The Best Tiger I Zimmerit (1 Viewer)

[Hunter Rose]

IOnly TCS has done all three versions of the Tiger. They did mid and late production in 1/30 and early and late production 1/28. Figarti has only done early and late "steel-wheeled" production Tigers, both in 1/30. Figarti did do mid-production Tigers long ago (the ones with the full interior) but it was in 1/32 scale so I don't really count it. Although I guess I should since it's no different than TCS doing some in 1/30 and some in 1/28.

Personally I do not see the fuss over the Karl Otto Tiger. It is hardly K&C's best effort. All they did was recycle the Tunisian Tiger mold, add zimmerit, and paint it per the movie. From pics it looks like the zimmerit covered the cannon gunsight and machine gun holes in the mantlet, so it's a Tiger without claws. Also, the zimmerit is waaay too large and not realistic looking to me. Even worse than the early TCS zimmerit. It looks much to toylike to me. The recent K&C early grey and winter Tigers have looked pretty nice though.

The other thing on the Kelly's Heroes vehicles that makes no sense to me is the scale difference between the vehicles. The Karl Otto Tiger is 1/30 while the Oddball Sherman is pretty clearly 1/28.

 

[Hunter Rose]

Upon further reflection. King and Country has done a mid-production Tiger in the old "Wittman's Last Tiger" set, but that was in 1/32.

 

[katana]

Hunter Rose; I do not believe they used the Tunesian Tiger mold, as it had very little slope to the turret roof and the turret was oversized. They revised the turret mold for the Winter/Kursk models to correct these errors. I have looked at numerious WWII pics of Tiger I Zimmerit and I can point to examples where both the TCS and Karl Otto Tigers are similar in texture and thickness. A previous post pointed out that this may have been a characteristic of field application. Very few photographic examples exist of early production Tigers with Zimmerit; but given field application it is certainly possible. What I like about the Karl Otto Tiger is tha the figure is scaled to the tank. I hope this is a trend that will continue.I have figures from K&C, Figarti and TCS that look more realistic with my Tamiya 1/25 Panzers than the respective manufacturers Panzers!

 

[Hunter Rose]

It is the Tunisian Tiger. Note the oversized headlights and solid smoke candle discharged mounts, as well as the mud flaps. Same mold, just redone with zimmerit.

 

[desk11desk12]

Carlos; do you have the new K&C WS 311 early Tiger I? I think this is the best K&C Tiger I to date.
I am also very interested if First Legion will do an early Tiger I for their Stalingrad line.

I do not have any KC Tigers. Only Honour Bound and Figarti Tigers.

Carlos

 

[PanzerAce1944]

Not wanting to start a Disagreement contest here but this one is high up there ! :salute::

 

[katana]

I agree Panzer Ace. I like the Zimmerit and 5 seconds with a Dremmel toll wil fix the lack of holes in the mantlet. The sprockets are painted black and the tracks are cleaner a big improvement over the Kursk Tiger I.
I think it is being disparaged because it is a (Fictional Film Tiger) rather than a (Real Tiger) with correct markings etc. The green color is a problem that a nice coat of Panzergrau would fix! Do the hull hatches open? I want all the hatches to open/close in a $250.00 Panzer!

 

[katana]

It is the Tunisian Tiger. Note the oversized headlights and solid smoke candle discharged mounts, as well as the mud flaps. Same mold, just redone with zimmerit.

The Tunisian Tiger turret had several problems, the most important was the lack of slope to the turret roof. The mold was reworked to incorperate the correct slope to the roof; which is correct in the Winter/Kursk Tigers and the Otto Tiger.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

The Tunisian Tiger turret had several problems, the most important was the lack of slope to the turret roof. The mold was reworked to incorperate the correct slope to the roof; which is correct in the Winter/Kursk Tigers and the Otto Tiger.

When I got the Tunisian Tiger years ago when it first came out, I gave it a long "rivet counter" look and don't remember a turret roof slope problem. I looked up the Doyle specifications. The turret roof is 25mm with a slope of 9 degrees at the front reducing to 0 degrees about 1/3 of the way along the turret roof where it is flat. I just looked at my Tunisian Tiger and the front 1/3 of the turret roof has a definite slope. A visual inspection of my Snow Tiger (WS177) shows a very similar if not identical slope. I compared the sales photos of the 3 Tigers and looks can be deceiving. The slope looks biggest on the Kursk Tiger and smallest on the Tunisian Tiger but I think they are all the same slope if the actual models are inspected.

Terry

 

[wwiibuff]

K&C did 22 versions of an early Tiger. WS216 is grey with turret # 213. I thought it was such a good model of an early Tiger that I bought one. It's very accurate. WS309 must be the winter version (turret #311) of the same model. I agree that it is one of the best Tigers available.

