BUILDING YOUR TIGER TWO’S…

Constructing, correcting and detailing the 1/72 scale

ESCI Tiger Ausf. B and the ESCI Jagdtiger.

By Stephen Brezinski

Photo 1. Left side of the completed Tiger Ausf. B (Tiger 2) on its Matchbox cobble street base, with accompanying Revell 1/72 figures. In this photo you can see the bent (battle damaged skirt over the second road wheel. The tow cable & tools are scratch built. I tried to find a suitable city scene as a backdrop but am unsuccessful so far.

Introduction…

These two German vehicles of World War 2 are fairly well known to many so I will not go into detail on the vehicle’s development and action. As this particular version of the Jagdtiger is a bit unusual I will pass on what I do know about it. The SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger was developed from the Tiger 2 hull with a simple heavily armored box and mounting a 128 mm Kwk gun developed from the German 128 mm Flak gun. The Jagdtiger version I constructed, rather than the typical 128 mm gun armed SdKfz 186, is the 88 mm Kwk 43 armed SdKfz. 185 Jagdtiger. This Jagdtiger version I constructed is suspected of being produced in the spring of 1945 when there was a shortage of 128 mm tank guns. It is claimed that in 1999 one of these 88 mm armed Jagdtigers, known to some as the "Simenides Jadgtiger, was discovered in Poland (possibly in what used to be Eastern Germany?). At the time I write this, little further information or photos have been released to the public. Only 85 Jagdtigers out of an order of 150 were produced, including maybe four to 12 of the 88 mm armed vehicles.

This article will be a construction review of the two ESCI kits with some tips for correcting or adding detail, as you chose to do.

The Models

The two kits are good representations of the vehicles and even for today’s standards are good models, though not up to current Revell quality and accuracy. Basic shape and detail is good. The most serious problems lie in the roadwheels, turret roof fixtures and the engine deck. This will be covered in more detail below. The lower hulls, engine deck, suspension, tracks and three figures are common between the two kits. The Tiger 2 has a turret and 88 mm gun, while the Jagdtiger has the box superstructure molded onto the top of the hull and an 128 mm gun and mantlet. Neither model is currently in production though can still be found in collections, on E-Bay and at model shows.

Overall fit was fine, not superb, requiring filler around the hull sections. I am not into measuring angles and scale inches so did not check this aspect of either kit.

Photo 2. This is the Jagdtiger sprues with kit instructions. The wheels at right are common to both kits, as is the engine deck. Note the details of the rear door construction, allowing the door to be modeled open or closed.

Construction & Detailing References

The first basic book I recommend is Squadron’s Tiger In Action book. It gives a decent representation of the Tiger and its variants, a little history, line drawings & color plates, and is inexpensive. To compliment this Schiffer offers several inexpensive books on the Tiger series, and Osprey’s New Vanguard #1 has some good, concise development & operational history of the Tiger 2 as well as helpful color plates. For those who do not mind spending the money I recommend the hardcover books by J J Fedorowicz and by Schiffer Publication.

One of my preferred sources for detailing are the sharp photos of the many superb 1/35 scale models at websites such as Missing Links, Track Links, Panzernet and others. The models are large enough for good close-up photos and the builders have usually done their homework in the areas of details and paint schemes. (Otherwise I don’t find too much use for 1/35 scale. On the other hand I may let my daughter date 1/35 AFV modelers, though I draw the line at plane modelers! (Just kidding!)).

A very good website for historical and technical info on German AFV’s is George Parada’s Achtung Panzer at www.achtungpanzer.com/pz5.htm. For another construction and detailing review of the ESCI Tiger 2 kit check out http://digilander.iol.it/paolopmp/Military/veicoi_1_72/kingtiger/kingtiger.html. If you do not read Italian, the photos will be worth the visit.

The Tiger 2 Turret

• ESCI’s turret has a nicely done commander’s cupola with open periscope guards, weld seams and overall shape. The hatch can be made to open and close. As the cupola was not cast into the roof, I scribed a groove where the two join as seen in photos of the real tank.

• For a reason unbeknownst to me, ESCI positioned the turret roof-ventilator and roof smoke-discharger in the wrong places! With a razor, these should be shaved off and reglued in their proper positions if you wish. This is where the line drawings in Squadron’s book come in handy.

