Tiger 1 Ausf H 1/35 kit suggestions.

[Rangerboy83]

 

Guys I’m looking at maybe building a Tiger 1 in the near future as I’ve not built one yet. I seen these decals on eBay. Really like the cammo scheme of these early tigers as they was transferring to Dunkel Gelb in 43. However can anyone suggest a decent kit of a early Tiger Ausf H. I’m after one that’s not gonna cost a fortune but can build more or less out the box and has a decent amount of detail and accuracy. There is that many Tiger kits on the market I was wondering if anyone could suggest or recommend one? Many thanks.

Edited March 22, 2020 by Rangerboy83

[JackG]

These are all Tigers from the Kursk battle of 1943, also known as Operation Citadel.   The Tigers were of the early version type.

 

Difficult to suggest which is the right one for you, as everyone has their own tipping point when it comes to accuracy vs cost.   Also, some people shop worldwide for best prices, others keep to local - which are you?   Obviously avoid those kits that have full interiors.   You could go with Airfix recent releases (some of which include markings for Kursk).  These are all reboxing of Academy kits, which date back to 1996.   Modern tooling, but have since been bettered by more recent releases by other brands.  

 

I've not built any of these more modern kits, so hopefully other members can better advise.   In the meantime, Scalemates is a great repository to find linked reviews.   Also Tiger1.info provides details on individual kits and hints on how to better accurize whats in the box.

 

 

regards,

Jack

 

 

 

[Rangerboy83]

That’s great Jack thanks. Will have a look. Think I will be shopping for most of my kits locally in the uk for the foreseeable future. Not sure how the international post is coping at the moment.

[Paul H]

I looked into this quite a bit when choosing my first tank model which was a Tiger 1, and after much consideration settled for the Tamiya kit.  I built it straight out of the box except for adding some PE grilles over the vents, and whilst it is apparently not the most crisply detailed compared to some more recent tooling Tigers, it turned out very nicely with everything fitting easily.  The Tamiya one should be easily available and if I remember correctly, it was also the cheapest option at the time.

[Rangerboy83]

14 minutes ago, M3talpig said:

These are known as initial production Tigers or H1 tigers and i strongly recommend that you don't get the Italeri version ...it's horrible and very inaccurate......i don't have hands on experience with the Tamiya initial but i have heard that it's pretty much spot on.

For really good reference i recommend the following books

Tank Power 13-14-15

Tiger 1 Ground Power special issues 1 and 2

These go into insane detail on the early and initial production Tigers and are invaluable if you want a really accurate build.

I have the above publications and converted them to PDF so i can use them on my PC if you can't find them hit me up and i will try and send them to you. 

Tigers are my favourite subject and i am working on a initial Tunisian version at the moment many of the mods i'm doing on this will also be compatible with the initial's used in Russia....... will be starting again soon have a look if you like.....

  

 

Many thanks for the info. Will be sure to have a look. Your Tiger 142 is looking great. That’s Magnificat work. Will keep a eye on it. 👍 

[JackG]

That is interesting that 'Initial' is being suggested as the type of Tiger to look for.   Inputting that search term at Scalemates results in only Tiger subjects sent to Leningrad in 1942, and those of the 501st  sent to Tunisia?    Wonder why only the Early Tiger kits include Kursk markings?

 

 

regards,

Jack

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rangerboy83]

So on the star decals sheet I take it the Ausf H (Top right illustration) is the initial production variant that would of been at Leningrad in 42? But then the others star decals refer to them being Tiger 1 early? So would that be a Ausf E? If that’s the case I might use the Tamiya kit and maybe get a detail up set. I looked at the websites you sent me and it’s a bit of debated subject with regards to the Grey base colour with Dunkengelb. I’m happy to risk the cam not being 100 percent accurate cause I like it. Lol

[JackG]

It can be a problem when trying to separate Tigers into categories of initial, early, mid, and late - this is something invented post war.    Tiger production included a whole slew of upgrades/changes throughout it's career, so that all we can do is draw blurred lines of when one type ended and the next one took over.   Here's a list of production changes:

http://www.alanhamby.com/changes.shtml

 

Since this is a Das Reich vehicle, these might be of interest:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/tiger-das-reich-at-kursk-question-t319279-s10.html

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/dragon-initial-production-tiger-i-to-a-kursk-versi-t51914-s10.html

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/viewtopic.php?p=1410019#p1410019

 

For grey Tigers, this discussion:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/only-25-grey-tigers-t318749.html

 

regards,

Jack

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rangerboy83]

That’s great Jack. Many thanks for the links.👍

[Rangerboy83]

Well decided on a Tiger at last. Not the one I was planning on doing. Gone for a late version offering from Dragon. Will build Wittmann’s command variant. Planning on building out the box and only adding metal tracks. First Dragon kit I’ve built sine 2014. Should keep me busy a while. If anyone has got experience building Dragon Tiger 1 kits and what to watch for or any pointers I’d appreciated the heads up.

