Henschel's Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I design stretched back to 1937 when the Waffeanamt requested them to develop a
Durchbruchwagen (breakthrough vehicle) in the 30 ton range. Before the prototype was completed, a request was issued for a Durchbruchwagen II, weighing 36 tons, with 50mmm frontal armour and mounting a Panzer IV turret armed with a short 75mm gun. Its development was also dropped in favour of the more advanced VK3001(H) medium tank and VK3601(H) heavy tank designs. In 1938, Henschel received permission to develop the two designs, the first German tanks to use the overlapping and interleaved
Schachtellaufwerk main road wheels concept, which were already in use with the Wehmacht's half-track vehicles. Weighing 40 tons, it was to be armed with a 7.5cm L/24, or a 7.5cm L/43, or a 7.5cm L/70, or a 12.8cm L/28 gun and protected by 100mm, 80mm and 60mm of armour at the front, turret sides and hull sides respectively. Combat experience against the British Matilda I and II infantry tanks and the French Somua S35 cavalry and Char B1 heavy tanks showed a need for a better armed and armoured tanks.
In May 1941, Porsche and Henschel were asked to submit new designs for a 45-ton tank, to be ready for trials in June 1942. Porsche decided to update its VK3001(P) Leopard prototype while Henschel decided to update the VK3601(H) design as VK4501(H) H1 armed with a 88mm L/56 gun and VK4501(H) H2 armed with a 75mm L/70 gun. About a month later, during Operation Barbarossa, the German Army were shocked to encounter the superior T-34 and KV-1 tanks of the Red Army. An immediate revision of the requirements was made: weight was increased to 45 tons and armament was to be of the 88mm calibre. The design however did not include sloping armour and the deadline was shortened to 20 April 1941, which was Adolf Hitler's birthday. Both companies' designs made use of the same Krupp turret and were presented before Hitler at his HQ in Rastenburg. The Porsche design was rejected as its petrol-electric hybrid power unit was problematic and used too much copper, a strategic war material. The new tank was given the nickname 'Tiger' by Ferdinand Porsche.
The Tiger tank represented a new approach in German tank design by emphasising more on firepower and protection. The armour thickness was 100mm (hull front) and 120mm (turret front), the hull side plates were 60mm thick while rear and side superstructure and the turret rear and sides were 80mm thick. The Sherman tank's 75mm gun could not pierce the frontal armour of the Tiger at any range and need to be suicidally close (around 100 meters) to penetrate the side armour. The US 76mm gun can penetrate the side armour at 500 meters using M62 APCBC round and can penetrate the front armour at the same distance using the HVAP round (which were however always in short supply). Only the M3 90mm gun of the M26 Pershing and M36 Jackson plus the British 17-pounder gun firing APCBC round can pierce the frontal armour at a respectable 1,000 meters. On the Eastern Front, the 76.2mm gun of the T-34/76 and KV-1 have the same performance as the American 75mm gun against the frontal armour but able to penetrate the side armour at 500 meters using APCR rounds. The 85mm gun of the T-34/85 had better performance, able to penetrate the frontal armour at ranges between 200 to 500 meters while the powerful 122mm gun of the IS-2 can penetrate between 500 and 1,500 meters. The Tiger's main armament was the 88mm KwK 36 L/56 gun which was derived from the more famous 88mm Flak 36/37 dual-purpose gun. It has a high muzzle velocity and the projectiles were fired in a very flat trajectory. Aided by excellent targeting optics, it allowed greater first-shot kill probability.
The Tiger was powered by a Maybach HL210 P45 petrol engine developing 650hp at 3,000rpm but from the 251st Tiger, it was replaced by a 700hp Maybach HL230 P45. Even so, the Tiger was redlined at 2,600 rpm due to the inability of the transmission to hold up under the strain of transferring the power to a 56-ton vehicle. An engine governor was later installed, cappping the engine at 2,600 rpm and the maximum speed at 38km/h. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system allowed a more uniform load distribution on the tracks, however it came at the cost of complexity and increased maintenance. For example, replacing a rubber tyre from an inner wheel require a removal of up to nine outer wheels. During the autumn and winter conditions of the Eastern Front, mud and snow could become packed between the roadwheels, which could then freeze, immobilizing the vehicle. presumably the German designers felt that the improved road performance, retaining mobility while having some wheels shot off and the extra protection was worth the trouble.
