AFV Club suffer from a low profile here in New Zealand, which is a real shame as they turn out some very nice kits indeed, and this is definitely one of them.

This kit is their Tiger I Ausf. E Latest Model ( by which one assumes they mean Final Production ) comes in a large tray and lid type box and consists of seven large and one small sprue as well as the upper and lower body halves all moulded in a dark green plastic. It also includes a PE fret for the engine grilles, an aluminium gun barrel and two single piece vinyl tracks. All this for about the same pirce as the equivalent Tamiya kit, and personally I rate this one as the better of the two.

The mouldings are clean and the detail is sharp, knockout marks are all on areas that won’t be seen and there are no prominent mould seams, just the usual very fine ones that seem to be inevitable on standard injection moulded plastic. In a lot of cases you have to look hard to find them.

There are some small, delicate parts so good quality side cutters or a sharp blade is in order but other than that assembly is easy and the instructions are very good, being clear, thorough and easy to follow. They even include a brief guide to installing Zimmerit which I thought was a nice touch.

The gun is this kit comes with an aluminium gun barrel instead of the usual two piece plastic barrels that are more common, this is a feature that would be nice to see in more kits, the only downside being that if you’re after perfection this aluminium gun is a little too short and the wrong shape but if you didn’t know that you’d never pick it. There is a very nice gun breech and an especially nice MG34 with the proper armoured barrel for inside the turret but no other interior detail which is a bit of a shame as you end up with a nice breech and MG34 ( not to mention the very good interior hatch detail ) which will most likely never be seen if you model it with the hatches closed to get around the lack of any other interior. You get a total of three MG34s, the armoured barrel one for the mantlet, the bow gun and an AA machine gun with a cupola mount. All of these are nicely detailed.

The suspension is made so as to be fixed in place but it can be articulated without too much difficulty. You’ll need to change the way the wheels are mounted if you’re usual method is to paint the wheels separately and mount them last as AFV Club would have you mount each pair in turn and swing them up to interlock with the previous pair then push the torsion bar into place but this requires the wheels to be mounted before upper and lower halves are joined. AFV Club uses rubber rings rather than polycaps to keep the wheels in place and once these are on they are very hard to get off so don’t use them till the wheel is going on to stay on.

The tracks are one piece “rubber band” style vinyl tracks that have good surface detail but lack the proper detail on the guide teeth etc, so the purist may wish to replace them with better AM tracks. One unusual feature on this kit is that the idler wheel axle is pivotable and has a spring mounted inside so that the idler wheel always keeps tension on the vinyl tracks but although the torsion bars are a nice tight fit anyway they may succumb to the weight of metal tracks so if you plan on using Friuls you may want to just glue the idler axle in place.

On this particular kit the upper body was slightly bowed but it pulls back into shape easily once the lower tub and back plate are glued into place. The rest of the surface detail is good with some good weld seam detail and texturing of the cast parts on the engine deck.

This then makes up into a very nice model of a final production Tiger I and of the Tiger I kits available out there I’d rate this as second only to the Dragon kits, but much cheaper being more on a par with Tamiy’s Tiger I kits pricewise in New Zealand. So if you’re looking for a good Tiger I kit and don’t want to pay the price of a Dragon kit then look no further, this is the one for you.

You can also read a brief comparison of Tiger I kits by manufacturer HERE.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge image.

      

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This is a question you hear very often from people new to the hobby, or who have a long standing relationship with one particular brand ( In New Zealand most likely Tamiya ).

To answer this question I’ve put together a simple comparison of the same base tank from several of the main manufacturers that you are likely to find on New Zealand Hobby Shop shelves.

I’ve chosen the Tiger I as it’s always a popular subject and because in modeling circles it’s one of the tanks, along with the likes of the Sherman, which attracts AMS ( advanced modeler syndrome AKA “rivet counting” ) affected modelers who often will only look for the most accurate base model with which to start.

These aren’t intended to be an exhaustive review of each kit but rather a comparison of what each brand’s offering will give you.

When considering the price of kits the key thing to keep in mind is as a modeler what is your pleasure ? And no one modeler’s view of the hobby should ever be considered to be more true to the art than another’s. Some model for fun and all they want is a decent representation of the kit that they can put together in a weekend and put on their shelf, whilst at the other end of the spectrum is the modeler who will spend three months researching the subject, another month researching the right kit, another month researching the best AM upgrades before they even open a box.

