HobbyBoss Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger I 1:16 - Page 19 of 19

To sum up

I think that to sum up this build, I would say that, for a relatively small sum of money, (compared to more serious competition, and price, from Tamiya) you get a kit that you can build to any level you like.

It’s not for the beginner, the care and close attention to which screws to use early on dictate this, but once the rolling chassis is built, you really can have as much fun with this as you want to, the whole thing can be quickly built painted, and run around very smoothly as a toy almost, the running gear being almost frictionless, or, as I have attempted to do, you can drift to the dark side, and try and make an accurate representation of a Tiger with a bit more detail and effort.

I must admit that I wanted to try and make the end result something that people would maybe confuse with a Tamiya, build, rather than Hobby Boss, and I’m looking forward to some interesting conversations at shows this year if I put it on our club table, but no doubt, the rivet counting loners amongst the hobby will try and suck the enjoyment from the build by telling us that “that’s too long, and that’s too small”. Well great, get it off yer chest, and go away, because accurate or not, this Tiger has presence by the bucket load, and I have had a ball with it!

Oh! You are going to need a bigger workbench if you get one – be warned!

I thoroughly recommend it.
Dave S.

Update November 2018

It seemed that over time, the various washes etc. had ‘blended’ a little, taking away a little impact of the look. I just wanted to give back a little contrast, so I ‘whitened’ the whitewash in places, only a little!, and then burnished the edges and details. I think its enough, but tell me what you think eh?

The figure is an old Verlinden one, which I’ve had for a while, and was earmarked to go in after I finished the build. It just never happened! Because of this, I’ve always felt that the project was never completed.

Because of the construction of the figure, it was a little difficult to alter the pose too much, so I opted to just droop the angle of the hands, to make them have more of a rested look, and scarf away some of the underneath of the left arm, to make it look flattened against the periscope housing. The included map then looks as if it’s being held down by the hands.

Cheers
Dave S.