Hamilkar Barkas I like the Tamiya Tigers fine, as long as you get some PE for the grills. I replace the tracks as well but that's not necessary for everyone. I've built 2 of those, and it certainly was the kit that got me truly in to Tigers.

Nick Ruz Thank you very much. I love Tigers and It took months of trolling around the net to find what I wanted to know. Very glad it's helpful.

+zofoblues I'm very glad to help.

IMHO, the Tiger I has an intimidating appearance. It also represents the most sophisticated & dangerous tank to come from that generation of tank designs around the world. Furthermore, a number of legendary tank commanders graduated up to the Tiger I, so there is a lot of history & impressive stories attached to the Tiger I. Finally, because of the necessary limitations of the armour fielded by the western allies, the Tiger became a symbol for those who believe in the superiority of all German equipment, a myth that has been perpetuated for the last 70+ years.

I hear you buddy I have 8 tigers all Tamiya and all in the box! 🇨🇦

GeekyRocket Thanks man, I really like Tigers and I think that helped to allow me to quickly learn what the deal was with all of these kits, and I thought I should share what I knew.

Stay strong Michi.

Nick Ruz Thanks very much, I put a lot of work in to this one for sure. It's a labor of love though.

+Military History I'm not really sure what you mean, but i prefer Dragon to everyone else. So Dragon 6383 which is a late with Zimmerit, 6700 which is a mid production with Zimmerit, 6730 which is a later type early, 6820 which is an early early of Tiger 131 from Bovington tank museum, and 6608 which is an initial from the North African campaign. That's pretty much the best of each version of a Dragon Tiger kit covering all of the primary variants. I'm currently building Rye Field Model's early with full interior, which isn't as good of a fit as Dragon, but is quite detailed and I could recommend if you want to build a full interior kit. The title was meant to mimic the book series which educates people on a subject they want to learn about but have little knowledge of. It was meant to advertise what sort of information I was giving, and it's worked very well.

+Adam Mann well, you basically said that those kits are good, but not amazing. Considering your vast knowledge and interest in model kits (and the internetZ) desire for Top-Lists, I would love to see you doing a top list of the best kits you know (not limited to the Tiger!).

+Military History oh, oh. I see. Yeah the internet does love that sort of thing...you know that's not a bad idea. I might drag my friends from KZfaq like Hamilkar Barkas in on that. That's a great idea. Sorry i misunderstood you before.

@@AdamMann3D how about doing exactly that mate?

Gunnar Bäumer You're most welcome. That's exactly what I made them for.

Very good choice.

TacticalJackalope I've already thought about that Andy but I only had the Academy early with interior and no AFV Club or Zvezda. That you for the compliment, I put a decent bit of work in to this, unfortunately I left some stuff out that I wish was in there.

The prices are insane they're just insane you're paying $50 for a couple cut out things of plastic it's just nuts

Ethan Ton probably not. Heat would not have bent the fenders like that. Looks like a rush job at the factory.

There were no D.A.K. Tigers. By which I mean, the Afrikakorps were never issued any Tigers. The first 17 Tigers sent to Africa had a different set of mudguards to the later ones. This included the bent front mudflaps, but in fact all around the tank the sheet-metal items were different to the eventual "standard" version. Dozens of Tigers went to the Eastern Front with non standard side skirts. Tigers at training schools were usually powered by compressed gas cylinders. Charcoal gas is a different system and has only been seen at the factory, when newly built hulls were getting a test run.

Thank you very much. I just did a long review of 6730 that i'll upload shortly, and you're correct. With how accruate that kit is it's hard to think of buying anything but Dragon. Thanks for watching man.

Brodka4Realz I'm not sure what you should do there. That is the only Dragon Mid I know of that isn't stupidly expensive. I think, and I don't have the sprues handy but I think there'd be all the parts in the box for the hull without Zimmerit. The turret though would have ZImmerit. The Cyber-Hobby white box 6660 doesn't have molded on Zim but it's rare so it'd be expensive.

It's a great kit. I'm not quite skilled enough to do my own Zim. Thanks for the compliment. Work has kept me from videos for some time. But more will come.

michael green basically yes. 131 is an early early, and 6608 is an initial.