 

cheers

 

 

 

[JackG]

A change in subject may just have been the right direction.   Just seen Dragon announced a kit of the early Tiger, but is for the battle of Kharkov (February 1943).   David Byrden, who runs the TigerIinfo website, 'has provided technical assistance for development of this kit to ensure the utmost accuracy, including markings and suggested camouflage schemes drawn by himself. '

 

http://www.dragonusaonline.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=DRA6950

 

 

 

regards,

Jack

[Ray_W]

On 4/3/2020 at 10:17 PM, Rangerboy83 said:

If anyone has got experience building Dragon Tiger 1 kits and what to watch for or any pointers I’d appreciated the heads up.

Great choice. Build it and love it. I had not built anything in 1/35 or armour for that matter for eons and last year picked up and built a Dragon Late Tiger 1. What a blast. So much fun I have now purchased  a Dragon Panzer IV I intend to build later this year.

 

Here's my Dragon Tiger.

 

 

With regard to pointers. What can I say. Be careful with the instructions - although I had no issues. However, do your research on Dragon DS tracks (DS - Dragon Styrene) if your kit has these. I was happy how mine turned out, no horror stories. I do think it's important to check they're right out of the box, not twisted, warped or broken and make sure you get the undercoat right before going to town on their weathering. I'll check that and post what I settled on. On my IV I intend to substitute the tracks to get a better look but on the Tiger they're fine. I wish they still sold them with their "Magic Tracks"

 

EDIT: I checked the process I followed for DS track. I made sure the they had a good acrylic undercoat (Tamiya) that was thoroughly dry before using pigments and enamel washes. The technique was from this discussion on Armorama:

 

www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=263412&page=1

 

Have fun,

Ray.  

[Rangerboy83]

On 09/04/2020 at 18:34, Ray_W said:

Great choice. Build it and love it. I had not built anything in 1/35 or armour for that matter for eons and last year picked up and built a Dragon Late Tiger 1. What a blast. So much fun I have now purchased  a Dragon Panzer IV I intend to build later this year.

 

Here's my Dragon Tiger.

 

 

With regard to pointers. What can I say. Be careful with the instructions - although I had no issues. However, do your research on Dragon DS tracks (DS - Dragon Styrene) if your kit has these. I was happy how mine turned out, no horror stories. I do think it's important to check they're right out of the box, not twisted, warped or broken and make sure you get the undercoat right before going to town on their weathering. I'll check that and post what I settled on. On my IV I intend to substitute the tracks to get a better look but on the Tiger they're fine. I wish they still sold them with their "Magic Tracks"

 

EDIT: I checked the process I followed for DS track. I made sure the they had a good acrylic undercoat (Tamiya) that was thoroughly dry before using pigments and enamel washes. The technique was from this discussion on Armorama:

 

www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=263412&page=1

 

Have fun,

Ray.  

Cheers Ray

 

Thanks for the heads up. Didn’t have much drama with the build. Was a nice enjoyable kit to build. See what you mean with the instructions. A few little things I might of got wrong on the build but nothing major. I’m gonna go with some aftermarket tracks for this one. Maybe from master club. Nice build by the way. Think I’d defo get another Tiger from dragon in the future.

 

Many thanks.

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Rangerboy83 said:

Thanks for the heads up. Didn’t have much drama with the build. Was a nice enjoyable kit to build. See what you mean with the instructions. A few little things I might of got wrong on the build but nothing major. I’m gonna go with some aftermarket tracks for this one. Maybe from master club. Nice build by the way. Think I’d defo get another Tiger from dragon in the future.

Pleased to hear you had a similar experience. I nearly picked up another Tiger just recently but thought no! No AFV stash building. I have enough aircraft for that! I'll just have to get into the Panzer IV.