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

The Tiger in the form of the first batches

The early Pz.Kpfw.VI machines differ from the later ones in a range of details that are easy to spot on a model: the drum-shaped commander's cupola, the side covers with auxiliary headlights, different fenders and above all three smoke dischargers on each side of the turret. It was machines like these that fought in Tunisia and first appeared in larger numbers on the Eastern Front in the winter and spring of 1943.

From the African desert to the Kursk salient

The sheet offers ten machines. Two belong to the 501st heavy battalion in Tunisia, and two more to the 504th Battalion there in April of the same year. The Russian front is represented by machines of the 502nd Battalion from September 1943 and of the 503rd Battalion from January and July 1943. The Battle of Kursk is then covered by four machines of the heavy companies of panzer regiments, including one with a three-digit number of the kind typical of those units.

Turret numbers and their placement

German turret numbers on Tigers differed in size, in outline and in whether they were solid or only outlined. Before you settle them, use a strip of tape on the turret to set the height so that the numbers on both sides sit at the same level. Once dry, the films will take weathering with pigment and dust powder.

The set is intended for a finished tank model in 1:48 scale.

Where the set fits best

The group of machines on offer matches the first year of the type's service, when the later changes to the hull and turret had not yet been introduced. Before building it therefore pays to check whether your kit matches the early form. Otherwise the numbers will sit on a vehicle that did not look like that at the time.