+Junglelands You're very welcome.

TheBlytonian I built the early with interior, I didn't like it much at all. Detail is spongy (worse than the Tamiya) and the fit was even bad.

Glad to help

Bit late with this but Grossdeutschland also had a few of the first mids without Zimmerit.

Yup

Reasonably priced? Not many. I would still suggest Dragon to 6700 or the rebox. The Rye Field kit needs Zim added unless you do one of the 35 early mids without Zim, but then you have to add the small pistol port and loaders hatch locking disc.

+F.W. Sauerteig I'm currently working on a follow up video to this that will all be done in CG and show the differences like that visually. In this though I was more trying to dumb down simply for average people.

BIGZet Yes 35216 is fine as far as what's there is correct. There are certain Academy and older Tamiya kits without the asymmetric turret shape, but that one is good. All parts that are there are correct. For a Kursk era Tiger make sure you use the later style feifel filters with one large upper canister, not the two separate cans . Also a Kursk Tiger would be dark yellow with olive green camo not grey. The only grey Tigers (at least commonly known that were photographed) were initials in the Leningrad area in late 42.

Adam Mann Thanks for the tips and advices! :D yeah you're right! When it comes to camo turns out there were no grey Tigers, i suppose it was just a common misconseption to think that tigers in Kursk were grey for some reason. Thanks man! Subscribed

BIGZet Glad to help. You know It could just be that all the footage being in black and white sticks in our minds. If you think about it we've basically only ever seen real Tiger tanks in grey scale.

+KEM451 You're very welcome, I'll have to do an updated version of this as many Tiger kits have come out in the last year. 25401 is a rebox of 35146 with figures.

Thiago SB All of the Dragon Tigers that come with DS have hollow guide horns. So 6406, 6600, 9142, 6700, 6383 and 6730 all do. I am not a fan of one piece tracks though. But I've seen them done well.

They all have the same amount of wheels until the steel wheels were introduced. They are just commonly removed on the first station.

+Non-Prolific 1/35th Scale Model Builder Thank you. Glad to help and share the knowledge. That's why I put the video up. There have been new kits since this was made, so if you have any questions about a kit or something just ask.

Thanks a lot. I really might need your help. :)

RandomCanEHdian If you're referring to the bar across the lower front, some did and some didn't. So whatever you choose is fine for that. A Mid without Zimmerit I don't think I've seen but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. So the redesign of the cupola happened in July of 1943, right when Kursk was happening. I don't off hand though know when they started being issued. Zimmerit was applied in the factory from late 43 to September 44. Some sources say it started in September 43, some December 43. So this becomes a bit of a math thing. If you can figure out (and there are books that say so, such as "The Modelers Guide to the Tiger Tank") when those features that make a Tiger mid such as the cupola started to be issued, you can cross reference with the dates Zimmerit was applied. Also, refurbishments did happen, where say a vehicle had a damaged turret, and may have gotten a new one. If your image reference looks like something it probably is that thing. The war was chaos, and I'm always running across pictures that defy the "standard" view of these things. So in short, anything is possible.

Adam Mann Thanks. My modeling partner and I don't like the look of zimmerit and had seen pictures with cast cupolas and no zim, so we'd figured it was mid. Love the videos!

+Adam Mann I finished the model. The store had a Late instead of a Mid, so I got that instead. No aftermarket parts or metal, and it was a Tamiya kit. I love it.

RandomCanEHdian Very glad to hear it.

+Erik F. usually AFV Club workable as they're pretty affordable. I have Modelkasten as well which I love the final product of but they're fragile and the build takes a long time. I also have many Friul metal track sets, but I find they're too expensive.

Thank you. I've used the MK tracks and like them, but yeah, they are fragile and do tend to come apart. I like Friul, but the cost is high and drilling out the links does get tedious. I didn't know about the AFV club tracks, but I'll start looking for them now.

Friul metal tracks

I used Tamiya desert yellow as RAL 8000 and Tamiya Khaki as RAL 7008. I was very surprised how close to actual colors those two are. What paints did you use?

