King Tiger
Manufacturer: ESCI Kit #8008; Aurora/ESCI # 6201; ESCI/Revell # H2307; ESCI/Ertl # 8330 ; Humbrol # HK72207; AMT/Ertl #8483; and Italeri # 7004
Although recentlyre-released by Italeri, I will always think of this as an ESCIkit. It was one of the earliest models I ever built as a youngboy, and I even had it on display in the local hobbyshop (theshop owner was very tolerant). The kit previewed here was one ofErtl's last issues, being made in Mexico around 1999, and I willrefer to it as "the ESCI kit" throughout this preview.Everything I say about it is equally applicable to the newItaleri kit.
One of ESCI's better kits,it was an excellent kit for its time, although with a couple ofminor errors. While the new Revell King Tiger kit is better thanthis one in many ways (see my King Tiger Comparison article), this older model isstill quite impressive, and the errors will only be noticeablewhen in a side-by-side comparison.
This kit comes with fewerparts than the new Revell kit, but the level of detail is stillremarkable. But there are a few notable absences, such as pioneertools. There are some spare track links for mounting on theturret sides, and unlike the tracks that are to be installed onthe wheels, these spare links are very good. Side skirts areprovided separately, but molded as a single unit per side, sothat you would have to do some surgery to remove single plates.
The hull and turret areextremely detailed, with the hull in particular, exhibitingdetail that is considered top-of-the-line in today's kits. Thehull has open hatches, and the turret has the commander's hatchopen, but the loader's hatch is molded shut. The tow cables aremolded as separate parts, which is surprising considering the ageof the kit. Most kits back then (and even some today) had thecables molded in very poor relief onto the hull. Three crewfigures are included, a complete commander figure, and twoidentical busts for the hull postions. The figures areoutstanding; with detail equaling that seen on the newest figuresfrom Preiser.
The couple of errors onthe model that I mentioned above:
The wheels are moldeddouble-wide. For the inner pairs, it doesn't matter, but for theouter pairs, it may be visible, unless you mount the side skirts.Aside from that flaw, the wheels are excellent, with surfacedetail that matches the new Revell wheels. Also, the turret is alittle too narrow at the top, with the side walls sloping just alittle bit too steep. The surface detail on the turret roof isvery crisply molded, but is not entirely accurate. The port forthe close-in defence weapon is in the wrong location (should bein front of the loader's hatch), the ventilator cover should bemoved back about a millimeter, and the loader's periscope visoris a little too elongate. Also, depending on the reference Iconsult, the main gun is anywhere from 2 to 4mm too long.
Also, the sprocket wheelsrepresent the early, 18-tooth style. This style was changed inMay 1944 to the 9-tooth variety (basically, they cut off everysecond tooth), and I think that only some of the Porsche versionsof this tank used that early sprocket. I am not sure, but I havenot seen any Henschel Tigers with it, so I will cut off the extrateeth from mine when I build it.
Regarding zimmerit, Ihaven't done any exhaustive research, but based on the books Ihave, this is what I think: the three prototypes (all withPorsche turrets) did not have zimmerit applied, but all of theremaining Porsche turret tanks did. They stopped applyingzimmerit to Tigers in September 1944, so many of the Henscheltanks had it as well, but the last ones to be built did not.
About the tracks: thevinyl tracks included in early releases of this kit are simplyhorrible.
The hard plastic,link-and-length tracks introduced in later versions are onlyslightly better. The exterior detail is acceptable, and thetracks will look more realistic when attached, but the innersurfaces are completely smooth, with no guide teeth, and no hingedetail. Perhaps if PART will soon produce etched brass tracks foruse on the Revell King Tiger, they can also be used on this kitas well.
But, as negative as thisreview sounds, there certainly are a lot of positives to this kitas well. The level of detail on everything is really quite good,and comparable with some of the best kits today. Bolt holes, weldlines, panel lines, hinges, separate periscope covers, etc.; allare molded very well. So, all in all, this is a very fine kit.
As far as markings areconcerned, the kit came with the typical ESCI decal sheet, thatbeing, a couple of options, but with poor registration. Themarkings that come with the new Italeri release of this kit aremuch more extensive, with several numbering options, but withtactical markings for only one unit.
Basically, for a kit asold as this one is, it was a remarkably well done model for itsday, and still holds up fairly well by today's higher standards.There are a few flaws, but as several people have provenelsewhere in this site, this model can build up very well.
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