Kit: No. 32504
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Tamiya, distributed by Tamiya America, 800-826-4922, www.tamiyausa.com
Price: $28.99
Comments: Injection-molded, 222 parts (1 metal, 8 vinyl), decals
Pros: Excellent detail and fit, nicely engineered tracks
Cons: No interior detail or figures
Having languished for many years, 1/48 scale armor is seeing a rebirth from Tamiya’s 2004 announcement of several new kits. The first of these is the Tiger I, followed by a Sherman and a Sturmgeschutz. While 1/48 scale’s a longtime favorite among aircraft modelers, for armor modelers it offers good detail but a smaller size than the traditional 1/35 scale.
Tamiya’s Tiger I is finely molded in dark-gray plastic showing the detail we have come to expect from this company. The 10-page instruction folder features clear diagrams and some text. The decals are well printed and provide markings for four different vehicles.
The kit represents an early Tiger I with Fifel air filters, a “dustbin” commander’s cupola, and the side turret-loader’s hatch. Some of the tools are molded onto the hull top, making them more tricky to paint. No figures are included.
Surprisingly, Tamiya has cast the hull in metal, and it arrives with a factory- applied coat of light-gray primer. Although the metal hull adds weight to the finished model it really does nothing to enhance its detail. The suspension arms are part of the chassis. The styrene tracks are molded in link-and-length fashion, combining excellent appearance with easy installation. The inner surface of the tracks shows some ejector-pin marks, but they’re not noticeable when the tracks are painted and installed. A building jig is included to help assemble the upper run.
Before you assemble the hull, paint the interior flat black. The hull’s engine grates are molded open, and you can see into the empty hull – the black paint helps hide this. You’ll need to use epoxy or super glue to attach the hull top and rear plate to the metal hull. Tamiya has simplified the exhaust moldings, and the bottoms of the exhaust stacks are molded open. I blanked off the bottoms with sheet styrene.
The turret went together quickly. Tamiya has accurately captured the asymmetrical shape of the Tiger turret. Not as detailed as larger kits, the turret does have some weld seams and some of the larger sunken bolts molded into it. The top turret hatches can be positioned open or closed. Platforms are supplied for the commander and loader positions, but there is no turret interior or a gun breech. The rear turret stowage bin is molded hollow with an open bottom panel.
I painted the model with Polly Scale and Tamiya acrylics. The decals were applied over a brushed-on coat of Future floor polish and given an application of Solvavset. Polly Scale clear flat sealed everything up.
The finished model matches the dimensions in Squadron/Signal’s Tiger I in Action. I took about 12 hours to finish my Tiger I. Tamiya has made a few minor detail concessions, but the overall look of the model is excellent. This model would also be an excellent kit for the beginner. Although 1/48 scale is not my scale of choice in armor, I suspect I’ll be adding a 1/48 scale Sherman and a StuG to my collection in the near future.
– John Plzak
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