Re: The above- THAT should be pretty interesting! FYI, ZVEZDA is making a Tiger II with the "Henschell" Turret, and they are supposed to be doing the "Porsche" Turret Tiger II, scheduled for release in 2016. ACADEMY has been doing a "final" Tiger II for some time, and I believe EDUARD has done a "Profi Pack" re-boxed ACADEMY(?) Tiger II, as well. Now, I can't personally vouch for the ZVEZDA or the ACADEMY Tiger IIs, as opposed to the DRAGON Tiger II-series (also their Jagdtigers), which are in their own right, EXCELLENT kits. It's a moot point regarding the TAMIYA Tiger IIs, as they are quite dated, though with some work, they are still viable entries into the fray... Maybe someone can venture an opinion or better yet, go ahead and do some sort of a combined "comparo-build" of all available 1/35 Tiger II kits? Back in the 1970s, NICHIMO also produced 1/35 Tiger IIs, but once the TAMIYA Tiger IIs were released, the NICHIMO Tiger IIs were very rapidly shot into the weeds...[/quote] Sadly, the Zvezda king Tigers are re-pops of Dragon kits minus all of the metal parts. I have the Henschel kit and it is mostly parts from Dragon's first kit 6208. Strangely, the turret shell is different to any I have encounter before in the dragon kits. I'm pretty sure it is from their pre built king tigers they used to sell. Zvezda have replaced the etched grills and metal tow cables with nylon mesh and a length of thread. Somehow they have also managed to introduce sink marks into the kit too! Academy's kit looks good, but not quite as good as Dragon's. I can't see anything in that kit that is noticeably better. I think the turret shape is wrong, and some parts are not in the right position. I haven't got the kit so I can't be 100% but every photo I have seen of that kit makes me think something isn't quite right. The Eduard kit is a re-box of the Academy kit. The only plus I can see for the Tamiya kits are that they are easy to build and well molded. It is bottom of the list in every other area now. The cost of updating it to modern standards just don't stack up. The Dragon kits, in isolation, are very good. Apart from the abysmal photo style instructions, they go together well and look good when finished. The problem for me is that when you compare them to Dragon's recent Tiger 1 or panzer III / IV kits, they really show their age. The detail looks soft and the on vehicle tools and equipment look very dated. The kits with pre molded zimmerit look very clunky compared to Dragon's latest offering. While I have no desire to see the crazy amounts of different kits that we are seeing with the Tiger 1, but modern kits of both turret versions, with and without zimmerit would be very welcome indeed. At least by me anyway! I have my fingers crossed that Meng bring the Tiger II up to modern standards.

Re: The above- THAT should be pretty interesting! FYI, ZVEZDA is making a Tiger II with the "Henschell" Turret, and they are supposed to be doing the "Porsche" Turret Tiger II, scheduled for release in 2016. ACADEMY has been doing a "final" Tiger II for some time, and I believe EDUARD has done a "Profi Pack" re-boxed ACADEMY(?) Tiger II, as well. Now, I can't personally vouch for the ZVEZDA or the ACADEMY Tiger IIs, as opposed to the DRAGON Tiger II-series (also their Jagdtigers), which are in their own right, EXCELLENT kits. It's a moot point regarding the TAMIYA Tiger IIs, as they are quite dated, though with some work, they are still viable entries into the fray... Maybe someone can venture an opinion or better yet, go ahead and do some sort of a combined "comparo-build" of all available 1/35 Tiger II kits? Back in the 1970s, NICHIMO also produced 1/35 Tiger IIs, but once the TAMIYA Tiger IIs were released, the NICHIMO Tiger IIs were very rapidly shot into the weeds...