WesternOutlaw
Major
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2012
- Messages
- 6,266
Hello all-
Introduction to 1/30
With a lot of discussion about the scale of The Collector's Showcase (CS) new Afrikakorps and Winter Tiger Tanks, I thought I would share a different perspective based upon my own view of the CS Afrikakorps Tiger, a critical review. First, let me say that I am a complete "newbie" when it comes to 1/30th scale items, CS or King and Country (KC). Rather, I've been collecting Ultimate Soldier/21st Century, Force of Valor, CTS, and Marx plastic and die cast 1/32 scale toy soldiers and vehicles admiring the wonderful items produced by CS and KC. My plan was to first buy the CS exclusive Tiger and purchase an additional item every month or two in hope of building a nice Afrikakorps diorama. Completely split between CS and KC, I honestly was not sure which to collect. The limited edition Tiger; supposedly 100 in number, eventually sold me on CS.
The Good
Packaging and Weight
I received my new Tiger a few weeks ago in a well-packaged sturdy box. A nice box is important to me as I like to save and sometimes store my collectibles in their original boxes when not displayed. As I carefully removed each component from the Styrofoam, I was immediately impressed with the sheer weight of the pieces, especially the 3/4 figure.
Color & Details
I am most impressed by the color, weathering, and numerous details of the Tiger. For a huge fan of Afrikakorps and North African campaign, this Tiger's paint scheme is excellent.
One has to love all the painted tools and the detailing of the back end:
Completing the short assembly of various components, the final tank looks fantastic. I can just imagine it in a larger battle scene with other vehicles, figures, and desert terrain:
The Bad
Limited Edition, Really?
No certificate is contained within this exclusive limited edition Tiger, the item is not numbered in any way, and aside from the web site listing, what makes this a limited edition? What's to stop CS from purchasing a few more 100 or 1,000 from China and saying the limited edition Tiger has been re-released? Not sure but I suppose this rests with the reputation of CS as a company.
Component Assembly
The Tiger has three removable hatches. Each hatch has one in open and one in closed position, for a total of six. Unlike all my 1/32 die cast and plastic vehicles, one must change/swap open and closed hatches rather than having a hatch that can open and close. Perhaps the material does not lend itself to being able to open and close, but this surprises me as a collector, esp. of an item with this amount of detail. In addition, two fender/tread covers must be attached to the rear of the tank. I found these very hard to attach into the rear slits.
The two smaller headlight pieces simply stick into a small holes and easily fall off. Is one suppose to glue these into place?
Turret Decals
I was truly surprised upon noticing that the numbers 713 on the turret (positioned on sides and rear) are decals. I own numerous Ultimate Soldier and Forces of Valor die cast vehicles that have painted decals. I would expect a much higher degree of quality as this is suppose to be a "museum quality" item.
In addition, one can see the air in the decals at certain angles as pictured.
Non-Locking Turret
There is nothing that keeps the turret from lifting off the main tank assembly.
Although it looks like a piece should be attached to each side of the turret to lock it in, the turret can be lifted off in any position. Was something left off my tank, who knows?
Limp Barrel/Gun
The barrel/gun is limp. Although it does move upward, it quickly falls back down. Although difficult to see, one ring on the hinge/rod of my tank appears to be partially broken. This is not the cause of the limp barrel, just something I wanted to point out:
Half Soldiers
If you're expecting complete figures, don't! While I understand the half soldier used for the lower front of the tank, the turret figure is missing his right foot/boot. I believe this could have been made to fit within the turret and still be complete.
To be continued next post. Please refrain from commenting until part two is available - thanks.
Introduction to 1/30
With a lot of discussion about the scale of The Collector's Showcase (CS) new Afrikakorps and Winter Tiger Tanks, I thought I would share a different perspective based upon my own view of the CS Afrikakorps Tiger, a critical review. First, let me say that I am a complete "newbie" when it comes to 1/30th scale items, CS or King and Country (KC). Rather, I've been collecting Ultimate Soldier/21st Century, Force of Valor, CTS, and Marx plastic and die cast 1/32 scale toy soldiers and vehicles admiring the wonderful items produced by CS and KC. My plan was to first buy the CS exclusive Tiger and purchase an additional item every month or two in hope of building a nice Afrikakorps diorama. Completely split between CS and KC, I honestly was not sure which to collect. The limited edition Tiger; supposedly 100 in number, eventually sold me on CS.
The Good
Packaging and Weight
I received my new Tiger a few weeks ago in a well-packaged sturdy box. A nice box is important to me as I like to save and sometimes store my collectibles in their original boxes when not displayed. As I carefully removed each component from the Styrofoam, I was immediately impressed with the sheer weight of the pieces, especially the 3/4 figure.
Color & Details
I am most impressed by the color, weathering, and numerous details of the Tiger. For a huge fan of Afrikakorps and North African campaign, this Tiger's paint scheme is excellent.
One has to love all the painted tools and the detailing of the back end:
Completing the short assembly of various components, the final tank looks fantastic. I can just imagine it in a larger battle scene with other vehicles, figures, and desert terrain:
The Bad
Limited Edition, Really?
No certificate is contained within this exclusive limited edition Tiger, the item is not numbered in any way, and aside from the web site listing, what makes this a limited edition? What's to stop CS from purchasing a few more 100 or 1,000 from China and saying the limited edition Tiger has been re-released? Not sure but I suppose this rests with the reputation of CS as a company.
Component Assembly
The Tiger has three removable hatches. Each hatch has one in open and one in closed position, for a total of six. Unlike all my 1/32 die cast and plastic vehicles, one must change/swap open and closed hatches rather than having a hatch that can open and close. Perhaps the material does not lend itself to being able to open and close, but this surprises me as a collector, esp. of an item with this amount of detail. In addition, two fender/tread covers must be attached to the rear of the tank. I found these very hard to attach into the rear slits.
The two smaller headlight pieces simply stick into a small holes and easily fall off. Is one suppose to glue these into place?
Turret Decals
I was truly surprised upon noticing that the numbers 713 on the turret (positioned on sides and rear) are decals. I own numerous Ultimate Soldier and Forces of Valor die cast vehicles that have painted decals. I would expect a much higher degree of quality as this is suppose to be a "museum quality" item.
In addition, one can see the air in the decals at certain angles as pictured.
Non-Locking Turret
There is nothing that keeps the turret from lifting off the main tank assembly.
Although it looks like a piece should be attached to each side of the turret to lock it in, the turret can be lifted off in any position. Was something left off my tank, who knows?
Limp Barrel/Gun
The barrel/gun is limp. Although it does move upward, it quickly falls back down. Although difficult to see, one ring on the hinge/rod of my tank appears to be partially broken. This is not the cause of the limp barrel, just something I wanted to point out:
Half Soldiers
If you're expecting complete figures, don't! While I understand the half soldier used for the lower front of the tank, the turret figure is missing his right foot/boot. I believe this could have been made to fit within the turret and still be complete.
To be continued next post. Please refrain from commenting until part two is available - thanks.
