Extreme Metal late Tiger I

[kennyj]

The Unimax Extreme Metal series is indeed an acquired taste. However, I find them an excellent basis for detailing/kitbashing. So I was really geeked over the scheduled Tiger I "white 222."

Alas, I'm afraid a ghastly error has been made in the running gear (at least on the prototype.) The resilient steel road wheels are arranged in the same manner as the interleaved rubber ones on early and intermediate examples. In other words, the lead wheel is set OUTward, whereas, at least in every reference I'm seen, it should be INset. I emailed customer service on this and was given a polite but non-committal "thanks."

Even if the final product still has this glaring error (and I have the feeling it will), it is not a fatal flaw for the reasonably experienced armor smith. But it will probably take some serious work to rearrange the running gear on this potentially outstanding vehicle.

I'm not trying to discourage sales here, but I thought all you 1/16th folks should know. (If you haven't noticed already.)

I'm not really sure about the turret number white 222 either. Depending on which account one believes, 222 was the second tank Wittmann used at Villers Bocage, when he RE-entered the village and was promptly disabled by the British AT gun

Penny for your thoughts and all the best. The Squid.

[grunt1]

That is good to know. Be interesting to see if they address it or take the nobody will notice (cept you of course) route.

Does anyone have a picture of their FOV 1/16 tiger next to the 21C 1/18 Tiger?

[MG-42]

It's not out yet and I would pass on it anyway. Due to the fact it has no interior ,.. predominately plastic + = it's cost. I'm waiting on 21st.Century's version of "Wittmanns Last Tiger" # 007 (probably 21st.Century's last Tiger i.e. ..before retirement) and their new KingTiger.

[flpickupman]

I'd say they dropped the ball on that one. Sheesh.

If they do retire the Tiger, hopefully it will be in order to introduce an Early Production variant. Or at least a reasonable facsimilie thereof. Heck, all they really need to do is produce some Early Production roadwheels. I've just about got the rest covered.

Oh yeah, and a 1/18 Feifel air filter kit would be nice too.

[grunt1]

Oh sorry bout that.. How about any of the earlier 1/16 Tigers side by side with the 21C 1/18 Tiger I?

[hworth18]

The roadwheels are in the wrong order, but it isn't the first time FOV screwed up on the Tiger I.. On their 1/32 Tiger I , the tracks are ALL wrong....

[digger]

Not my cup of tea at 1:16 and $400 but you'd think at that rate they would get it spot-on or darn near close. The lack of interior and cool crate hurt too..

[Yoxford]

Recon on the FOV 1/16 Tiger 1

The steel road wheels are arranged correctly on the production model.
It does have some interior detail! (The turret does not remove but what detail there is can be seen from the open hatches.)

I own the first release of the King Tiger and always had issues with the way it sits a bit to high on the suspension and the huge hinges for the front mud flaps. Its like Unimax created a great sculpture of Michael Angelo’s David with a clown nose. ( Not to complain too much as I have spent over $100.00 on upgrades and scratch building details for the beast and am now quite happy that I bought it)

The 222 Tiger I just looks much more accurate. Thus I once again, I am shelling out big bucks for a big Tank. After all it IS a Tiger I and I am having serious German AFV withdrawals

When it arrives, I will follow up with a more detailed review.

[VMF115]

Not my cup of tea at 1:16 and $400 but you'd think at that rate they would get it spot-on or darn near close. The lack of interior and cool crate hurt too..

Sarcastic switch mode: ON

If they added an interior and made the road wheels in the correct position, then it would cost 600 dollars.
I guess they made them for kids who would not know the difference

Sarcastic switch mode: OFF

No interior and a price tag of 400 turned me off.

[chunks]

The road wheels are in the correct position. Compared to the earlier Tiger II, it is a big improvement. I have yet to peer into the Tiger II's interior since I put it together, so that's not a big deal.

My 21st tiger will be headed to work now that I've a superior replacement for it. That is not a put down for 21st effort, I just don't need dup's is all.

[chunks]

Also the lack of wood crate is a big minus. I'm still using pieces of it for tinder. Not being sarcastic, wood for heat is good!!

[Zartan]

Here are some pictures of the New Wittman Tiger. Again, it sits too high like the King Tiger. The king Tiger is heavier than the Tiger and with my King Tigers, you can push them down a bit and get the desired height you want. The tiger is lighter and you won't be able to do that.

I have taken one of these right apart and there is a fair amount of detail (sorry, don't have pis) inside. The suspension can be tweaked with but you will have to dismantle the gas tanks, radiators and front seats to get at it which are all glued in and thats after you take the tank apart. I think it's sitting about a half inch too high, just like the King Tigers when the suspension is in full extension.

Haven't compared pictures of real ones to comment on the road wheels. Paint job is really good, don’t know if it’s a 100% correct….I have read here that the fire extinguisher should be gray. When I get it all together with accessories I will add more pictures.

The barrel looks a bit short.

16 inches long with out the barrel
20.5 inches long with the barrel (measured from the very end of the exhaust shield to the tip of the barrel
9.5 inches wide
just under 7.5 inches high to the top of the copula


http://tonys-toys.net/FOV/WittmanTiger.jpg

[VMF115]

It does look nice.

