Dragon 1/35 Tiger I kit # 6700
HISTORY OF DRAGONS TIGER I KITS.
Dragon makes some very good Tiger I kits. There are quite a few boxings of this formidable heavyweight. Dragon sometimes releases their Tiger Kits under the Cyber-Hobby and Platz labels. Generally speaking, these Tiger kits are of very high quality and many come with some nice multimedia parts. The weakest part of all these kits is the busy, hard to follow, easy to miss pieces instructions. The current line of Dragon Tiger I kits started with the Tiger I Initial Production PzAbt 502 Leningrad, Kit #6252 in 2005. I have had the pleasure of building this kit. When I saw it I balked at the price tag, but decided to go ahead and give it a try. See my review for that kit here on HobbyLinc. That premier of the new Dragon Tiger kit was packed full of bonus parts. For instance, you get an aluminum barrel, turned brass shells and casings, preformed wires, a bucket, Magic Tracks, a lot of PE, shell casing bottoms, two figures, crew clothing, and a 88mm ammo box. It also had a one piece turret. Later in 2005 a Late Production Tiger Late Production 3 in 1 kit #6253 was released. It had new parts for a Late Production tank and markings for 3 different tanks. It had new parts for a Late Production tank and markings for 3 different tanks. The next two releases were from Cyber-Hobby. The first was in 2005 It offered decals for three options in North Africa around 1942 to 1943. It was kit #6286. But Cyber-Hobby also has a different numbering system. The CH (Cyber-Hobby) designation was kit #01. The second release was in 2006. It was an Early Production Michael Wittmann Operation Zitadelle kit from around July 1943. That was kit #6350 with the CH designation #12. You can see my review for that kit on HobbyLinc. The next boxings were both Dragon releases in 2007. The first was a Late Production 3 in 1, kit #6253; the second kit, #6416 was also a Late Production Tiger with new decals. Kit 6253 (see my review for that kit.) had some new parts and decals for 6 different tanks. It has the two G Sprues containing the steel road wheels. Kit #6416 was the Gefreiter Alfred Kurzmaul boxing. It had markings for one tank belonging to Panzer Abteilung 503. Alfred Kurzmaul was the driver of that tank. 2008 saw the release of a Dragon kit #6383, a Late Production Tiger with molded on Zimmerit (see my review for that kit.) It had a box stuffed full of parts with some nice extras. The second kit release in 2008 was #6335, CH #03. It was the first Gruppe Fehrmann offering (see my review for that kit.) Tanks belonging to the Fehrman Group were unique mixes of early and late tiger parts. There were no Tiger I kits released 2009. But 2010 was a busy year with the release of three kits. The first being Dragon kit #6600, an Initial Production Tiger. It has the two E Sprues unique to Initial Production and Early production Tigers. There are and 3 decal options, two of them whitewashed. That was followed by two Cyber-Hobby kits. The first one being Wittmann's Last Tiger Befehlspanzer (command tank) Late Production Normandy, 1944 kit #6610. In The Cyber-Hobby numbering system it is kit #48. It has a decal option for only one tank. The next release was the Cyber-Hobby Sd.Kfz.181 Pz.Kpfw VI Ausf.E Tiger Mid Production which was kit #6660, or CH #61. This is a command version tank with the extra antennas. It has 4 decal options. 2011 saw the release of Cyber-Hobby Tiger with a February 1944 Production date, which appears to be one of the first of the Late Production Tigers. It is Kit #6650, or Cyber-Hobby #67 and it has 5 decal options. Cyber-Hobbys 2012 release was a Battle of Malonovka, Mid Production Otto Carius Edition. It has the T Sprue containing Zimmerit and is kit #6763, CH kit #74. In 2013, Cyber-Hobby came out with another Early Production Tiger. It was the LAH, Operation Citadel, July, 1943, Kit #9142, CH #42. It has two decal options. That kit was the last release from Cyber-Hobby. From 2014 through 2020 all the releases were labeled under the Dragon or Platz Banner. The next kit released was in 2014. It was a Tiger Hull with a Panther turret. That was kit #6683, and it was followed by kit #6700. Kit #6700 is a Mid Production Tiger with Zimmerit, the subject of this review 2015 saw another Initial Production Tiger. This was a Smart Kit #6608 and is a Tunisian Edition with four decal options. Wittmans Early Production kit #6730 also came out that year. It includes Wittmans 5 man crew to match a famous photo. It has two decal options. Then Tiger 131 Tunisia Early Production, kit # 6820 was released. 2016 saw a re-release of kit #6253 and a Bergepanzer #6850. The Berganpanzer is a Mid Production with Zimmerit. It was released under both the Dragon and Platz names. 