This model had been less than half finished for some time. I made the mistake of following some muddled and/or false information about the accuracy of the model picked up from the Internet and got discouraged with the build. I went back to it after picking up the most recent Tamiya Tiger I and comparing them. I also found some excellent scale plans for the Tiger from a museum source (based on the vehicle they actually had). Suffice it to say the Academy Tiger is very accurate, asymmetric turret and all. I will only need to fill and rescribe one small recessed detail (seen as roughed out in the pics with marker) . This is the kit without the full interior. I also have the full interior version. Although I want to keep this build simple, I decided to use a resin mantlet from Hussar of a style specific to some early Tigers. I actually have a couple of specific marking options and decals to choose from, both with the reinforced mantlet. I also went with a metal barrel from RB Productions.

I worked for some time on building up single link tracks from Academy, purchased as after market add-ons. These are nice and hefty and well-detailed but each link had a number of small circular mold mark to remove. The other time consuming activity was painting the rubber rims on all the many road wheels. This is something that also took a lot of time on my Panther. All that work is done now and the tracks have been built up around the wheels for realistic sag. Like many modelers, I find the lines of the Tiger really interesting. Although I am not a rabid fan of German tanks I am currently going for one of each major type for my collection of builds (Panther, Tiger, King Tiger, Panzer III and IV etc ). I think the tracks and overall appearance of the Tiger look pretty good to my eye so far. Opinions and observations welcome.

Thanks for your response Erik. It does feel a bit like revisiting an old friend when I pull a model out of storage like this one - I sort of meet up with my old self when I find the bits and pieces of tools, components and research materials temporarily set aside years ago. I had put quite a bit of work into it and it was sad to put it away. Right now I am getting all the more challenging stuff done first (like the tracks) and making rapid progress (for me). I expect to get the model done in the next few weeks.