Carrera Revell Tiger II / Kingtiger"World of Tanks" (03503) 1/72 Carrera Revell

[Julien]

Tiger II / Kingtiger"World of Tanks" (03503)

1/72 Carrera Revell

 

 

The King Tiger, Königstiger, Sd.Kfz.182 or Tiger II was the natural successor to the widely feared Tiger that preceded it, although it was dogged by mechanical problems due to the re-use of the Tiger's transmission on an overloaded engine that was tasked with pulling around a significantly increased weight. It incorporated many advances in technology, drawing together the best features of the Tiger and Panther, and carrying a long-barrelled 88mm gun that was without peer at the time. Weighing in at 70 tonnes, it was well protected from incoming fire with the sloped armour increasing the effective thickness even further, as well as encouraging shells to ricochet off. Initial production used a prototype turret design with a curve in the side to accommodate the commander's cupola, which was difficult and expensive to produce, but as they had made a number, they were used anyway. The later turret that stayed until the end of production was simplified, and had more flat surfaces, making it easier to produce, and removing the shot-trap that was present on the early curved mantlet. The B variant was the command tank, and sported a pair of aerials on the turret and engine deck, of which there were two sub-variants. As well as being dogged by mechanical problems, production was also severely hampered by the actions of Bomber Command by night, and the US Day Bombing efforts, which destroyed large swathes of the production plants, severely restricting the number of contracted units that were actually delivered. It is estimated that some 500± were built before the end of the war, but as is often the case, figures are sketchy because of the chaos that reigned toward the end of the Nazi regime.

 

World Of Tanks is a popular online Game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to-play, but participants also have the option of paying a fee for use of "premium" features. The focus is on player vs. player gameplay with each player controlling an armored vehicle, from the time of Pre-World War 2, to the Cold War-era. This is mainly online with PCs, but is now available on other platforms as well. 

 

 

The Kit

Here Revell have re-boxed their own kit from 2002. Inside the compact end-opening box are five sprues of grey plastic and decals. The sprues are well laid out and the mouldings are free from flash. Surface detail is clean and crisp, and first impressions are very favourable..  Revell have obviously released this kit in conjunction with World Of Tanks. Inside each kit there is also a set of Special Bonus & Starter Pack codes for the game.  Construction starts with the running gear on each side. 18 sets of wheels, 2 sets of drive sprockets, and two idler wheels are built up. These are attached to the side plates and then the link and length tracks are added. The track/wheel assemblies are then attached to the lower hull, the upper hull is added along with the rear bulkhead. The track side guards then go on.  At the rear the exhausts are fitted along with filters on the engine deck, and rear towing shackles. At the front the bow machine gun is added along with the headlight. To the hull sides pioneer tools and tow cables go on along with the starting handle. Now the hull is complete we move to the turret. The main part of the turret adds to the base with the inside part of the main gun being trapped between the two. The mantlet, cover and single part main barrel are then added. Turret hatches are added along with additional track links. The last items are the commanders hatch and machine gun, and the turrets rear hatch. The turret can then be added to the hull. 

 

 

 

 

 

Decals

There is both a sheet of decals.. As well as national markings for the tank there are a wide range of markings which I suspect are available in the Game to mark your tank. 

 

 

Conclusion

This seems to be a good looking small kit and should build up into a good looking model. 

 

 

 

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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