[GooglyDoogly]

Yeah the hull sits a bit too high, me thinks. But not by much. I think when you put the mudguards in place, you'd barely see the difference.

But I hope the mudguards doesn't look like the box cover.....that just look horrendous.

As for the paint job, it's pretty much spot on. I'm not even gonna touch that turret number debate. My only complaint was the placement of the divisional markings. But that's just minor, not really worthy complaint.

Hmmmm it looks like it has the old early-style idler wheels. And the muzzle break too. Late Tigers have the same muzzle break as the King Tigers. This cat looks like it has the early-type.

[Rowsdower]

I agree with the above mentioned concerns. With that said, I wouldn't complain if Santa left one under my christmas tree. But I'll probably just get coal as usual.

[Zartan]

Here are some more pictures of the inside and with the fenders on. The Turret has a fair amount of detail inside but I didn't want to take it apart. I have lowered the suspension just under a quarter of a inch, I had to disassemble the inside to get to it which can be seen in the pictures. The muzzle break should be like the King Tiger's like Googly said.

http://tonys-toys.net/FOV/wittman.jpg

[VMF115]

Here are some more pictures of the inside and with the fenders on. The Turret has a fair amount of detail inside but I didn't want to take it apart. I have lowered the suspension just under a quarter of a inch, I had to disassemble the inside to get to it which can be seen in the pictures. The muzzle break should be like the King Tiger's like Googly said.

http://tonys-toys.net/FOV/wittman.jpg

WOW thats nice. I guess I judged to quickly, a retailer told me that there would be no interior detail.

[GooglyDoogly]

Wooo, thanks Zartan for the review and pics. I'm really impressed by this.
I'm planning/saving in trying to convert a 1/16 Tamiya Tiger I kit into a late Tiger with aftermarket parts. But I estimated that will cost me around $800 and up.

And the mudguards doesn't look too bad.

I can't wait to get mine.

(If I can get a hold of ToyFederation... )

[Yoxford]

Zartan,

Thanks for the inside scoop.

Question: once inside, what did you do with the springs to get the suspension down under a quarter of a inch?

[Zartan]

Hi, no problem everyone, glad I could be of help. I guess when they meant no interior detail, they meant you can’t get inside it like the King Tiger. For Yoxford, I don't do anything with the springs...all I did was get some then electronic wire about a mm thick and double it up, compress the road wheel all the way up and stick the wire in the open slot. Depress the road wheel and this jams up against the wire, holding the wire in place and not letting the suspension max out. This doesn't ruin the model in any way and can be taken out and put back to FOV's stock position if need be.

I did this with my King Tigers as well but you do it from the outside with the tracks off on the king tiger rather than the inside like the Wittman tiger. The King Tigers are top heavy enough that you can just press down on them and get that right height you desire. Anyways, I will get a few more pictures up when the model is complete.

One question though to all the detail nuts, is the loop on the top of the antenna supposed to be there? ....like the antennas on the 1/16 King Tigers and all the other FOV 1/32 items? I can't stand those loops and I haven’t seen them in any real pictures. With the king Tigers I just added my own custom antenna but with the tiger the antenna is attached to the base and I have to un-attach it in order to add a custom antenna which I have not been able to do as of yet without ruining the original antenna by cutting the loop off which I don’t want to do.

[GooglyDoogly]

Nope. That loop is just there so FOV won't get sued if someone poke their eyes out.

One question. Did this Tiger comes with the engine mesh grills?

[bird]

I've not seen a 1:16 or a 1:18 tank in a store, (only jpegs) so i'm wondering if you could use this 1:18 tiger tank with your 1:18 scale figures?

[Yoxford]

Zartan,

Thanks for the suspension fix. I will be doing that when mine arrives.

GooglyDoogly is quite right about the toy antenna...The Tip of a actual panzer antenna is tapered. The good news is you can order a scale 1/16 Tiger I antenna made from spring steel from backyard Armor (www.backyardarmor.com)
to match the real version.

[Yoxford]

Tiger 222 just arrived and I am very impressed.

A few things need to be tweeked (periscopes, rear deck screens, weathering bits) but it is a much improved model over their King Tiger release.

From the engine detail, the paint, to the tow cables, Unimax did a good job.

As far as the suspension goes, I barley have to push mine down and it stays there. I dont know if I lucked out but the springs seem looser than the ones in my King Tiger.

All in all, in my opinion, well worth the wait and price of admission.

[Zartan]

Yoxford, good to hear you didn't have to rip it apart to tweak the suspension. Below are a few pictures of mine all together, added a custom antenna.

My buddy ordered some of these direct from Panache place, a few had warped/bent barrels, something I can't stand, it's honestly the last thing I want to see on a model tank. So they are sending some replacement's since we are not going to send them back. I told them to send me a previous release King Tiger barrel along as well if they still had any spares kicking around. If so I'm going to change the muzzle brake.

http://tonys-toys.net/FOV/tiger1.jpg