Hunter Rose
Master Sergeant
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2010
- Messages
- 1,246
My Figarti 007 Wittman Tiger and Panther arrived this weekend, figured I'd share my thoughts and initial impressions of these two tanks with some pics to help others in their buying decisions (I know I love when people post pics of new AFVs :salute:
. So here we go, the Panther review will be in another thread.
FIGARTI 007 WITTMAN TIGER
It's a very nice model and the most detailed Tiger I've owned. This is compared to the Collectors Showcase versions new and old, King and Country Kursk Tiger, and KC Snow Tiger. In the Figarti Style, it looks more like a finely built model than the polystone vehicles rampant in the hobby. All the details are sharp and crisp to include mesh wire engine coves, triple antennas, very detailed tracks, etc. It measures out almost perfectly within 1mm to 1/30 scale so good to go there. Dimensionally it is ever so slightly smaller than the KC Kursk Tiger, Based off all the pics I've seen, I'd say its the same size as all the other recent Figarti Tigers.
The cannon barrel is shorter/thinner than the KC Kursk version. Based off initial impression and a quick look at reference material I think the Figarti version is more historically accurate, but I've got plenty of wartime photos that have the look of either tank, so its really just personal preference of how you want a Tiger to look IMO. For overall detail I noticed nothing amiss or wrong for a late model steel wheeled Tiger. The antenna on it are great and the splinter command radio antenna especially is brilliant, very small/thin and looks like the real thing. The zimmerit could have been slightly more pronounced but it does not look "plasticy" or toylike as it appeared in some of the pre-release pictures.
Now, I'll try and address some of the concerns I've heard people voice since due to this Tigers lower price point, i.e. did Figarti cut corners/cheap out to get it priced at $169? Compared to the Figarti Panther and winter ISU-152, it has less detailing but it's strictly limited to the paint job/weathering in my opinion. For example, the bullets in the cupola machine gun ammo box are individually painted on the Panther, but they aren't on this Tiger. There's also less overall weathering on the Tigers paint job. It's a cleaner looking model to the same level of weathering as the newest summer T-34/85. If you were comfortable with the paint job on the T-34/85, you will be fine with the paint on the 007 Tiger.
Not to bash the Tiger's paint job too much though, the Dunkelgelb undercoat looks pretty accurate and and the brown and green looks spot on to my eyes. The slightly less weathering is not necessarily a bad thing, either. The less weathering and slightly cleaner look allows it to work/blend in with Thomas Gunn or King and Country vehicles, making it a very versatile model. I think it blends nicely with the TGM Puma, Hetzer and especially the SdKfz 234/4. It looks great with First Legion SS and Panzer figures too. Figarti armor and First Legion figures are truly a match made in heaven. Anyway, it's the best Normandy camo paint job I've seen on a Tiger yet.
Of note, Figarti seems to have dropped the bendable track effect in the production version of this vehicle that was seen on the prototype. The tracks on my Tiger are solid/rigid and look like every other track I've seen before. Personally, I'm very happy with this, as I thought the bendable track was a tad gimmicky. There is also some drybushing/weathering on the tracks so they do not look solid black in real life. The detail on the tracks is excellent, the sprocket wheel is hollowed out and the tracks look like they have individual links. Very nice.
My verdict, its a great Tiger and a no-brainer purchase for $169. Its got more detail and a better paint job than King and Country or Thomas Gunn but is priced comparatively to their vehicles. Personally, I hope this trend with Figarti continues as prices seem to have gotten out of control in this hobby in recent years. Now onto the pictures, and you can decide for yourself.
*****NOTE: I tried to get the lighting right, and the attached pics (especially the first five and the top down shot) seem to convey what it looks like in real life. Some of the pics where I compared it to other vehicles came out looking really light/orange-ish for some reason.
. So here we go, the Panther review will be in another thread.FIGARTI 007 WITTMAN TIGER
It's a very nice model and the most detailed Tiger I've owned. This is compared to the Collectors Showcase versions new and old, King and Country Kursk Tiger, and KC Snow Tiger. In the Figarti Style, it looks more like a finely built model than the polystone vehicles rampant in the hobby. All the details are sharp and crisp to include mesh wire engine coves, triple antennas, very detailed tracks, etc. It measures out almost perfectly within 1mm to 1/30 scale so good to go there. Dimensionally it is ever so slightly smaller than the KC Kursk Tiger, Based off all the pics I've seen, I'd say its the same size as all the other recent Figarti Tigers.
The cannon barrel is shorter/thinner than the KC Kursk version. Based off initial impression and a quick look at reference material I think the Figarti version is more historically accurate, but I've got plenty of wartime photos that have the look of either tank, so its really just personal preference of how you want a Tiger to look IMO. For overall detail I noticed nothing amiss or wrong for a late model steel wheeled Tiger. The antenna on it are great and the splinter command radio antenna especially is brilliant, very small/thin and looks like the real thing. The zimmerit could have been slightly more pronounced but it does not look "plasticy" or toylike as it appeared in some of the pre-release pictures.
Now, I'll try and address some of the concerns I've heard people voice since due to this Tigers lower price point, i.e. did Figarti cut corners/cheap out to get it priced at $169? Compared to the Figarti Panther and winter ISU-152, it has less detailing but it's strictly limited to the paint job/weathering in my opinion. For example, the bullets in the cupola machine gun ammo box are individually painted on the Panther, but they aren't on this Tiger. There's also less overall weathering on the Tigers paint job. It's a cleaner looking model to the same level of weathering as the newest summer T-34/85. If you were comfortable with the paint job on the T-34/85, you will be fine with the paint on the 007 Tiger.
Not to bash the Tiger's paint job too much though, the Dunkelgelb undercoat looks pretty accurate and and the brown and green looks spot on to my eyes. The slightly less weathering is not necessarily a bad thing, either. The less weathering and slightly cleaner look allows it to work/blend in with Thomas Gunn or King and Country vehicles, making it a very versatile model. I think it blends nicely with the TGM Puma, Hetzer and especially the SdKfz 234/4. It looks great with First Legion SS and Panzer figures too. Figarti armor and First Legion figures are truly a match made in heaven. Anyway, it's the best Normandy camo paint job I've seen on a Tiger yet.
Of note, Figarti seems to have dropped the bendable track effect in the production version of this vehicle that was seen on the prototype. The tracks on my Tiger are solid/rigid and look like every other track I've seen before. Personally, I'm very happy with this, as I thought the bendable track was a tad gimmicky. There is also some drybushing/weathering on the tracks so they do not look solid black in real life. The detail on the tracks is excellent, the sprocket wheel is hollowed out and the tracks look like they have individual links. Very nice.
My verdict, its a great Tiger and a no-brainer purchase for $169. Its got more detail and a better paint job than King and Country or Thomas Gunn but is priced comparatively to their vehicles. Personally, I hope this trend with Figarti continues as prices seem to have gotten out of control in this hobby in recent years. Now onto the pictures, and you can decide for yourself.
*****NOTE: I tried to get the lighting right, and the attached pics (especially the first five and the top down shot) seem to convey what it looks like in real life. Some of the pics where I compared it to other vehicles came out looking really light/orange-ish for some reason.