• To add a light cast texture to the gun mantlet, try spreading a coating of slow-drying Testor’s cement over the mantlet and dabble it with a stiff toothbrush. After drying it should have a nice cast texture.

• The commander’s and the rear turret hatch can be modeled open; though if you do you should add interior detail, including all the rounds held on each side of the rear door.

• The kit comes with spare tracks to mount on the turret sides of the Tiger (superstructure sides of the Jagdtiger) though the directions tell you to mount them backwards with the outside face (the part that faces the ground) facing out. This is incorrect. To mount them properly you’ll have to add track teeth. The easiest way is to leave the spare tracks off. I added the brackets [made from brass strip] to the turret sides where I did not mount spare tracks (remember these spare tracks were not held there by gravity, and the brackets appear to have been welded on at the factory). The locations for these brackets are represented by little nubs on the models. Shave the nubs off before adding brass brackets.

Photo 3. At the left is a 1/76 Fujimi turret for comparison purposes, followed by an unbuilt ESCI Tiger 2 turret, and then my completed turret at the far right. Here you can see that the Fujimi turret has the locations for the smoke discharger, shell-ejection port, and the jib-crane mounting points correct.

Photo 4. Left side of the completed Jagdtiger on its modified-Matchbox base, with ESCI and Revell figures. The primer red-brown base color is a little too red in the photo. The green and dunkelgelb camouflage over the factory primer represents a hasty field application by the crew, as described in my source material for the vehicle {a friend and I refer to this as my "clown camouflage". We are not fond of it on esthetic grounds but I understand it is an accurate representation]. The AA machine gun mounted on the engine deck did exist on some Jagdtigers though is speculation for this vehicle. The mg ammunition belt is simulated with flattened wire coil. Note the skirt mounting brackets (in pairs below the cable) on the lower hull side, made from plastic strip. Just in front of the commander’s arm is the gunsight periscope.

• Three mounting points for the turret-mounted winch frame were added to the roof of the Tiger 2, made by inserting pieces of short brass tube in through holes drilled in the turret roof (see Photo 5 and references). I understand these "pintel" points were common to late-war panzers so the turret could be used to lift out an engine or transmission for service. I also added lifting lugs/rings made from bent copper wire and inserted in drilled holes. Machine gun and gunsite holes will need to be drilled in the turret front. Details like this are well seen in the line drawings and website models I noted above.

• Where the 88 mm gun barrel of the Tiger 2 mounts to the cast mantlet, there are five bolts around the front of the mantlet [see Photo 1]. I added these bolts with stretched sprue (a small detail that helps). The mantlet for the Jagdtiger was different than the Tiger 2 and I do not believe it had these bolts.

The Jagdtiger & Tiger 2 Hulls

• The ESCI hulls are basically good, with accurate shapes and, other than filling in gaps, I made no changes. The weld seams are very nice.

• I opted to dispense with the kit-supplied tools. They looked good, but to me didn’t look in-scale. The hand tools I made from wire, aluminum sheet, and styrene. All the tools and cables were held down by brackets simulated by strips of aluminum sheet. A fire extinguisher was scratch-made from rod and installed next to the right-rear engine fan. These details were done for both kits.

Photo 5. Right side of the Tiger B. This is a good view of the zimmerit pattern I applied. I real life the model’s engine screens are more transparent than in this photo. On the left (driver’s) side of the glacis is the chipped zimmerit and two AT shell impacts barely visible. A dark oil wash accents the wheels well. Note the antenna on the engine deck located in its corrected position next to the fire extinguisher.

• On the engine deck of both kits, the antenna mount was cut off and moved to its correct location for both vehicles. On the engine deck of the Jagdtiger I used "artists license" to mount an ESCI MG 34 AA mg on a brass rod [some 128mm armed Jagdtigers had this though I have no idea if the 88 armed vehicles had one… but it looks good!].

• On the rear plate I added a scratchbuilt jack-block, tow-cable hooks, and a jack copied in resin from another kit [see Photos 4 and 7].

• The real Jagdtiger hull was actually about 300 mm longer than the Tiger 2 hull though this is not represented in ESCI’s Jagdtiger kit. This is about 4.2 mm in 1/72 scale and I did not bother to correct it.

