Zvezda 1:100 Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger

A closer look at the 1:100 Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger produced by Russias Zvezda for their "Art Of Tactic" strategy game. Zvezda offers a big selection of 15mm ww2 tanks and trucks which can not only be used for their game, you may use it for any other tabletop game in 15mm scale which has rules for this tank.

This kit got my attention since it was released, and now we are have the opportunity to take a look at it, but without spending further words, let us take a look at the modelkit which come with this game expansion:

This kit comes in two grey plastic sprues, some words about the material what was used can be found in an older post. It may feel softer than usual kits, but is still hard and takes glue very well, binding pretty fast.

I never had problems using styrene parts from other manufacturers kits on any Zvezda kit.

The kit comes without any production flaws like sinkholes or flash, but you will have to remove some excess material at the ejectormarks, in some cases you will have to remove the whole thing. There are mouldlines all arround the tracks and the onepart moulded turret, which should be removed. You will have to be careful when you do this not to damage the (poorly made) hatches and other stuff on the sides of it.

While the roadwheels are ok, the tracks are in the same style as all other 15mm Zvezda tracks. Very simplified on the outside and no detail on the inside.

I would say this is the later version of this tank, but in best Zvezda tradition, the boxart was not made for this kit, instead they took the artwork from their 1:35 Tiger model kit.

Following the good and understandable instruction leaflet, after much cleaning of the parts and some actual construction, the result looks like this:

(By the way, I used glue but as usual you can build this kit as all other Zvezda 1:100 kits without glue)

To be honest, I do not recommend this kit. As you may have mentioned from earlier posts, I have a general positive attitude on these small kits, but this is an exception.

The details on the turret sides are very shallow, there is the risk to damage them while cleanup, and the tracks are bad, especially when you compare them to the BFM 1:100 Tiger tracks. The missing of decals is an standard issue with Zvezdas 1:100 ww2 kits but this is acceptable.

But what worries me more is that this kit twice as expensive as any other ww2 tank kit for "Art Of Tactic", at least in Germany. While you pay not more than 4 Euros for any other kit from this range, this stinker costed me 7,60, what is pretty high compared to its quality.

If you want a tiger, I would suggest that you get a Tiger from the Plastic Soldier Company or one of both BFM tigers, if you buy one of the Tigers for "TANKS" you would pay less than an additional Euro for a kit leagues above the Zvezda kit.

Do not buy this.

I did, as you have read, and with some modifications I turned it in the early version of the Tiger which will be the workhorse of my new Afrikakorps platoon for "TANKS" built from some Zvezda kits and "TANKS" expansions. More on that in a future post where I will show the complete platoon.

If this works as supposed, it should be 22:30 MEZ and this post is online. On Thursday at the same time we will take a look at the Zvezda Abrams, and to give you a small teaser, it sucks.