ESCI – 8330 – 8008 – KoenigTiger (KingTiger)

Description:

KoenigTiger (KingTiger)

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/72 scale of a German WWII Tiger II heavy tank, also known as Königstiger or King Tiger by the Allies.

This kit was one of the earliest ESCI models, tooled in 1974. It took 28 long years till Revell tooled a new kit for the German King Tiger in 1/72 scale and even more till Dragon or other makers did it. Nowadays this newer versions are considered better than the ESCI kit, but maybe with the exception of the wheels and tracks the ESCI detail pair in many aspects these newer kits.

One of the main odds of this kit, is that wheels have been simplified in a double-width single piece, rather than two, this simplification also affects the tracks inner design. The early releases, with single piece tracks even worse, improved a bit with the link and length tracks of the ESCI-Ertl releases and later Italeri reissues. The side skits hides most of the drivetrain, but these side skirts are moulded as a single piece, which introduces another problem.

The kit includes three figures, two of them half figures and one full figure. The hull has hatches openable, though they lack of detail in the inner side. In the turret, only the commander’s cupola is openable but the loader’s one, not. The ESCI kit lacks of pioneers tools, but hasn’t them tooled on hull as other brands did later, not sure what’s better, depends on each one taste.

See Italeri – 7004 – Sd.Kfz.182 King Tiger with pictures of the sprues, the same included in this kit.