1/72 Hasegawa Tiger I Ausf E

This was the other kit I bought at the recent Partizan. I built it today, in just a few hours, which is my fastest build to date. I love this kit! Why? Because it was so easy to build. All the parts fitted like so many fairy-tale glass slippers on Cinderelly's little feet.

I can't judge how well this model represents the tank it portrays, as I'm not sufficiently au fait with Tigers (nor any materiel of this sort, to be ferpectly honest). And it is rather basic in some respects; just take a butchers at those blank-disc wheels above!

But the finished model, and the road to getting there, are - in my opinion - tickety-boo. There are a load of excellent little touches in the design and construction of this model that make it a real pleasure to build. 

For example, the axles for certain sets of wheels (and the corresponding holes in the appropriate wheels) are of differing diameters. Perhaps not authentic re the vehicle itself, but brilliant in terms of ease of construction. And the missing detail is, frankly, superfluous anyway, as it's invisible.

Anyway, backtracking a bit; this tank kit is unusual in that it starts with construction of the gun and turret, followed by the chassis/casemate, etc., leaving the running-gear till later. Every single component of this kit reeked of tidy-minded and well thought out design. I was particularly struck by this when assembling the hull.

Admittedly this is neither the most complex nor most detailed kit out there. But neither is it in the Roco Minitanks or Armour Fast camp, having sufficient parts to really merit the term 'build'. Pictured below are the completed turret and hull, with all road-wheels attached, with just the hull detail - front and rear - plus 'mudguards' (if such they are?) remaining to be glued in place.

Even the old rubber-band tracks in this kit are decent, being easy to construct and affix. I finished this just after midnight, and decided to put up a post pronto. I'll give it a base coast tomorrow (well, later today, I guess!).

But my immediate conclusion? This was a very well-spent fiver! A great little kit, fast and fun to build, and looks good once made. In contrast to the Itaeri Hetzer, posted recently (and also acquired at the recent Partizan), the two crew in this kit fit in the tank perfectly.

Definitely recommended.