• The tow cables from the kit are very nice, though I felt some scratchbuilt ones were needed. With the kit’s cables you may either leave a molding seam running its length or live with a flat area where you scraped it off. My cables I made from cotton twine coated in white glue to hold down the fuzz. Nylon twine the same size would do better.

• In Photo 5 you’ll note a finer cable forward of the heavy tow cable on the right side. This is a track-pulling cable not included with either kit. One end of this cable would be attached to the sprocket and the other to the track end… engaging the sprocket would then pull the track up over the wheels.

Photo 6. Rear view of the late Jagdtiger. Being built in April 1945, no zimmerit would have been applied. Note that the exhaust pipe armor guards around the mufflers were scribed out. The scratchbuilt tow cables and tools added on. The rear door is ajar though I added no interior detail. On the right side of the rear plate is a scratchbuilt jack-block that is not included in the kit. The raised areas have been highlighted with artist oils. Unit markings on the real vehicle, driven right out of the factory would have been sparse of non-existent. More vegetation will be added later; I left it off for now so as not to obscure any details for the photo.

• The Tiger-2 I wished to model needed zimmerit. This I made using Stucco modeling putty (from Italy), a small jeweler’s screwdriver to make the pattern, and a small T-square. Stucco putty is I believe, the best modeling putty available, though is hard to find. Modeling the zimmerit is tedious: decide on the pattern, smear on a square cm of putty, and stab in the pattern with the screwdriver tip before the putty dries using the small T-square to insure the pattern is vertical. The Jagdtiger I produced would have been made after the application of zimmerit had ceased in September of 1944.

• The 88-mm gun barrel for this Jagdtiger I stole from a Jagdpanther kit, though one from a Tiger 2 would do. My information on the vehicle states that it was mounted through the regular Jagdtiger mantlet but had no muzzle brake. Instead of a muzzle break it had a cylindrical weight to help balance the gun mount.

• Both vehicles got engine vent screens from a fine nylon mesh found at a fabric store. This mesh is finer than any etched brass set for this scale, and easier to cut.

• While the Tiger 2 had an armored exhaust fan cover located between the driver & radio operator’s roof hatches, the Jagdtiger had it located on the right froward corner to the right of the r/o hatch. This roof vent is another item that ESCI left out of the Jagdtiger kit. I duplicated it by shaping a thick styrene disk and gluing it slightly elevated off the roof. While on the subject of vents, it is a good time to mention that you may wish to correct the round engine deck vents by scribing under and around them them. To get a better understanding of what I am referring to see the mushroom-shaped fittings down the centerline of the engine deck, between the fans [photos 5 and 6].

The Suspension

• The sprocket and return wheel are superb. I feel the roadwheels could also be superb except for a major problem. Each roadwheel in the kit actually represents two roadwheels mounted together side by side. Perhaps for lack of space and cost, ESCI molded them as one thick wheel. To correct this I carefully cut a groove down the center of the wheel and then widened the groove with a wedge shaped file to simulate two wheels. This is a very time consuming and tedious though very necessary correction. In your references you will note that the Tiger 2 had a different interleaving of the wheels from the Panther and Tiger 1. I understand that this system was less prone to clogging with mud and ice and was intended for the planned Panther II tank.

• The suspension is supported by torsion bars that are reasonably represented and not seen after construction if the model is affixed to a base.

• There is a choice of two different tracks for the kits. A very nice styrene "link & length" type and the older polyethylene "rubber band" type. The styrene tracks looked the much better of the two though lack track teeth and inside detail. As I planned no fenders on the Jagdtiger I chose them for this vehicle. Fit was great excepting around the sprocket, which required very little work. With a little extra work you can glue track teeth on the inside between the wheels.

• The rubber band type tracks were used on the Tiger-2 where I could hide the area they joined under the side skirts. [Remember to not apply zimmerit under the skirts.] I particularly dislike this track material used by ESCI. It is stiff, prone to cracking, when bent it can strain & bend the wheel axles, and resists all but one glue I have found: a two part cyanoacrylate glue. To inhibit cracking when bent around the wheels, I wrap this type of track around a dowel, approximately the size of the sprocket or roadwheel, and then soak it in hot (not boiling) water till the track holds its shape (3 to 4 seconds). I then glue the track to the wheels. This beats tying them down with thread!