Each to their own and we should all respect each others pleasure in the hobby.

So in short in general terms the higher the price the more accurate and detailed a representation of the kit you will be getting ( this is a general rule, there are always exceptions and I would always reccommend reading reviews of kits before deciding ).

So here is a short comparrison of five Tiger I kits in order of pricing, cheapest to dearest : Academy, Italeri, Tamiya, AFV Club and Dragon.

ACADEMY

Generally the cheapest brand and often underated. As a general rule the mouldings are often a bit soft and they require a little more clean up. Most of their early stuff is direct copies of Tamiya kits, usually offering exactly the same for a lower price with the trade off being that the moulding wasn’t as crisp and clean.

Their Tiger tank is actually quite good value for money. The turret is slightly the wrong shape and the commander’s cupola is slightly offset from where it should be but these are things which only a true Tiger nut will notice. For a good general representation of a Tiger I at a good price then go for it. It’s a good simple build and can be made OOB ( out of the box ) in a weekend and leave you with a kit you can be happy with. One other advantage they have is like Tamiya kits they almost always come with crew figures.

Generally around $45 and you can pick up Academy’s own individual link tracks if you wish for around $10-$15. It will usually also take any AM kit intended for the Tamiya Late Production Tiger I.

FURTHER IMAGES : Sprue 1 : Sprue 2 : Sprue 3

 

ITALERI

Again usually among the cheaper kits around though now being re-released with added resin parts and often reboxed as Tamiya kits so careful what you’re buying as usually the base kits are still the older Italeri kits that aren’t worth the new price tag.

Their Tiger I is again suitable for someone wanting a quick and easy build and who isn’t concerned with whether or not the wheels have the right amount of nuts, or if the MG34 barrel is suitably perforated. Their mouldings are usually pretty crisp and this particular kit has some nice touches such as a partial engine, gun breech and link and length tracks. I personally think this kit is very good value for money for the builder just looking for an OOB build.

Generally around $50 and I think well worth it.

FURTHER IMAGES : Sprue 1 : Sprue 2 : Sprue 3

 

TAMIYA

Probably the best known brand in New Zealand. Always good clean mouldings, nice detail, go together easily with good, clear instructions and usually plenty of decal options. Here I’ve chosen the Initial version now back on our shelves. Of late Tamiya prices have crept up so the days of Tamiya kits costing between $25 and $50 have given way to the days of $45-$80 with a few even getting into Dragon territory in the $100-$120 range ( overlooking their outstanding Sd.Kfz 9 with Sd.An 116 Trailer that will hit you for $250+ and worth every cent ).

Their Tiger is well detailed for an OOB build, with some detail a little simplified and lacking in fine detail ( as is always the way with Tamiya, Italeri, Academy etc as the low parts count keeps the price down ). This particular one having the extra bits needed to represent a very early model as seen in Tunisia. With Tamiya you move from a simple OOB kit to a kit which whilst it can be built OOB into a very good model also starts laying the base for more detailed builds using AM parts such as Photo Etch upgrades, resin parts, metal tracks etc. ( You can use these on an Academy kit also of course but once you get up to the Tamiya, AFV and Dragon kits there starts to be less that needs replacing ). Tamiya kits most often come with one piece vinyl tracks ( more expensive kits have link and length ) which is either a positive or a negative depending on your building preference ( personally for German tanks I don’t like one piece as you can’t get the right sag ). An advantage of Tamiya kits is that they always come with crew figures.

Generally Tamiya Tiger kits will be around the $70-$80 mark depending on which exact kit. Tamiya makes around six different Tiger kits and a couple are OOP with most now going through the process of being updated and re-released.

FURTHER IMAGES : Sprue 1 : Sprue 2 : Sprue 3

 

AFV CLUB

Generally not as well known in New Zealand as some of the others but AFV Club are usually better detailed than Tamiya kits and are very good OOB models. Usually a little bit dearer than Tamiya but you get what you pay for as a rule with more parts with the resultant better, finer details. Easy to build, good instructions, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say you wouldn’t be disappointed with what you get if you buy an AFV Club Kit.

Their Tiger I has good detailing and includes a small amount of PE and a turned metal barrel which is always a bonus as it alleviates trying to glue two halves of a plastic barrel together while trying to make sure it looks perfectly tubular when done. Their tracks are usually single length vinyl tracks but are very well detailed being closer to Dragon DS tracks and Tasca tracks than Tamiya/Italeri/Academy vinyl tracks. One very nice feature in this particular kit is the very nice MG34s including a proper armoured barrel version.

