Tamiya 1/35 Tiger I Ausfuhrung Afrika (Initial Production) - Kit Review 

Yep, you're right, and that's my bad. I do my best to avoid obvious generalisations like that, but we all make mistakes. Thank you for pointing that out, it's a good reminder to me to be more aware in the future. Cheers!

There were a few tigers in n. africa in the 501, one was captured and is in bovington.

@@kenjohnston8173 I said there were no Tigers in the Afrikakorps. There were thirty one Tigers in Africa, all of them in Panzerarmee 5.

Thanks Jeff. Much appreciated. This one is next on my to-do list :) Cheers mate!

Cheers Chris. Yep, feels a bit like that here too, "hopefully some time this year", is definitely something I have to work on..... 150+ kits and counting :) Cheers!

Thanks mate. Appreciated!

Thanks Andrew. Appreciated! Have 4 Tigers myself :) Cheers mate!

Thanks! Much appreciated! Cheers!

Thanks Tim!

Know that sickness. I have 4 Tamiya tigers already, and when they come up cheap on Ebay, I have to slap myself. :) Cheers!

Hi mate. First off, good choice choosing a Tamiya kit. I will always recommend beginners start with one of theirs. Their instructions are always clearly written, and easy to follow. Build wise. You can't usually go wrong with a Tamiya kit either, (well you can, if you choose to ignore the instructions, like some do). Tamiya kits just "Fit". There's usually not a great deal of clean up, and they go together easy. Which is why they sometimes get called "Shake 'n' Bake" kits. This Tiger kit is not a hard one to build. It has a fair number of parts, but any new kit you get nowadays will have. And there's no Photo Etch, or Resin, parts to deal with, which take a little bit of experience, just plastic. And it's all standard stuff. Read the instructions. Twice. Check you have the right bits from the right sprue. Dry fit the parts before gluing, so you know how, and where, they fit. And away you go. Here's a tip. On the instructions, use a highlighter, as you go, to mark off the bits you've done. That way if you're interrupted, no drama's about getting back into it. The biggest thing is just, Take Your Time. It's all about enjoying the hobby, not making it into a struggle. There are heaps of Tamiya Tiger I build videos out there, and Tips and Tricks videos as well. So these will help too. And if you get stuck, no matter the question, ask away. Happy to help anytime. Cheers!

@Pete's Kits thanks for the fast respond and for the great advices

@@toeseater2855 No worries. Anytime mate. Cheers

@@PetesKits There are some pieces of photo-etch for the engine covers, see 5:57. I am building this kit now and so far the only part I had to be careful with is the exact construction and placement of the wheels. The instructions are not very clear here.

@@flitsertheo Yes. The Photo Etch grills for the engine covers are a genuine Tamiya part (#35179), but you can get other After Market grills, from other suppliers. While not critical to the any armour build, PE grills just add that little bit of detail, and since they just glue flat on top of the engine covers, are probably the easiest PE parts to apply on most tanks. And I would say, yes, the wheels are probably the parts requiring the most care to get right, on the Tiger, but overall, not too hard, if you take your time. Cheers!

I think some people don't like the tracks because they are your typical vinyl tracks, that most kits have, and are not individual Links, or Link & Length tracks, and they sometimes, don't sit on a tanks wheels, like the real track did on the real tank. The cure for this of course, is to glue the vinyl tracks to the wheels, but this can be very fiddly, and doesn't always work. Of course there's always, After Market track kit, for the Tiger, but sometimes, these cost as much as the original model. Personally, I'm fine with the vinyl tracks. They look fine, especially with some mud or dirt, are relatively easy to join together, and go on without too much drama. Thanks for the question, hope this helped! Cheers!

​@@PetesKits oh i see...so do have any link or shop to buy those track...and what brand suitable for tamiya..

@@muhdnadzim7850 Best option for the After Market track is probably Ebay. I know several manufacturers make "Individual Link" kits for Tiger's; Voyager, AFV Club, Ryefield etc. Not sure if they suit just their own brand's Tiger, or all. Maybe Google something like "Best Track for Tamiya Tiger I Initial" or similar, as this could lead you to a Forum discussion page about it. It's definitely a common thing that people do, replacing vinyl track, with individual links, so pretty sure there's some good info out there about it. Hope this helps. Cheers!

@@PetesKits oh...good...many brand out there for the track tiger..ok..thanks pete's !👍

Good spotting. Never noticed that myself, but yes, the 3 view artwork on the side of the box shows the headlights in the wrong spot, even though the instructions, and the parts match the correct, Initial Tiger set up. Probably just a slight breakdown in communication between Tamiya and the artwork team. The side views are for Tamiya's "Early" Tiger I kit, just "africanised" (if that's a word). Interestingly, there are quite a few images on line that show Tigers in North Africa, with different headlight setups; singles, brackets only with no lights, or no brackets/lights at all. If you still have the kit number, check on Scalemates, that'll tell you how old she is. Built my first Tamiya Tiger back in the '70's, that's how long they've been around!

@@PetesKits Awesome! yeah, after watching your video I had to order another Tiger as I realized I had purchased the wrong kit for North Africa. I assumed (The Mother of all evils) that the early version would have an option for North Afrika since they depicted a picture of a "C" version in the directions. LOL boy was I wrong. Has all the parts just not the pedestal lights to place in front of the hull. But your right, after looking at many pictures a lot of the Tigers had them in the right place in front of the hull (Which makes me think they were an afterthought because of the crude setup. (I will have to check my book from Jentz). Others had missing lights period, but a center light usually meant it was a "Late" version of the Tiger I. If we are talking authenticity. Cheers and great job on the review.

Oh yeah... I ordered an 'Africa" version... LOL

@@JuergenGDB You can never have enough Tiger's (I have 5 now). Tamiya's "Early" version is one of the first Tiger's they made. The "Initial" Afrika version is a (relatively) late comer to Tamiya's Tiger family. The real Tiger tank, especially the first batches, went through heaps of minor changes, and add-ons. There's a couple of good Tiger I websites; "Tiger I Information Centre" has a list of all the small changes, by month, plus various pages on each variant, and "Tiger1.info" has some nice close up photos of various small parts and history/photos of various Tiger units. Glad you liked the review! Happy Tiger Building!

@@PetesKits Awesome stuff, thanks Pete! I am up to 3 Tigers now.. LOL

Yes, that's true. Tiger 131 is a case in point. Painted in overall Dark Yellow for most of her life, her current, original, colours were only discovered during a major refit, and eventually confirmed through thorough research by The Tank Museum. Pretty sure most military museums tend towards "poetic licence" when it comes to painting/restoring their exhibits. Cheers!

Ah yes. I think most kits are overpriced. But then, guess you have to take into account, shipping costs, handling etc. and the sellers profit margin. Oh for the old days (the '70's & '80's) when kits like this cost around $20 - $30 Australian. Oh well. Cheers!

@@PetesKits I have an original price tag on my kit : 1099 Belgian Francs (€ 27.24 - £ 24.15). That must have been before 2002. A similar Italeri kit would have cost about half that price (they still do). In november 2022 I paid € 30 for this kit.

@@flitsertheo Italeri kits, here in Australia, like the Tiger I, are around the same price as Tamiya 's, about $50 - $60 Aust. Most of the prices for Tamiya kits here, haven't changed much in the last 10+ years, so at least they're stable. Cheers!

@@PetesKits Italeri is based in Italy, so it would be logical that it's cheaper in Europe and in the EU in particular.

@@flitsertheo True. Pity the same doesn't apply for Tamiya here. But I guess it also depends on the market. Australia being a fairly small model market compared to the rest of the world. Especially Europe and the US.