2017 was a busy year for Dragon with releases of four Tiger variants. Those kits were a Pz.Kpfw.VI (7.5cm) Ausf B which is a Tiger Hull and a Panther Turret, kit #6868. Next to be released was kit #6624. It is another Mid Production Tiger with Zimmerit. It has two decal options for the Ukraine and another for the Eastern Front. The third and fourth releases for 2017 were a Bergepanzer Demolition Charge Layer with a Borgward Heavy Demolition Charge, kit #6865. The next was a Bergepanzer with Zimmerit and a Demolition Charge Layer with a Borgward Heavy Demolition Charge, kit #6866. In 2018, an Early Production Dragon-Platz kit with 5 decal options for das Reich was released as kit #30TH-07. Wittmans Last Tiger, kit #6800, and an Early Production Tiger named TIKI, kit #6800 were also released in 2018. Kit #6800 is a 2 in 1 kit with a bonus Wittman Figure. It has 6 decal options, all of them in Normandy in 1944. The TIKI kit is an early Production Battle of Kursk release. It has four Das Reich decal options. 2019 saw the release of three more Tigers with new parts. Kit #6624SP was a Mid Production with Zimmerit just like the previous release of that kit, but this one has Detail Up parts. Kit #6888 was another Battle of Malonovka Mid Production Otto Carius Edition. Kit #6947 was a Late Production with Zimmerit from the battle for Normandy with the Tiger Ace Crew. In 2020 kit #6328 and kit #6950SP were released. Kit #6328 is an Early Production, Operation Ochsenkopf boxing. Operation Ochsenkopf was a battle that took place in Tunisia. Kit #6950SP is an Early Production, Battle of Kharkov Edition. In 2021 there will be another Gruppe Fehrman #6484 released. As you can see, there have been quite a few boxings of the Tiger I. Dragon has a lot of experience putting out Tiger I kits. Almost every kit has new parts or decals, but the basic kit remains much the same.
This is a review of kit #6700. The box top shows a Tiger I port starboard-rear side view sitting in the snow with a T-34 burning ahead of it. The rest of the box art shows what is in the kit. Dragon does a wonderful job of promoting their kits by providing diagrams of kit highlights. You can look at the box and compare it to other kits until you find what you want. The parts are molded very accurately in a medium gray plastic. The moldings are extremely detailed and there is no flash or mold parting lines. The knock-out-pin marks are located in areas where they will not show. This kit depicts a Mid Production Tiger with Molded on Zimmerit. You get decals for nine different options; 1./s.Pz.Abt.506, Western Ukraine, April-May 1944, Tank #6, s.Pz.Abt.503, Panzer Regiment Bake, Cherkassy Pocket, February 1944 Tank #311, Panzerkampfgruppe Strachwiz, s/Pzr.Abt.502, Narva Front, Estonia Feb/Mar 1944 Tank#2, 1./s.Pz.Abt.507, Poland 1944, Tank #113, 1./s.Pz.Abt.507, Poland 1944, Tank #132, s.Pz.Abt.508, Italy, Feb. 1944, No Tank #, Unterscharfuher (corporal) Heinrich Ritter, 3./s.SS-Pz.Abt.101, Mons, France, Spring 1944, Tank #304, Untersturmrfuher (Lieutenant) Thomas Amselgruber, 3./s.SS-Pz.Abt.101, Mons, France, Spring 1944, Tank #331, Unterscharfuher Alfred Gunther, 3./s.SS-Pz.Abt.101, Mons, France, Spring 1944, Tank #311. This kit has a lot of parts, but I am not going to count all the parts on all the sprues. Instead I will give a list of all the different sprues and a very brief description of what is on it. First, only about 1/3 of the parts are used in the construction of this kit. So you will have lots of spare parts. The A Sprue has some parts for the main gun. There are a few parts on this sprue that are for earlier versions of the Tiger. Sprue B mainly contains the Drive Sprocket. Almost all the parts on the C Sprue parts are used. Those parts are the side fenders and the final drive. The D Sprue contains mostly small delicate parts for the tank and two parts that form the interior of the Gun Mantlet. The E Sprue contains some more small parts. The four H Sprues contains the Torsion Bars and Track links that will be mounted on the side of the turret. Fuel Tanks are found on the J Sprue. Two piece grates are on the K Sprue. The L Sprue has clear parts. Only a few pieces are used from the P Sprue. The Road Wheels are on the Two Q Sprues. There are more clear parts on the S Sprue. The T Sprue has the Zimmerit parts. The commanders cupola and Upper Hull are U Parts. If you plan to display your tank with all the Grills open, you will need to cut them loose. The Upper Hull has most of these molded in place. The lower hull is listed as an X Part. The Y sprue has radiators. The TB Sprue has the heavy duty Jack. You also get some really nice PE parts, some preshaped wires that form the electric