic Tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arachnid Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 There's really very little point in having interior detail unless you're planning a cutaway. What's visible through the open hatches is... well, barely visible! Tracks are a matter of personal preference. Tamiya & Academy kits come with the rubber band style. Perfectly adequate, but I prefer individual link tracks. I used some Hobbyboss ones on my Tamiya King Tiger. Cheap at about £5 The Cyber Hobby comes with the excellent Dragon Magic Tracks. where do you get hobbyboss tracks from and do they do tracks for a tiger1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 The Tiger II went through numerous changes during production, some of which were quite noticeable. Do you want to model a vehicle from a specific time frame or battle, or do you just want to build a generic vehicle? My opinions on the kits available in 1/35 which I either own or have built. Tamiya: Overly simplified and lacking detail. Rubbish band tracks, no PE or metal parts. Good instructions. Fine kit for a generic Tiger II but will be the most expensive to upgrade as you will need tracks, gun barrel and PE. Very easy to build Academy: Good detail, Link and length track, workable suspension, includes the entire main gun and PE mesh screens for the engine deck. The most complex to build of the lot due to multi-part lower hull and over engineered wheels. Some very minor sink marks. Marking options are very limited as this is a final production KT from March 1945. Eduard: It's a re-box of the academy kit with different markings and very little else. Academy kit is cheaper so don't bother with the Eduard kit. Dragon: Best of the bunch but there are many variants to chose from. Most have individual track links, PE and metal barrel. Some have zimmerit molded on. They are the most expensive to buy but will require the least amount of aftermarket. Instructions are poor. Somewhere between Tamiya and academy difficulty wise. Be wary of recent re-boxes that have removed the individual track links and many of the metal parts. Zvezda: A re-box of the early Dragon kits. No metal parts or PE. Sink marks on many parts. Individual links will need to be cut from the sprue so lots of clean up. Instructions a big improvement over Dragon's. Cheapest of the lot. Which kit you buy really depends on what you are trying to build. I would recommend a Dragon kit as they cover most variants or the Academy kit if you fancy building a final production Tiger II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 It would seem that the consensus to go with a Cyber Hobby/Dragon kit and not worry about the overcomplicated Tamiya/Eduard interior route. Many thanks to all for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 Thanks for the appraisals Matt182 and thanks for the recommendation dubster72 on the kit and vendor. As I am after a generic king tiger the Cyberhobby 6662 kit c/w fictional markings is just right. It has not got the zimmerit coating, but has standard tracks and henschel turret. Thanks arachnid for saving me a lot of time and money and grief on the interior! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 A local discount/hobby store keeps Vallejo acrylics on the shelf and has a paint selection pack labelled 'WWII Germany'. Is it worth buying this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubster72 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 A local discount/hobby store keeps Vallejo acrylics on the shelf and has a paint selection pack labelled 'WWII Germany'. Is it worth buying this?That depends on knowing a little more info, most especially if it's Model Air or Model Colour & the price!Model Colour is tough to spray with an airbrush, although good for brush painting. Vis a versa for Model Air. Many of the Vallejo sets are for uniforms, not tanks so it's worth checking that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Its a model colour set of 16 paints for £30. When I get a chance I will check the colours contained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now