Model Forum / General / Models / July 2006

Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/72 Scale Armor Pro Series Kit No.
7251; Sd. Kfz. 181 Ausf. E Tiger I Mid Production w/Zimmerit; 86 parts
(57 in grey styrene, 24 etched brass, 2 pre-formed brass, 2 tracks in
tan DS plastic, 1 section of twisted steel wire); retail price about US
$13.95

Advantages: simplified version of Late Production kit with different
molding and etched brass with the zimmerit paste application molded
into the plastic

Disadvantages: some parts simplified, e.g. tools molded in place, one
or two bad seams may be hard to align

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for beginning modelers and small-scale German armor
fans

    This is one of the better series of kits being released by DML right
now. If you model German armor, especially the mid-war items that left
the factory with the "Zimmerit" concrete paste on them to attempt
to defeat Soviet magnetic mines and grenades, then you know that for
years you have had to do it the hard way.

    This is DML's second Tiger I kit with zimmerit paste applied. As
such, all parts come with the surfaces engraved to represent the
coating and appear to be very nicely done. (Realize in real life this
coating was only about 3-6 mm thick on average, which amounts to about
0.04-0.08 mm in this scale.) The zimmerit is represented on the lower
hull front, sides, rear plate, turret sides and mantelet, and upper
hull glacis. All of these parts are new to the earlier "clean"
Tiger kit and totally replace them.

    The only bugaboo may be getting a good seam at the rear of the turret,
but with some judicious use of a good slow-drying liquid cement like
Testor's and a good Xacto knife, the seam should be easy to conceal.

    As with other recent DML kits, it has a great deal of
"slide-molded" parts. All of the running gear comes down to only
four parts per side - drivers (one piece), idlers (one piece), and
road wheels (nesting inner and outer sections interleaved and held
together by styrene bands.) It also has a hollow-molded 8.8 cm gun
muzzle brake and other niceties.

    Unlike the first kit of this type - No. 7203 - this one comes with
a 24 piece etched brass fret and pre-formed brass exhaust shrouds, as
well as other niceties. But there is no option about using them if you
want an accurate model. (Note that the "Armor Pro" series of 1/72
scale kits is an upgraded one which is designed for modelers who want
more accurate kits with the "goodies" included.) All of the grille
work is included, and while the "box" for an engine and radiator
section is included it is not listed in the instructions nor is there
any interior provided for it. The kit's engine deck comes sealed with
open louvers but that is it. The brass also includes a number of very
tiny brackets and tie-downs for the molded-on tools to at least dress
them up, as well as the hatch seal ring for the commander's cupola.

    The kit also ditches the first kit's black vinyl tracks in favor of
the now-standard DS plastic ones in this scale, which will help
modelers get the "sag" right by being able to simply cement them to
the top of the wheel runs.

    The model still has holes in the belly for attaching the model to a
base, such as the pre-assembled kits.

    This looks an even easier-to-build model than the first Tiger I with
zimmerit, and the only complaint I foresee from some more serious
modelers is the fact that the shovel and other small bits are molded in
place on the top of the hull. It does, however, include a scale
thickness steel cable for the tow cables.

    Four finishes are suggested: 2./s.Pz.Abt. 510, Kurland, Eastern Front
1944 (tricolor); the popular "charging knight" scheme of
3/s.Pz.Abt. 505, Nowe Koszary 1944; s.Pz.Ab. 502, Malinava, Latvia
1944; and 2./s.Pz.Abt. 510, Kurland, Eastern Front 1944 (two-color.)
in Normandy, June 1944, and s.Pz.Abt. 101 in Normandy, July 1944.

    Overall, this continues the incremental improvements and "fine
tuning" by DML in their small scale kits and one that should be well
received, especially among new modelers not sure as to how to best
replicate zimmerit. It also cries out for drybrushing!

    Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.

Cookie Sewell