Video review guide: Clayton's build of Takom's 35th scale Tiger I "late" 2 in 1 kit...
Clayton has made a few Takom kits of recent times, could this Tiger I be the best of the bunch, or a missed opportunity? He gives us his opinion in a build review video in today's story...
Sd.Kfz.181 Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.E - Tiger I Late Production w/Zimmerit 2-in-1 kit
I’ve never considered myself a tiger guy, but when I saw the announcement that Takom were releasing 3 x Tigers I was a little excited. I’d built tigers in smaller scales but never in my preferred scale of 1/35. I loved every part of the Hetzer Takom release last year and if that was anything to go by then it would be the perfect opportunity to build my first 35th scale Tiger I.
I know a lot of people were disappointed with the tiger announcement given they are one of those subjects that is overrepresented within the hobby, but fact of the matter is these German icons sell and it’s only natural that each mainstream model manufacturer wants a piece of the action.
There are three boxings in total. Two mid production offerings, one of them that depicts Otto Carius’s tank.
...And of course one Late version, which is the kit I have been lucky enough to take a look at for you.
Takom has also pumped the upsell with limited release boxing with all three kits included with a bonus 16th scale figure of Carius.
A big box! By now You’ve probably all seen the images of the beautifully rendered and moulded parts in these kits. The level of detail and the natural looking organic shapes in the Zimmerit look absolutely stunning.
The kits come with link and length tracks that look lovely, even if the guide horns come as separate parts.
They also come with a small amount of etch as well as a metal barrel.
Instructions are in the usually Takom style and my kit comes with 4 suggested schemes, with one of them being a command version.
At first glance I noticed there were a lot of options and decisions to be made through the build depending on what version of the tank you wanted to tackle, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of direction as to when you would choose one option over the other.
And it’s a small thing, but I couldn’t help but notice the typo on the schemes stating the vehicles were mids… not the end of the world.
But inbox reviews and studio generated pictures can never truly tell you what the model is like, so today I am going to take you through the build phase of this kit. I’m going to try and highlight some of the optional parts and share the information I have as to when you might want to use them. I am in no way an authority on Tigers or anything for that matter, so Id encourage you to do your own research, or you can simply just build it however you like.
Conclusion So did we need another Tiger? Probably not, but are these Takom Tigers good? Absolutely. I loved the build from start to finish, well maybe not the track so much, but this is a seriously cracking kit and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the paintwork for you in a few weeks’ time.
The kit in primer & in detail close-up
The kit has an attention to detail that a lot of manufactures don’t seem to hit. The beautifully rendered parts are testament to how far the sculpting and manufacturing process has come. The build experience and fit were just about flawless, and while the tracks were time-consuming, that is just part of the journey of building armour. They do look great on the finished model though…even down to the detail of the casting numbers moulded into the individual links. Just take care with the guide horns because they can be easy to knock off.
There are many choices and options in this release, which of course is fantastic, but the downside of that is you don’t get any guidance as to how or when to use them. You really need to understand the intricacies of the Tiger you are wanting to build if getting those details right is important to you.
These Takom Tigers represent excellent value for money and if pre-sales are anything to go by people are responding in droves. If a Tiger is on your radar, then I’d suggest you take a good look at this one because it is an absolute beauty!
Clayton Ockerby
Thanks to Takomfor sending this kit to Clayton to build and review
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