Love
them or hate them, there’s no denying that when most people hear the term ‘tank’ for a lot of us the Tiger is the first one that springs to mind.
Even if it were only by reputation, the Tiger 1 was arguably one of the most feared and well-known tanks of its time.
There is no shortage of choice in terms of model kits with just about every mainstream model manufacturer offering their own spin on the iconic vehicle. More or less every scale, version and sub-variant has been produced in plastic over the decades with every modeller having some opinion on which boxing is the most accurate or the best.
A lot of modellers are unfamiliar with Vespid Models as a manufacturer as they have only been active since 2020. I’d seen some of their releases online and as was curious to see if the hype was warranted. Although 1/35th is my favoured scale I do dabble in 72nd scale armour, so when the opportunity to build their new release Early Production Tiger 1 kit, I pounced on it and started the build.
Looking at the contents in the box it was clear that Vespid had seemed to get the manufacturing and moulding process right. The parts were beautifully refined and delicate with lovely fine detail around things such as the weld seams on the turret as well as around the wheel assemblies. The kit also came with a metal barrel and a 3D printed muzzle break.
We were off to a great start, but the true test of a model was how it would actually build up…so with some sense of optimism I set about the build.
The hull section is first up, and the various bits and pieces are attached in place.
Interestingly the inside surfaces of the hull have all of the torsion bars for the suspension moulded into the floor as well as a few other locating positions for interior parts. Although this model has only a minimal interior, I strongly suspect we may see a full interior Tiger at some point in the near future.
Although essentially supplied in one piece the hull still has some lovely attention to detail. Take for instance the brackets in that recessed angle and the refinement in the weld seams. That recessed angle will be hard to see behind rows of wheels on the finished kit however it is possible, and the inclusion of the support brackets is worth a mention.
The gear housings for the drive sockets as well as the swing arms are glued in position. There was a little movement in the arms, so be sure they are all sitting along the same plane so once the wheels are attached, they will be sitting flush with the ground. It’s here I am reminded of how tiny this model will be with the hull measuring around 80mm.