wires to the head light, and some really nice Mesh Screens. Some of these sprues are from releases of earlier Dragon Tigers. There will probably be more of these sprues in later kits. That is why you will end up with several leftover parts for the parts box. If you have built a Dragon Tiger I tank before, most of these sprues will be very familiar to you. You also get a set of DS tracks. In theory these tracks are useful. But in one of my other Dragon Tiger kits, the DS tracks crumbled when I opened them up. I imagine there are some angry people out there who have had the same problem on a completed build. I like to use Fruilmodel metal tracks. You get realistic sag and they are easy to work with. Most importantly, you will not need to replace them a year or two down the line. So you really get a lot in this kit. The small parts can be a little hard to work with and easy to break removing them from the sprues. But if you take your time and work carefully, you should end up with a first class build. My suggestion to Dragon is lose the DS Tracks and add a turned aluminum barrel.
The build is straight forward if you pay attention to the instructions, even if you build out of order. The first Dragon Tank I built had me dazed and confused because of the jam-packed instructions. After that I decided to make a copy of the instructions, and highlight each piece as I glue it. That allows me to see if I missed any pieces. It is a lot less confusing that way. If I am going to add any extra aftermarket pieces I can make notations for adding them in the correct steps. This kit does not really need any aftermarket add-ons. It has plenty of PE that will enhance the build. It also does not need any Zimmerit since it is molded on. So I will only be adding the Fruilmodel tracks to this one. The assembly begins with the Drive Sprockets, Idler Wheels, and the Road Wheels. You might want to go ahead and paint the road wheels and the lower part of the lower hull (where the road wheels will be), the Road Wheel Arms, the Drive Sprockets and the Idler Wheels before you move to the next step. In the second step you will be putting the torsion bars into the lower hull. If you are real careful with this step the torsion bars will actually be workable. That means nothing if you are going to display the tank on a flat surface. But if you are going to pose the tank on an uneven surface, working torsion bars are a necessity. The third step has you attaching all the Road Wheels, Drive Sprockets and Idler Wheels. The second page has steps 4 through 7. In these steps you will attach more Road Wheels and build the Lower Hull. There are many sub-assemblies on this build such as the Exhausts, Tow Pintels, Jack, Fuel Tanks and Rear Fenders. The instructions will have you attach these assemblies as you build them. But I found it is easier to build and paint all the sub-assemblies first, and attach these assemblies at the end of the build to prevent breaking delicate parts. Page 3 Steps 8 through 10 concerns the assembly of the Upper Hull. Again there are a lot of sub-assemblies and small delicate parts here, like some of the PE parts. You need to have a good plan when it comes to painting and attaching PE parts like the Brackets for the Pioneer Tools. Again you might not want to attach the subassemblies until later. This kit has a lot of parts that can be broken off or destroyed through normal handling. So, again it is necessary to have a plan. You might also think about a good pair of magnifying glasses when working with the PE. Page 4 has steps 11, 12, 13, and 14. This is where you attach the Upper Hull Plate to the Lower Hull and build the Main Gun. I would like to mention the main gun does not have spring to allow it to recoil, as found in other Tiger kits. Moving to page 5, steps 15 through 18. You will build the Turret and add the Main Gun. Dragon has a very nice one piece turret in this kit. You get some minimal interior parts for the turret. Since you can see inside the hatch, it is important to paint the dark, foreboding interior. The color I have found to be a best match to the interior is called Ivory. HobbyLinc has many brands of ivory paint, so be sure to order some with this kit. In step 17 and 18, you will add the top armor to the hull, and add the last of the parts to the Turret. Then you will build and attach the turret hatches. Step 19 is where I add all the sub-assemblies that were too fragile to add earlier. Also, by the time you reach this step, the tank should be painted. Then you have the decals to add and you can weather it up. Remember a Tiger tank that does not have mud will never look quite right. Would I recommend this kit? Yes, but only for an experienced modeler.
CaptainA