Mr hobby 402 - Green Brown (Grunbraun) Kaki and Mr Hobby 80 - Khaki Green (Khaki Grun)

Can you help me identify the yellow Is it www.migjimenez.com/en/acrylic-colors/557-khaki-brown.html Or is it www.migjimenez.com/en/real-colors/24-ral-8000-gelbbraun-8432074000136.html ?

I have one. Very hard to find. 🇨🇦

I designed a set for Tankraft which is a US company. Panzerwerk Design is in Poland. I like his. And trex is a Chinese company I am an advisor for. All of these would work. Early type.

@@AdamMann3D I will look to purchase some of yours. I found your site. Thanks!

+cosocreative hey mate, I am from Australia as well - its a pain and very expensive hey for this stuff. Anyway have a few Tamiya Tigers myself and some of the new Dragon ones. Depending on how good you want to make it some of the newer Dragons I would highly recommend, either initial early or late. I am dreading the next Tamiya due to the work involved. You can get some Dragons off ebay from asian suppliers often with free delivery, which makes it comparable or better than buying here. Good luck

+PanzerGarage Hey there, yep totally agree, looking at getting a dragon 6406 1 in 3 kit from ebay shortly. really itching to give it a go, even thinking of shelving it then building a cheaper academy one first before making the dragon.

+cosocreative Sorry I didn't see this until now, Google notifications can be a little wonky. I know that set, it's been recently re-released, and yes it would for me at least require some PE engine grills and possibly after market tracks. The PE for those Tamiya tanks though I keep to a minimum because they look pretty solid in most ways apart from those grills. I didn't know stuff was so expensive over there. Careful of Academy Tiger's they can be kind of icky. 6406 is a super good kit though, just remember if you want to be accurate you should get a Atak Zim set or do some with putty.

mate I agree with Adam. I would stick with Dragon for the moment as you ending up spending on upgrades etc that add up, especially with out postage. The Academy one I did recently I only did due to the interior that I wanted but it did cause me some grief with some changes and terrible paint guide - you have to replace the tracks at an absolute minimum. The level of detail is good for its time but now the Dragon detail is sensation - I am building two Stugs at the moment; Dragon Kit 6633 and Tamiya Finnish Stug G and to be honestthe Dragon it is exceptional, even though it is essentially double. Its the postage here that kills you but the model shops tend not to store the latest and so have no option.

+Adam Mann So I bought the Dragon 6406 for like $63 Aud inc shipping and next time I look it's gone up to $83Aud!!!! and thats the cheapest I've seen a dragon tiger kit for anywhere. So for us Aussie whom want to get a 'decent ' tiger kit it's getting a little on the side ridiculous. For the likes of Tamiya, Academy, Italeria, Rye Field and even Zvezda you're looking at mostly on average $60 and up and most Dragon kits are $90 and up. It's just crazy!

Joe Makes Model Kits So that's a very good point. If you're looking at 35216 as the kit, and you are super concerned about accuracy there isn't much you can do. It is a very good kit for what's in there but if you watched the video I'm sure you heard my opinions on the things that need upgrading. The all around best kit for the money around that price would probably be Cyber-Hobby 9142, the Orange Box early. The two problems with that one being that the tracks though correct are single piece DS, which makes it harder to get correct sag, and the kit is now out of production. It is frequently on ebay for between $30-$40 though. I snapped one up a few months back that came with Friul tracks for $40. So, long story short, 9142 has a slide molded barrel, PE grills and apart from those weird wheels (which you can separate), and the DS tracks is basically every other Dragon Tiger ever. Maybe that's the route I'd take. Because you're absolutely right, if you buy the Tamiya early and want it to be accurate you'd need a $8 set of PE grills, and $20-$40 on tracks if not a metal barrel.

Adam Mann I'm not very concerned about the DS tracks or the 100% accuracy. I am concerned about seam lines on the barrel for the 2 piece parts like tamiya and cyberhobby does for most of their kits. I may buy the extra aftermarket parts like PE grills and such but nothing past $40 (I can't find item 9142. the closest thing is a Tiger II)

Well, that one is out of production. If you're looking for an early in the range of $40 Tamiya is really the only option. You could get an RB barrel from ebay for about $8. Probably the cheapest option.