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf E as it was officially known, were organized into independent heavy tank battalions, of which the Army's Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501 and 502 were the first units set up. The Tiger entered operational service with Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 in August 1942 and joined combat on 16 September 1942 at the Leningrad Front. The 501st was assigned to the North African Theatre, arriving there between November 1942 and January 1943 and first saw action near Terbouba, Tunisia on 1 December 1942. Based on these early engagements, the Tiger acquired a near-mythical reputation among the Allied troops facing them, despite their relatively small numbers. Fourteen Tiger I (the Roman nomenclature was added after the introduction of the King Tiger tank) commanders achieved more than 100 kills and the tank was forever associated with panzer aces SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann of the schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101 and Oberleutnant Otto Carius of schwere Heeres Panzer Abteilung 502. The Tigers served until the end of hostilities in May 1945.
1,355 Tigers were built from August 1942 until August 1944. The relatively low production numbers was caused by the complexity of the vehicle and the usage of expensive materials and labour-intensive production methods, and in turn, money. A Tiger tank cost more than twice the cost of a Panzer IV and four times the cost of a Sturmgeschutz III. Also, unlike most other German tanks, there was only one official variant, the Sturmtiger assault gun / self-propelled rocket launcher.
Tamiya's 'modern' family of 1/35 Tiger kits began 1989 when they released a late production Tiger. Since then Tamiya has come out with various reboxings of the original kit and then worked backwards in releasing their Tigers. In 1997 they released the kit of an Early Version Tiger and a year later came out with this kit. The parts were moulded in dark yellow and were spread among six sprues, a lower hull, two cementable flexible plastic tracks and a small decal sheet. There are no PE parts included although a set of PE grills were available separately. The parts in this kit are actually the same with those in the Early Production kit but with additional parts to make the initial version supplied to Rommel in North Africa, such as fenders, early version of the Feifel air cleaners, tropical exhaust covers and early mantlet. A commander's figure in a relaxed pose is included. The decal sheet provides markings for four 501st Abteilung vehicles with its distinctive large turret numbers.
To begin with, the suspension arms were cemented onto the lower hull. Each arm has a smaller location tab so that all of the suspension arms would be of the same angle. The rear plate and the final drive covers were then cemented with no major issues (there is a slight gap at the rear plate but easily filled). Then came the most tedious part of this built - the wheels. Sixteen sets of wheels needed to be assembled and because the Schachtellaufwerk suspension system may cause problems with painting, the wheels were painted first and then set aside. In the meantime, I moved on to the upper hull. The front armor plate and its assocociated parts were assembled and cemented onto the upper hull/hull roof. The kit did not include PE mesh screen for the engine deck but luckily the local Tamiya stockist at the time (this kit was actually built several years ago, when the Malaysian rights for Tamiya distribution was held by Daisheng) had one which was dutifully grabbed by me.
I did not realise it at the time but I forgot to install Part A22 after supergluing the PE mesh! At least that area would be partially hidden by the tow cables and perhaps I could hide it further with some accessories..... The hull roof was then cemented onto the hull and was followed by the glacis plate. But before attaching the latter, holes were made into it in order to accommodate the shovel. Two further holes are also needed to be drilled (for the headlights) if one is building either marking options A or B. I then returned to the lower hull, first painting it and then cementing the interleaved wheels into place with the exception of the outermost wheels (parts B6).
Moving to the rear of the hull, Step 7 involved fitting the exhausts, towing eyes and the rear fender. The last was left off until the tracks were fitted. Next were the Feifel air pre-cleaners. The main part of the system was made from two halves, resulting in a seam that was difficult to remove. The tubes leading in and out of the canisters were cemented on the canisters. The latter were then dry-fitted onto the model to check the position of the tubes (the tubes have keyed tabs, but I did it just in case). Step 9 was skipped partially as the jack and the spare tracks would be added after painting. Returning to the Feifel system, I cut the provided vinyl hoses using the templates in the instruction sheet. The hoses have details that replicate the original items nicely and have good fit - I did not superglue them as instructed. The completed assembly was then cemented onto their places. This was followed by attaching the exhaust shields and hose guards. Finally the hatches, headlights and the front towing eyes were cemented before I moved on to the turret.
