Dragon 1/35 SdKfz 182 King Tiger (Porsche Turret) with Zimmerit

Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B and the tank also had the ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182. It is also known under the informal name Königstiger (German: King Tiger),  and by the British as Royal Tiger.

The Tiger II combined the heavy armor of the Tiger I with the sloped armor of the Panther. The design followed the same concept as the Tiger I, but was intended to be even more formidable. The Tiger II chassis supplied the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless tank destroyer. The Tiger II weighed 68.5 (early turret) to 69.8 (production turret) tonnes, was protected by 150 to 180 mm of frontal armor, and was armed with the 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 gun.

The very heavy armor and powerful long-range gun gave the Tiger II the advantage against virtually all opposing tanks. This was especially true on the Western Front, where the British and U.S. forces had almost no heavy tanks with which to oppose it. In a defensive position it was difficult to destroy, but offensively it performed with less success.

The Tiger II performed very well against Allied and Soviet tanks being able to penetrate the front armour of the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing and IS-2 at respectively 2500 m, 1800 m and 1200 m. Defensively, the M4 Sherman was unable to penetrate the front even at point blank and the M26 Pershing and IS-2 had to come within 1300 m and 200 m respectively.

The Tiger II was widely photographed due to its large size and propaganda value.

This is not Dragon's first Zimmerit-encrusted, Porsche-turreted King Tiger tank as they did this vehicle in 1/72 a few months ago. However, it is the first one in this scale and I'm sure it will be quite well received by armor model fans. It will also make a fitting companion to the Henschel-turreted version .

This boxing  includes the hull parts and turret with zimmerit already molded into the plastic. The molding is really superb and alleviates the need for the builder to go through the lengthy and somewhat tedious process of applying it themselves or using aftermarket zimmerit sets.

As we have now come to expect from Dragon, this is a full multimedia kit. It includes the Magic Track individual links, an aluminum barrel, wire towing cable, and two etched frets that are mostly for the intake screens, hold downs and other small items. The set even includes some metal tow hooks, metal hinge pins for the forward fenders and a metal chain for the rear.

You'd expect a lot of sprues and you do get them. There are quite a few bits that are not used for this version and while you might think that building this would be complex, the truth is that it isn't as it might seem. The parts are all very well molded without a hint of flash and no readily apparent sink areas. Some ejector stubs/marks are on some parts, but for the most part, these will be hidden when the kit is complete.

There are some options, but those are mostly confined to some turret parts, like open or closed hatches, metal or plastic gun barrel and a few detail bits. As you'd expect, the detail level is quite high and this is a most complete kit in that regard.

The full color instructions are superb. Dragon has gone the color 3-D route with these and they work quite well. Color information is provided using Gunze references and a real bonus, at least for folks like me, is that the road wheels appear to be all metal, so no need to paint rubber rims on them! Makes for much faster construction and allows one to attach the individual links early in the build process to get the proper sag (though that will be hidden behind the fenders). Markings are for six vehicles from the mid-1944 period to the end of the war. All are a base Panzer Yellow with some carrying additional colors in the form of a green and/or brown with one in winter white. All the schemes are different so you will have a goodly choice. Decals are nicely printed and should provide no problems.

This is one that will provide hours of moldeling pleasure and provide a superb replica when you are done. All without need for aftermarket. What more could you ask.

http://en.wikipedia.org

January 2008

My thanks towww.dragonmodelsusa.com for the preview kit. Get yours at your local hobby shop or ask them to order it for you.

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