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.

Academy, Academy Tiger I review, AFV Club, AFV Club Tiger I review, dragon, Dragon Tiger I review, Italeri, Italeri Tiger I review, tamiya, Tamiya Tiger I review, Tiger I Initial, Tiger I late production

For those who missed it the 2010 Nuremberg Toy Fair has just been held and there are a few goodies to behold on the “coming soon” lists.

I’ve already covered the upcoming Artillery bonanza so here’s what else there is to look forward to.

In what looks to be a continuation of the 2009 trend towards more wheeled vehicles ( think Tamiya Citroen 11CV, Bronco Staff Car, Bronco Adler, Miniart British Staff Car, Zvezda Mercedes L4500 ) Tamiya brings us their new Austin “Tilly”, ICM a Kfz. 1 Staff Car and Kfz.2 Radio Car, Bronco a radio version of the Adler and most interestingly IGB enter the 1/35 scale market with an Einheitsdiesel in two versions, Telephone Truck and Cargo truck.

Why is that the most interesting ? Because IGB do a large range of 1/72 scale Bedford QL series and Chevrolet 15 trucks and it looks like they will also be upscaling some of those with a 1/35  Bedford QLD and a Chevrolet C15A No.13 listed as coming soon.

In other kit news …

Tamiya will be bringing us some new – and some new look make overs – with a Japanese Type 3 and  a Type 5 Tank as well as a  the JagdTiger “Otto Carius” – which just looks to mate the figures and bike from their King Tiger Ardennes kit with their new JagdTiger. Figurewise there’s a US Field Maintenace set which whilst it appears to be made up primarily of the figures and accessories from the Red Ball Express kit does have a much welcomed frame and hoist included.

Trumpeter has their eye on PaperPanzers it seems with an E50 and E75 as well as the Grille 21, and some more bits for those of you building Armoured Trains.

Dragon is possibly playing it close to the chest with only the Nashorn that we already knew about ( going head to head this time with AFV Club’s own Nashorn ). A little dissappointing for me really as Dragon seems to be sticking to the tried and true and we aren’t really seeing anything innovative and exciting, more StuG variants upon variants, Sherman variants upon variants and old kits given a make-over into Smart Kits or Orange Box. Hopefully it is just a case of keeping things hush hush and this year will still bring us more fresh kits from them like last year’s Sd.Kfz 7 range, and the Pz.Kpfw IV based variants like the Ostwind, Bergepanzer and Wirbelwind ( I’m still holding out for a Mobelwagon and an Sd.Kfz 8 )

ICM as mentioned have the Kfz.1 and Kfz.2 as well as a nice looking set of Russian Field Medics and of course their recently released Studebaker with the Stalin Organ rack. More expensive than the Zvezda one but then the Zvezda one is the wrong type of vehicle for WWII.

Miniart will be bringing us a Valentine Tank, initially as a lend lease Soviet version but I assume there will no doubt be a standard British/Commonwealth service version not far behind.

Masterbox have their DAK panzercrew with a Bedouin on a donkey now out and still to come are a set of Soviet and German troops in urban fighting, a British 8th army tank crew with bedouin on a camel, US Artillery crew as well as US Infantry with nuns and there’s still hope for a 2010 release of the Horsa Gliders and possibly also the long awaited Ju52 and C47.

So plenty to look forward to this year.

8th army, AFV Club, bedouin, bronco, c47, dak, dml, dragon, icm, ju52, Masterbox, miniart, nuremberg toy fair, sherman, stug, tamiya, trumpeter, zvezda