Generally around the $60-$70 range so similar in price to Tamiya and personally I would generally take the AFV Club version over the Tamiya equal, the only advantage Tamiya have being the figures in their kits. If I could only buy one late production Tiger I and didn’t want to spend $100+ on a Dragon kit this would be my pick.

FURTHER IMAGES : Sprue 1 : Sprue 2 : Sprue 3

 

DRAGON MODELS

If Tasca made more than Shermans they would be the benchmark of plastic kits. But they don’t so that mantle falls to Dragon ( Tasca ARE the benchmark for Shermans though ). Quite simply if you want the most detail then buy Dragon. No they aren’t cheap but they are worth what you pay, for around the $100 mark you get a lot of kit. As a rule you’ll get individual link tracks ( or often magic tracks which are already seperated from the sprues and needing no clean up ) with some SMART kits now coming wth DS ( Dragon Styrene ) tracks which are single length but more detailed and easier to glue and paint than vinyl tracks. One aspect of Dragon kits which can be either an upside or a downside depending on how you see it is that they usually come with a LOT of spare parts. Sprue sharing means you often can get as much as a tank and a half in your box.

Their Tiger is no exception in that regard coming with two turret roofs, several mantlets and an optional command antenna. There are a lot of parts and a lot of detail, including a lot of individual link tracks as well as optional DS one piece tracks. This kit is my personal favourite for the Tiger I Late Production but it is almost twice the price of the AFV Club kit so I would only recommend it if a high level of accuracy and detail is important to you. As with most recent Dragon kits there is a fret of Photo Etch parts as well ( SMART kits might not have PE as the principal behind the SMART kits is to minimize the ammount of work needed in the build ).

Price is usually around the $120-$130 mark though you can find Dragon Tiger kits anywhere from $80 upwards with some older OOP kits fetching $200+ on ebay. Those kits are usually loaded with extras like metal barrels, metal ammo, brass cables etc.

FURTHER IMAGES : Sprue 1 : Sprue 2 : Sprue 3 : Sprue 4

 

COMPARISONS :

Here’s a few comparisons of parts between the five kits mentioned here to highlight how sometimes the difference in detail can be minimal or noticeable.

The Hatches :

As you can see the AFV Club has clean parts and separate hinge detail, the dragon kit has no injector marks and the Italeri and Academy parts are more simplified.

The Vision Blocks :

Again the Italeri part is more simplified ( although textured ), the Tamiya and Dragon parts have separate vision blocks allowing an open or closed option with the Dragon one also having more detail in the MG ball.

The Engine Grills : 

Here you can see that the Tamiya and Academy kits have a very simplified catch whilst the Italeri kit has a seperate piece for it as does the Dragon kit. The AFV Club has more detail but is still more simplified than the Dragon part. Interestingly the Italeri kit is the only one other than the Dragon kit that has a textured surface.

 

IN CONCLUSION :

Basically you get what you pay for. Dragon are expensive compared to Academy but you get a lot more. Are they worth two AFV Club equals ? That’s in the eye of the beholder. I think they are, others may not appreciate a quarter of the box contents just going into a spares box ( I love spare parts ). If you want the best you can get then the $100 odd you pay for a Dragon kit will only be a quarter to a third of the final price as you’ll then want to add metal tracks, Photo Etch everything and possibly a resin engine, interior and transmission not to mention a turned barrel with rifling and metal tow shackles.

At the other end if you just want to build a good representation of a Tiger I and aren’t concerned whether or not it has the exact correct everything then an Academy kit will do you fine and you’ll get three of them for the price of the Dragon equal.

So to answer the question of why some are so expensive it’s like cars, the more you pay the more you get and whether or not a Mercedes is what you need when a Toyota will do is really for you to decide as only you know what sort of modeler you are. I actually enjoy starting with a cheap Italeri kit sometimes and then seeing how detailed I can get it using just basic scratch-building methods. Other times I want the most detailed kit I can get and then I want to detail it some more.

On a final note one thing all these Tigers are missing depending on exactly when and where you want it to be portrayed is none have the zimmerit coating. But that’s always going to be a problem with German WWII armour.

 

Cheers, Dean.

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