Terry

Agree Terry that WS216 is a nice model of an early Tiger I

 

[Hunter Rose]

I like the Zimmerit and 5 seconds with a Dremmel toll wil fix the lack of holes in the mantlet.

I think it is being disparaged because it is a (Fictional Film Tiger) rather than a (Real Tiger) with correct markings etc.

Fixing errors in a tank with a Dremel tool is fine, but I'd rather point out the error in the hopes manufacturers fix these issues on future tanks so there is no need to "fix" an error on a $200+ model.

I don't think anyone was "disparaging" the Karl Otto Tiger. Merely giving my opinion that I thought zimmerit on the HB Tiger is more realistic. No issues with it being a fake Tiger since it is based on the movie and the paint scheme is spot on for Kelly's Heroes.

 

[katana]

Hunter Rose; I agree completly that a $250.00 model should not require corrective measures for anything; let alone detail items that are common knowledge. Minichamps made a similar omission of the machine gun port in the mantlet on their Tiger I; plus they used the incorrect binocular sight holes in the mantlet on a late production Tiger I. The problem is not just with K&C, all manufacturers make these detail errors! I mentioned to Brian at TCS that a design review of a prototype prior to production is the means to avoid costly mistakes; than TCS comes out with an early Tiger I with the wheels on wrong! Adequate oversight is required to avoid embarassment! I only wish comments had spell check!

 

[Hunter Rose]

Minichamps made a similar omission of the machine gun port in the mantlet on their Tiger I; plus they used the incorrect binocular sight holes in the mantlet on a late production Tiger I.

Just random Tiger GK, but binocular sights on later production steel-wheeled Tigers are perfectly accurate. Although we refer to them as early, mid, late production these weren't hard stop/start points as far as features on Tigers. To the Germans there was just continuous Tiger production, where upgrades were phased in over time. Lots and lots of pics exist of later model steel-wheeled Tigers produced with binocular sights.

Not trying to nitpick and hopefully it doesn't come through that way. I just find German armor upgrades/production fascinating and just trying to learn/share the knowledge when I have it.

Cheers.

 

[katana]

Hunter Rose; I agree that the design history of the Tiger I is very interesting. I saw a photo of a late production steel wheel hull with an early production turret. Supposidly it was built that way and not a repair/rework. The last batch of late production Tiger Is off the production line are reported to not have had Zimmerit; as its application was discontinued at about the time of the last Tiger I production in August/September 1944. All things are possible with wartime production!

 

[wayne556517]

So after reading this interesting thread every day I'm still not sure what EARLY TIGER (GREY correct scale) to buy to go with my K&C figures ??

 

[Hunter Rose]

So after reading this interesting thread every day I'm still not sure what EARLY TIGER (GREY correct scale) to buy to go with my K&C figures ??

Scale wise the early TCS Tiger would be the way to go. But with its dyslexic roadwheels and numerous other errors I wouldn't even bother.

Honestly Wayne I would just go with the K&C early grey Tiger. It, like the Kursk Tiger is slightly larger than 1/30. It has a few extra mm in width and length. Coupled with a slightly oversized cannon barrel (slightly big in length and thickness in relation to the turret), I think the K&C Tiger works fine.

If you're not happy with the K&C Tiger size, there really are no other options. Unless of course you switch to smaller figures, ha!

 

[wayne556517]

Thanks mate no chance of figure swap so it looks like the K&C it is,i have the FIGARTI offering but it is a bit small.

 

[katana]

Wayne; yiur in luck, there is a 1/25 scale Tamiya Tiger I early production kit on Ebay with 25 minutes to run at $68.00. Easy to build it comes molded in Panzergrau and the largest K&C Panzer Truppen willnot stand higher than the deck height; which measures 72 MM on mine. A 68 MM K&C Panzer Truppen will go perfectly with it. Plus it has interior detail! Cheap at twice the price; it is the best Tiger I in my collection.

 

[wayne556517]

Wayne; yiur in luck, there is a 1/25 scale Tamiya Tiger I early production kit on Ebay with 25 minutes to run at $68.00. Easy to build it comes molded in Panzergrau and the largest K&C Panzer Truppen willnot stand higher than the deck height; which measures 72 MM on mine. A 68 MM K&C Panzer Truppen will go perfectly with it. Plus it has interior detail! Cheap at twice the price; it is the best Tiger I in my collection.

Thanks mate but I'm thumbs i can't build a model for ****,that is why i collect TS.

 

[katana]

Wayne; another option is a VS Tank Tiger I; they have both early and late production versions, fully assembled and painted to the level of a custom built 1/35 scale model. I posted a photo of their King Tiger on the General Matte Discussion thread as: 60MM Figures with 1/24 Scale Panzers. Check their website: VSTank.com or do a Google search for VsTank. You will find interesting reviews and photos. Prices are less than a polystone model; but with better accuracy and detail IMHO! I think they are available in Australia.