Scale Plastic & Rail

Tamiya 25109 1/35 Tiger I Late Version w/Ace Commander and Crew Set (8 Figures)

 

 

 

Tamiya 25109

1/35 Tiger I Late Version

w/Ace Commander and Crew Set

(8 Figures)

 

Kit no: 25109

Scale: 1/35

Ages: 14 and over

Price: GBP £15.22/ Euro 18.76 / US $24.10 from Hobby Easy

http://www.hobbyeasy.com/en/data/48528.html?t=1282997405?t=1282997448?t=1282997470?t=1282997480

 

Hobby Easy have sent us this new model of the tamiya Tiger I for review this month, the kit itself is the Tamiya 1/35 Tiger I with Ace /Commander and crew set. We chose this kit as it currently retails for a ridiculously cheap price of £15 – so you get a Tiger I late production, three tank commander figures and five crew - what could go wrong ? Is it the deal of the century or is Tamiya just trying for a fast sell ? let's find out.

 

This kit, well it is a re release of the Tiger I kit from the late nineties. It has been released in many different boxes and combinations and this just happens to be the latest incarnation. I myself made the older kit from the seventies in my teens and for a beginner, it was an easy model to make. It’s the first armour kit I made so it holds a place in my heart - the one I had even had the positions inside for the little motors to make it into an RC version. This later box doesn’t have that and is a slightly upgraded version of the kit I owned as a youngster.

 

The late Tiger pictured on the box front is a slight lie. It has the pre requisite steel road wheels, the AA position for the machine gun , and Zimmerit – but hang on, there is no Zimmerit moulded to the kit – there isn’t a separate sheet to attach to the kit as an add on either – so this kit leaves you with no option other than to add it yourself. I dislike adding it and I find it not very honest on Tamiya's behalf to picture the kit with it, and require it to be coated on all of the decal options, then not have a form of Zimmerit there ready in the box ! Some people with a lot of time on their hands don’t mind, but I haven’t the time to do it unless I know about it earlier and am prepared to take the time to do it. So a real minus there for me, I don’t like kits which show something on the box and don’t include it on the inside. Even Tamiya could include an applicator ? something ?

 

 

Well let's leave that here as that's the only real minus I have found in this kit. The instructions, although mainly in Japanese, are easy to understand and to follow, there are several pages included as well as to the organization of the tank battalions of the time, and extensive instructions as to the painting of the kit and the figure assembly, but more on that later.

 

Get out your Zimmeritt tool!

 

The kit comes on four main sprues of styrene in tan, which is a real counter point to the other main competitor dragon's way of modelling. Recently I reviewed the Initial Tiger I kit from Dragon and there are four times the pieces and many more options. But less figures and the kit costs three times as much and is a much more complicated build. The two philosophies of the opposing companies is apparent in these two kits. The Tamiya simple fast and cheap kit that can be added with decal, or the Dragon kit with everything included, much more complicated and expensive. Whereas the Dragon kit strives for complete accuracy the Tamiya kit seems to be more aimed at the prolific modeller who builds the kit but who is not concerned with super accuracy. This is how I see the difference between them. Both ways are just as relevant to me.

 

 

The hull itself is moulded without any real flash which is good for what is now an older kit, there are many holed for the extra tools and cables to go onto the kit pre drilled, so good if you want a standard tool layout, but they will have to be filled if you don’t. The symmetrical turret comes in five main pieces and included two plastic barrels for the 88mm gun. The turret hatches have internal detail, but there is no real detail inside other than that. There are some doo weld seams on the joins of the hull and turret. But as well there are some sink marks inside the fenders and the exhaust covers – no big deal but a pain none the less.

 

 

The tracks are separate links that join together fairly simply, this was a fairly new feature for the time it was initially released in the 90's but it's not new now. There are many other options to choose from on the aftermarket. The provided tracks cut off the sprues fairly easily and there is a special plastic tool provided so you can glue them together in a straight line. Tracks for tanks for a lot of people are a bugbear, but these ones aren't that bad to assemble in my opinion.

Track straightening tool

 

The Late style steel wheels are provided in this kit on two sprues along with the suspension arms. The good thing is there is no moulding seams on these road wheels like you do see on some of the cheaper kits. Towing cables are provided in Styrene and not really positionable in any other pose than they come in. tools are provided for the deck and the internal and external machine guns are provided as well, the AA machine gun though isn’t the bet I have seen though it is adequate once you clean up the barrel.

 

The crew figures – the commander figure provided in the main kit sprue is actually meant to be Lt Otto Carius the famous tank commander. He is really well moulded and the choice of two different style caps is provided. His facial figures are excellent. The figures included with the kit are moulded in grey and are not quite of the same quality as the commander figure. They are good but the facial figures aren't as polished, and they have tiny feet i noticed! Still they are a solid set though, and probably half the whole kit's value to buy separately. They are in a multitude of different poses and so can be farmed out amongst your other kits or all used on one crowded tank deck. Just to clarify with the commander there are eight figures in total in this kit. An excellent value addition and a really good reason to choose this kit over a "vanilla" release without any additions.

 

 

There are ten different decal choice provided, the decals are well printed in good register with constant colour right across the sheet. Tamiya are to be commended for including so many choices in this kit. There are many choices here from many different theatres , the eastern front, Italy and Normandy , Michael Wittman's Tiger is also included here so they do give you a heap of options which is another of the great options of this kit, and a real focus towards what the modeller wants. The colour call outs are of course in Tamiya acrylics which if you use are a great help if you model on them , if not – get mixin!

 

 

Here are some pictures of the kit close-ups and the additional figures provided.

Also if you like the Tiger check out this link to our walk around of Tiger 131 at Bovington Tank museum here

 

 

 

 

So what do we think?

Great kit for a quick build – and if you think nothing of applying your own Zimmerit you can't really go wrong, the 8 crew figures, the ten decal choices and the cheap asking price make this kit very attractive, especially for a simple build or a super-detailed platform.

A low budget winner which can be finished to your own taste. If this is your preference to kit building it’s a perfect kit for you.

 

Overall 8.5/10  ( 9/10 if you dont mind putting on your own Zimmeritt)

 

Adam Norenberg

Many thanks to Hobby Easy for the review sample used here.

Some pictures of the completed kit from Hobby Easy