10.5cm leFH18(Sf)
Auf Geschűtzwagen
Hotchkiss 39H(f)

Tiger Werke

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If you have dabbled with aircraft modeling in addition to your beloved armor, you may be familiar with an aftermarket company called Black Box that has created some breathtaking cockpit sets for 1/48 and 1/32 aircraft. Well, these same folks also enjoy armor modeling and they've finally leapt over the fence to offer cool stuff in this arena as well.

The Tiger Werke line was established to offer high quality, limited run kits and accessories to the more sophisticated armor modeler. The Tiger Werke line will not be sold through stores nor available through distributors - you'll have to order this cool stuff directly from the manufacturer. Contact details are provided at the end of this review.

This kit is based upon the Heller 1/35 Hotchkiss chassis (included in the kit) along with an extensive array of resin parts that provide an amazing level of detail on the FH18 howitzer, the details inside the fighting compartment as well as outside the vehicle. The original Heller kit is molded in medium gray styrene. The resin parts are finely cast is light tan resin and many of these parts are cast very close to scale thickness!

When I first opened the box, I was at first overwhelmed by the number of parts in this kit, then I was impressed with the way that the parts were packaged to prevent damage in shipment. The quality of the resin casting in this kit is as good as anything I've seen molded in styrene from Japan!

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

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In the bottom left corner of the second photo above, you'll see two sprues of track links. The kit actually features individual track links that are finely cast on both sides, but I didn't think you'd particularly care to see all of the links. The two sprues of track links in the photo above show both sides, so you can judge for yourself.

You can see that Tiger Werke didn't forget much of anything in the parts provided - 105 mm rounds, ammo stowage racks, rifles and machine guns for the crew, as well as pioneering tools. You're on your own for a crew and their personal belongings.

With a retail price of $99.00 USD, this kit is a bargain for what you'll find inside the box.

Recommended

My sincere thanks to Tiger Werke for these review samples!

Availability

As I understand it, each Tiger Werke set will only be produced in limited quantities (around 300) and then will no longer be available. At present, the only source for Tiger Werke kits and accessories is:

D&V Selections USA
PO Box 623
Rowlesburg WV 26425
(304) 454-2400 (voice)
(304) 454-2022 (fax)
DVselections@aol.com (email)

Their website ( www.tigerwerke.com ) was not yet online at the time of this writing, but was anticipated to be online soon.

These sets are of the same high quality as their Black Box lineup and are highly recommended to all armor modelers that possess the basic skills for working with resin parts.

 

Review Copyright © 2002 by Michael Benolkin
This Page Created on 06 September, 2002
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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