Panzerkampf PZK135TigerGrey German Mid Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Heavy Tank (1:35 Scale)
"The gun and armor of the Tiger were superb, making it in many ways the most formidable tank in service. Even so, it was poor in maneuver, it was slow, and its turret was a slow traverser in action. It was a tank which was, at its best, immobile in ambush, when its killing power was very frightening."
- Douglas Orgill, "German Armor"
The German Waffenamt issued an order to design the VK4501(H) (as the PzKpfw VI Ausf. E was then known) in May 1941, just one month prior to the commencement of Operation Barbarossa. Interestingly, Henschel und Sohn of Kassel was charged with building the heavily armored chassis while Krupp, by far the largest munitionwerks in Germany, was given the task of developing the turret. The PzKpfw VI Ausfuhrung E (type E) was one of the first German tanks to feature a torsion bar with eight interleaved wheels, which was designed to support the weight of the mammoth 57-ton tank. The Ausf. E mounted a huge 8.8cm KwK36 L/56 cannon and featured two MG34 machine guns for close support against enemy infantry. By war's end, 1,354 vehicles had been produced, some rolling off the Wegmann assembly line.
The Tiger differed from earlier German tanks principally in its design philosophy. Its predecessors balanced mobility, armor and firepower and were sometimes outgunned by their opponents. While heavy, this tank was not slower than the best of its opponents. Although the general design and layout were broadly similar to the Panzer IV medium tank, the Tiger weighed more than twice as much. This was due to its substantially thicker armor, the larger main gun, greater volume of fuel and ammunition storage, larger engine, and a more solidly built transmission and suspension.
The Tiger I had frontal hull armor 100 mm (3.9 in) thick, frontal turret of 100 mm and gun mantlet with a varying thickness of 120 to 200 mm (4.7 to 7.9 in). The Tiger had 60 mm (2.4 in) thick hull side plates and 80 mm (3.1 in) armor on the side superstructure/sponsons, while turret sides and rear were 80 mm. The top and bottom armor was 25 mm (1 in) thick; from March 1944, the turret roof was thickened to 40 mm (1.6 in). Armour plates were mostly flat, with interlocking construction. This flat construction encouraged angling the Tiger hull roughly 30-45 degrees when firing in order to increase effective thickness.
Pictured here is a 1:35 scale replica of a mid production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I heavy tank.
Pre-order! Price and ship date to be determined
Dimensions:
Length: 10-inches
Width: 4-inches
Height: 4-inches
Release Date: ?