Adam Mann ok thanks! :) youve helped alot with your product review videos

So Wittmann had 1331 at Kursk, which you could use Cyber Hobby 9142 or Dragon 6730, 6820 to make. Carius wasn't at Kursk, his 2 Tiger I'd were an early numbered 213 (same kits apply) and 217 which is a mid so Dragon 6700, but you'd have to alter it a bit.

It is exactly like their other late kit with different decals. SO if you really want to build an accurate 007 the Dragon kit would be best. Either 6253, 6404 or 6383 would have the right parts. Although 6383 doesn't tell you to use them in the instructions they are still there. Mainly with befehlsTigers you have the large command antenna storage tube on the rear, an extra short antenna on the roof and some tool configuration changes. Also with the Tamiya the tracks are solid guide horn which is something I always fix. And all the kits except 6383 would need Zimmerit added. Technically the white boc Wittmann's Last Tiger from Cyberhobby is the best as it has the decals for 007 and the Zimmerit. But it's expensive.

Thank you, Adam. Am a subscriber to your channel and it has been extremely helpful!

I still prefer some things about Dragon, but in will admit some things rye field does better. But usually I'd pick recent Dragon kits that are post 6700.

Thanks, but I was always 7nder the impression from watching your vids that some of the older kits are actually better? (Magic tracks over DS for example, also turret halves vs slide molded...) I was trying to get a list from you though; all the way from initial to late in terms of what kits would you chose for each ‘Ausfuerung’.

Post 6700? That doesn’t leave many Tigers?

michael green You're very welcome, glad you leaned something.

If you go the videos I've uploaded I've done a review of all of the Rye Field Tigers.

You haven't mentioned the Friul tracks - will they fit?

Chris Barry Friul tracks fit every Tiger I've put them on.

I might. Their advisor at Ft. Benning was going to send me some. But then I might have pissed him off on Facebook. We shall see.

Quixotic Modeler Thank you. Yes there would be tons of parts left over from a Dragon Tiger to help upgrade the Tamiya a bit. I'm not sure which parts, but yes. I haven't built the AFV Club one yet, reviews say the barrel is a bit too short. It seems ok, but nothing special. But again I haven't built one, so eventually I'll have to. I share your opinion of the Academy Tiger though. If you're interested in Tiger models there is a new company about to release a DAK Tiger called Rye Field Models, it looks almost Dragon like.

Thanks Adam... I'll give a Dragon kit a go for my next Tiger build... hoping any unused parts will supplement the Tamiya kits in my stash. Hoping to master this YT video technology one day so I can share my build with the community. I'll keep an eye out for Rye Field Models' Tiger... thanks for the Recon!

IvanTheTerrible Thank you very much. I don't review aircraft, I've honestly only ever built a handful. I'm an armor guy.

No worries. Apologies on that. Your armor reviews are more than enough and i am grateful.

IvanTheTerrible I only don't build aircraft because I haven't the skill or patience yet. There are plenty I'd like to.

Can you please enable comments on your videos "Ivan"? Pls

Hi Dan Kov. Pleasant day to you mate. You can reach me at my gmail address at my IvanTheTerrible page.

Fehrmann Tigers didn't have an Early turret on a Late hull. They were original Early Tigers with new wheels only. From what you say, I guess the kit doesn't include all that.

Tim Bryant If you're talking about the DS, I've thought about selling those. glad you liked the video.

+Adam Mann re-watched this video 8 months later after building a bunch. I didn't realize you responded, but yeah depending on what you're asking + shipping I might be interested if you still have old solid guide tracks you don't want or need.

It's just 6383 with the befehls parts from 6253. This video is rather out of date now.

Panzerbuilder Thanks man. I've been a part of a lot of "which Tiger should I buy?" threads so I thought I'd just make a video about it.

Adam Mann very good idea , I have two tigers in my stash, full interior one and the initial from dragon...but for sure your video is more than helpfull. Cheers