The mantlet was assembled first and Tamiya includes a rudimentary breech for the main gun. The turret halves were then mated together, along with the mantlet. There were seam lines at the front and the back, but were no big deal. The turret roof was the cemented, also with no fuss. Purists however might want to add welding beads along the edge of the roof. The two-piece gun barrel was cemented and, with care, no seam would be visible. Mine did but I add Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, and press the halves tighter. The resulting ooze, once dry, was trimmed away with a sharp hobby knife. The commander's cupola was assembled, also with seams at its bottom. To finish the basic build, the loader's hatch was also cemented in the closed position.
Painting and Decaling
The model was then painted Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow with some XF-64 Red Brown added to simulate, more or less, the brownish yellow colour which the Tigers of the 501st were painted in. I then chose the markings for tank 731 / 'Norbert'. The decals have good colour registration, yet they were thick - thick enough that the edges of the carrier film was quite visible. The model then was then completed in the usual manner. Anyway, after a number of years, I was intrigued by online discussions of the Tiger I in North Africa, specifically its colours. While many are of the opinion that the Tigers were painted the normal Afrika Korps colours, others argued that it was painted brown, and most intriguingly, green (at least on some of the Tigers). Well, not dark green but pea green or even captured olive drab. Interested by this line of argument, I decided to repaint my Tiger. After stripping the decals and removing the pioneer tools, I used Tamiya's instruction in their 1/48 Tiger kit as a guide, by mixing equal parts of Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow and XF-58 Olive Green (although I think there is slightly more XF-58 in the mix). I have to admit that it looks weird for a Tiger to look greenish instead of panzer grey and/or the predominantly dark yellow camo scheme. For the new markings, I chose '813', however, I have lost the stalking tiger insignia of the 501st, making the markings for '813' less than complete. The large decals were then subjected to a virtual bath of Mr Mark Softer in an attempt to draw them down to the model's surface. The model was then subjected to the usual wash process.
To begin with, the one-piece tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown and set aside to dry. In the meantime, pioneer tools were painted XF-59 Desert Yellow and Gunze 28 Steel. The towing and track repair cables were painted XF-56 Metallic Grey. The tracks were then looped and glued using superglue. To place the tracks, I first looped them over the already-assembled suspension units, then the still loose sprocket wheel was placed in the loop and the tracks were stretched until the sprockets engage the holes in the final drive housings. The outermost wheels were then cemented and the upper run of the tracks superglued to the wheels. While they look OK, the drape of the tracks can't beat workable aftermarket tracks such as from Friulmodellismo or Modelkasten. The pioneer tools were then cemented on their places. On the rear plate, the jack was placed onto into its place, I however decided not to add the spare track links. The holes were sealed and the paint re-applied.
Afterwards it was time for weathering. The tracks were first subjected to AK Interactive's Track Wash solution. I found that it worked all right although I later found out that it works best if the track was base painted in light colour, such as Tamiya XF-57 Buff. The tracks were then drybrushed silver at the raised areas. Finally, Mig Productions Gulf War Sand mixed with enamel thinner was liberally applied to the lower hull and tracks and once dry, the excess was removed using old, stiff brush. A length of brass wire was cut and glued to the aerial base. Finally, to finish the build and to hide my omissions, an 88mm ammo crate from Academy and two jerrycans from AFV Club (the latter were among the best I have ever seen, IMHO) were placed onto the rear deck.
In short, another great kit from Tamiya. Virtually all the parts fit perfectly and amount of detail included is adequate for an out-of-box build. My gripe with this kit was the thickness of the decals and the separately available engine deck grilles, especially the latter. Later, I found that Terry Ashley of the Perth Military Modeling Site in his review of this kit's 1/48 brother pointed out that all of 501st Tigers have their headlights located on the glacis plate. So, retrospectively, Tamiya got their instructions wrong for '731' and '813', but I think I can live with that. I highly recommend this kit, especially to those who got intimidated by the more complex kits offered by Tamiya's competitors.
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