At long last, some new German Heavy Armor! The gang at WWPD were kind enough to send me a Box of four PSC Tiger 1s. This is my first experience with PSC and I was very pleased. The box came with very clear instructions and clearly marked (color coded) parts giving the gamer an option to build early war, mid war and late war production models. I have always been a Tiger fan, I don't know why that is? Perhaps just seeing them in action on the Movie Kelly's heroes when I was young. "When we was in the bocage country, we was assaulted by them Tigers!"
History
The influence of the Tiger 1 on Allied morale, known as Tigerphobia, was so powerful that British General Montgomery banned all reports mentioning it's prowess in battle. Perhaps the Tiger's greatest fame was gained in a single action in Normandy where the famous Tiger Commander Michael Wittman destroyed an entire column of 25 tanks, 14 half-tracks and 14 bren-gun carriers in a few short minutes with one Tiger.
The Tiger's two greatest strengths were its main gun and its heavy armor. The 88mm KwK 36 L/56 main gun was the most powerful anti-tank gun then in use by any army, capable of penetrating 112 mm of armor at 1400 meters. The Tiger I had the best quality armor of any German tank. The rolled homogeneous nickel-steel plate had the best homogeneous armor hardness level of any WW II tank, meaning it was stronger and less brittle. It was used in great thicknesses on the Tiger, resulting in great weight but extreme protection. The combination of this massive armor and powerful gun made for an almost unbeatable tank. Enemy crews often watched helplessly as their shots bounced off the Tiger and their own vehicles were quickly destroyed...often from great distances. The Tiger I was very maneuverable for its weight and size, and it was only 2km/h slower than the Panzer III and Panzer IV.THE GOOD
The models themselves are very high quality with remarkable detail! The options to build early, mid or late production models make purchasing PSC models very attractive and easy to fit into what ever range you are gaming in. The models are light weight and store very easily without weighing down your carrying system. Buying four PSC Tigers are much cheaper the buying four BF Tigers.
The box is a great deal, including stowage, smoke launchers and extra track links, and tank commanders! Because the molds are so new, I had very little work to get the models prepped for painting.
The level of detail was just right, they look really crisp and clean right out of the box.
The level of detail was just right, they look really crisp and clean right out of the box.
THE BAD
The tracks need a very slight trim to fit just right
There is a very noticeable gap between the turret top plate and the turret side armor. That noticeable gap continues on the hull deck plate and hull side armor. There are several ways to address this; The first is to ignore it as its a gaming model (I know, blasphemy!), the second is too put a little extra paint in the seem during painting to make the gap less noticeable, and finally, for the purist, to fill the gaps with a little green stuff or model putty prior to painting to completely eliminate the gaps.
There are some gamers that will find the lack of model weight a distractor. Solid resin models have a nice "heft" to them; PSC, hollow models, do not. However, this can be overcome by filling the empty hull with putty or putting some weights on the inside of them before gluing the two chassis pieces together.Comparison
in the attached photo you can see the PSC Tiger on the right while the BF Tiger is on the left. The observer will note the BF model is just a bit "meatier" (I think that's the technical term)
Grade
9 out of 10 Track Links
9 out of 10 Track Links