• The rear mudguard on the Tiger 2 was taken from a Hasegawa Tiger 1 kit and looks fairly accurate. The Jagdtiger was given no fenders, as it would appear freshly transported by rail. On all the Tiger tanks, they were so wide that the fenders had to be removed and even narrower transport-tracks fitted on in order to fit through many tunnels. The fenders may also be ripped off and damaged while bruising through the countryside. The fenders on the Tiger-2 I understand to have been fairly heavy steel and not prone to crumpling like a truck or lighter tank fender.

Photo 7. rear and left side of the Tiger B. On the turret side I added spare tracks, as I believe was added at the factory. Track teeth were added. Below these tracks are brackets that held the track links on. On the turret roof are the added lifting rings and winch/crane sockets. The rear mud flaps were stolen from a Hasegawa Tiger 1. Also visible is the jack below the exhaust pipe, not included with either kit. [Ignore the date on the photos, the photos were taken in Oct. 2000.]

Store-bought Details

• I am not aware of any etched brass detail sets for either kit, and being out-of-production at this time, I do not expect any. Some fittings from Eduard’s and ExtraTech’s brass sets for the 1/72 Revell Panther kits can be used, such as engine screens.

• There are resin cast replacement turrets available with zimmerit molded in, or cast as the early Porsche turret. I have not seen these so cannot give any opinion.

Painting & Markings

• My Tiger I patterned after a tank of sPzAbt 503 (Heavy Tank Battalion 503) attached to the Feldherrnhalle Panzergrenadier Div. in Budapest, Hungary in the spring of 1945. This was a Heer (army) unit, not SS. [See Panzer Colors II, pg. 61; and Osprey’s New vanguard 1, pg. 21-26 for details].

• The Tiger was given a base-coat of Poly-S Depot Buff acrylic paint applied with an Iwata airbrush. A pattern of brown and green Poly-Scale acrylic was applied matching the vehicles in my references as best possible.

• As explained above, the information for the Jagdtiger paint scheme and markings was from a long description I got from George Bradford’s AFV News Discussion Forum. Whether it was accurate or not, time will tell. It may have not had any balkencruz though I added one on each side to dress the model up a little more.

• On the Jagdtiger I applied a base of Poly-S red brown acrylic. The base-color of red primer was quite common at the time of the war (early 1945) due to paint shortages. Its a widely accepted evaluation at this time that the many late-war vehicles thought to be painted in dark panzer gray are actually in primer red or all olive green. The yellow and green is described as being hastily slopped on with brushes and rags (also common in this period).

• The markings are decals I got from my parts box. Prior to application I added acrylic floor wax to the areas to insure a smooth surface. After applying the decals onto the Tiger, several coatings of decal solvent/setting solution were applied over two days to help them snuggle down into the zimmerit.

The Bases & Figures

• Since I had a favorite model stolen at a show in Maryland last year I always mount my kits on a base in order to make them harder to "pocket".

• The Tiger 2 base is from Matchbox’s 1/76 Monty’s Caravan kit and is pretty convincing (with a little work) as a 1940’s European city street [in this case Budapest, Hungary]. Using acrylics, I started out a light gray, and then painted a number of the cobbles varying shades of darker gray and gray-tan. The trolley tracks were painted a rusty steel and black wash. Building debris was simulated with broken plaster sheetrock and chunks of broken Polyester resin [the stuff you cut off the resin kits before assembly].

• The Jagdtiger base was made from a Matchbox dio-base that I cut up and built-up with Celuclay. Based on my reference for this vehicle, it is supposed to represent a hastily dug-in vehicle on a "Pak Front".

• My figures are Revell 1/72 polyurethane figures. The uniforms are middle and late war and are a mix of camouflage smocks and long coats. At this period of the Eastern Front fighting it was common to find an assortment of uniforms and units brought together in ad-hoc battle groups. Represented are Heer soldat’s (soldiers) with a Panzerfaust, an MP-44 rifle, and a flame-thrower (all ideal city-combat items). The figures were painted with acrylics, which adheres better to soft plastic figures. I accented them with a dark wash and artists oil to highlight.

Conclusion

Overall I am happy with the kits and recommend them. Except for the look of the camouflage of the Jagdtiger I am pleased with both models. With ESCI’s disappearance these are great subjects for Revell or Hasegawa to do in 1/72, but at today’s modeling standards.

Happy modeling.