1:48 Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger Ausf.E (Late Production Model)

A heavy tank in its last production form

The Tiger Ausf.E changed gradually during manufacture. Late examples were given all-steel road wheels without a rubber tire, a reworked commander's cupola with periscopes and a row of simplifications meant to speed up assembly. The result was a machine whose armor and 88 mm gun remained a respected threat, only the numerical superiority of the opponent and difficulties with mobility decided more than individual duels.

Twelve vehicles on one sheet

The scope of this sheet is above average. The turret numbers cover two theaters of 1944 at once: the Normandy fighting in June and August and the summer retreat in Poland. Besides three-digit numbers of the type 205, 211 or 300, markings with a letter and a numeral are represented as well, and one vehicle from the Italian theater. For a modeler that means several different machines can be built from a single package without having to track down a further sheet.

Decals on armor

With military vehicles the motifs are applied onto a broken and often roughened surface. It therefore pays to polish the place under the number with a glossy layer and to use a softener once it has dried. Only when the film is firmly stuck down does it become the turn of dust, mud and the rest of the weathering, which partly covers the number and works it into the whole.

• Twelve variants of turret numbers in one package
• Normandy as well as the eastern theater of 1944
• The markings match the late production form of the tank
• This is an accessory for the build; the tank itself is sold separately