Pz. Kpfw. VI "Tiger I" Ausf. H1 - German heavy tank

Production of the Pz. Kpfw. VI "Tiger" Ausf.H1 began in mid-1942 at the Henschel factory. The first serial tanks were almost identical to the Tiger prototype VK 4501 (H). The only change was to modify the tower by installing a storage box at the rear of the tower and making firing holes. The structure of the tank commander's observation tower has been changed and the MG 34 anti-aircraft machine gun turret mount has been installed in it. One of the most important modifications was the steel support wheels used in the last 800 tanks. These tanks were equipped with two types of tracks: 522 mm wide, applied during railway transportation, and 725 mm wide - combat. This was done, because the tank with combat tracks did not fit on standard German railway platforms. Since the middle of 1943, the “Tigers” have been fitted with a loader observation periscope, the last tanks of this type had a modified 8.8 cm cannon KwK 36 L/56 tube flame arrester. Also, from mid-1943, tank surfaces were covered with Zimmerit coating. 1354 tanks of this type were produced. And although the “Tiger” was a formidable and excellent tank, it was difficult and expensive to manufacture. Therefore, compared to the number of allied tanks (even though they were inferior, but quickly produced), they were too few to have a decisive influence on the course and outcome of the war.

Well designed and quite richly detailed, this model of the German WW2 Tiger I heavy tank is quite complex, albeit without internal equipment. The main complexity - as in all tracked machinery - is the chassis and tracks. Andб if it is a German armored vehicle of World War II, then that complexity increases 2-3 times more. So - the model is not for beginners. The author of the project is Stanislaw Sliwinski, a well-known designer for paper modellers, so quality and coincidence are guaranteed. The model reproduces the machine, used in the winter of 1943 on the Eastern Front. There is no color stock, the graphic instruction illuminates the manufacturing process of each part and its "dislocation location" on the tank model, the textual instruction is also considerable and includes quite a lot of good advice and provides good solutions.