Tiger I Late - Dragon (7203) Trumpeter (07244)

I bought 3 Tigers from Dragon which include zimmerit and 2 Tigers from trumpeter without, i did buy a PE zimmerit set, which was actually meant for a revell Tiger kit, but it nearly fit the Trumpeter model aswell. There ain't really much difference on these kits, they both represent the Tiger I late production version, which was the last version of the tiger to be made in the end of 1944.

There are pros and cons thought.

1. The biggest strenght of the Dragon kit is clearly the zimmerit which as usual looks great
2. The tools on the upper hull is also better on the Dragon kit, especially the towing cables which are actual metal cable in the Dragon kit, unlike the Trumpeter kit where it is some kind of rubber, which i think is a worse solution than just plastic because it ain't easy to cut off any excess mold
3. The muzzle brake looks alot better on the Trumpeter kit, it doesn't look bad on the Dragon kit but it is more accuratly portrayed on the Trumpeter Tiger
4. The idler wheels on the Dragon Tiger is either not made properly or i managed to mess it up somehow all 3 times i build the kit, it's nothing major but it will require modification to fit properly between the road wheels, this is not a problem on the Trumpeter Tiger where all the wheels are nicely made at fits together perfectly
5. The Dragon kit also comes with abit of PE parts, in this kit it is only the exhaust guards whould would make it easier to give them a dented look if that is what one would want
6. Beside the inaccuracy of how the 88mm gun is portrayed on the Dragon Tiger the only other real flaw is the loaders hatch which is just completely wrong, i don't know what they have been smoking when they made that. I don't really mind since i don't care if the little tiny tank is not 100% historical accurate, but since it looks correct on the Trumpeter Tiger i doubt Dragon couldn't do it properly

Since i haven't build a Dragon Tiger without zimmerit i can't tell if i would prefer that to the Trumpeter one, but as it is right now i would definitely buy Dragon if i wanted zimmerit and Trumpeter if i wanted a Tiger without. Trumpeter also make a mid and early production kit of the Tiger I, well and so does Dragon. 

If you could get your hans on a metal barrel and muzzle brake for the Tiger to use on the Dragon kit it would beat the Trumpeter kit, because that really is the only big downside.

Painting

I usually paint my tanks in pairs of two, i think 1 wouldn't be enough for me and 3 to much, since painting some things can be quite tedious and i would go insane if i had to paint the same thing 3 times in a row. With 2 models at i time the paint is usually almost dry when im finished painting both of them and i can start a new paint on the first model.

I painted the 2 Dragon Tigers first, and since i had just recived some beautiful Panzer Crew figures from AB Figures i just had to paint some commanders for them aswell.

Here i startet painting the 2 Dragon Tigers on the left and  did some of the camo on one of the Trumpeter Tigers, the second is behind it still in its primer

Dragon Tigers

The painting process i used on these 2 are the same as always, here are some pictures of the process.

Wash and first drybrush

Both drybush done, details next

Here are a few pictures of the two Tank commanders i choose for these Tigers, this is my first try at painting this small realistic millitary figures, but i think they turned out ok. (I have painted quite alot of Warhammer figures in my day thought) 

I think the skin tone became abit to tan but could fix it if i wanted too.
Both are from a British miniature site called AB Figures and they make the most astonishing wargaming miniatures i have ever seen.

Trumpeter

Im afraid i don't have any pictures of the start of the painting process of my Trumpeter Tigers, but i got some of the Tigers with finished paintjob.

I do quite like how the camo turned out on these, the one with the mostly green camo is the Tiger with the PE zimmerit set, which is why it doesn't quite fit everywhere. The first couple of pictures show the tanks after the black wash is dry, i tried to thin it abit more on these than i did on the Dragon Tigers because i think they became a tad to dark. After those pictures the next drybrush of buff is applied, you might not be able to tell much difference but it is there, and it bring out the detail nicely.

Finished Tigers

Dragon

Trumpeter

I'm missing decals on all of the Tigers, but i'm waiting to get some decal softener home which should make it easier to apply them properly to surfaces covered with zimmerit.

I got another Dragon Tiger just waiting to get painted, think i will paint it together with my other Panther G, but next project is a couple of Stug IV i think.