[/quote] Sadly, the Zvezda king Tigers are re-pops of Dragon kits minus all of the metal parts. I have the Henschel kit and it is mostly parts from Dragon's first kit 6208. Strangely, the turret shell is different to any I have encounter before in the dragon kits. I'm pretty sure it is from their pre built king tigers they used to sell. Zvezda have replaced the etched grills and metal tow cables with nylon mesh and a length of thread. Somehow they have also managed to introduce sink marks into the kit too! Academy's kit looks good, but not quite as good as Dragon's. I can't see anything in that kit that is noticeably better. I think the turret shape is wrong, and some parts are not in the right position. I haven't got the kit so I can't be 100% but every photo I have seen of that kit makes me think something isn't quite right. The Eduard kit is a re-box of the Academy kit. The only plus I can see for the Tamiya kits are that they are easy to build and well molded. It is bottom of the list in every other area now. The cost of updating it to modern standards just don't stack up. The Dragon kits, in isolation, are very good. Apart from the abysmal photo style instructions, they go together well and look good when finished. The problem for me is that when you compare them to Dragon's recent Tiger 1 or panzer III / IV kits, they really show their age. The detail looks soft and the on vehicle tools and equipment look very dated. The kits with pre molded zimmerit look very clunky compared to Dragon's latest offering. While I have no desire to see the crazy amounts of different kits that we are seeing with the Tiger 1, but modern kits of both turret versions, with and without zimmerit would be very welcome indeed. At least by me anyway! I have my fingers crossed that Meng bring the Tiger II up to modern standards. [/quote] You know,I keep thinking of Dragon's zimmed King Tigers and their Ardennes Tiger as being new,but the zimmed came out in 2007-2008 and the Ardennes earlier then that !!! Time just flies,they are very nice kits,but as you say,the more recent Panzer III and IV and Tiger I seem to be more detailed.

Re: The above- THAT should be pretty interesting! FYI, ZVEZDA is making a Tiger II with the "Henschell" Turret, and they are supposed to be doing the "Porsche" Turret Tiger II, scheduled for release in 2016. ACADEMY has been doing a "final" Tiger II for some time, and I believe EDUARD has done a "Profi Pack" re-boxed ACADEMY(?) Tiger II, as well. Now, I can't personally vouch for the ZVEZDA or the ACADEMY Tiger IIs, as opposed to the DRAGON Tiger II-series (also their Jagdtigers), which are in their own right, EXCELLENT kits. It's a moot point regarding the TAMIYA Tiger IIs, as they are quite dated, though with some work, they are still viable entries into the fray... Maybe someone can venture an opinion or better yet, go ahead and do some sort of a combined "comparo-build" of all available 1/35 Tiger II kits? Back in the 1970s, NICHIMO also produced 1/35 Tiger IIs, but once the TAMIYA Tiger IIs were released, the NICHIMO Tiger IIs were very rapidly shot into the weeds...[/quote] Sadly, the Zvezda king Tigers are re-pops of Dragon kits minus all of the metal parts. I have the Henschel kit and it is mostly parts from Dragon's first kit 6208. Strangely, the turret shell is different to any I have encounter before in the dragon kits. I'm pretty sure it is from their pre built king tigers they used to sell. Zvezda have replaced the etched grills and metal tow cables with nylon mesh and a length of thread. Somehow they have also managed to introduce sink marks into the kit too! Academy's kit looks good, but not quite as good as Dragon's. I can't see anything in that kit that is noticeably better. I think the turret shape is wrong, and some parts are not in the right position. I haven't got the kit so I can't be 100% but every photo I have seen of that kit makes me think something isn't quite right. The Eduard kit is a re-box of the Academy kit. The only plus I can see for the Tamiya kits are that they are easy to build and well molded. It is bottom of the list in every other area now. The cost of updating it to modern standards just don't stack up. The Dragon kits, in isolation, are very good. Apart from the abysmal photo style instructions, they go together well and look good when finished. The problem for me is that when you compare them to Dragon's recent Tiger 1 or panzer III / IV kits, they really show their age. The detail looks soft and the on vehicle tools and equipment look very dated. The kits with pre molded zimmerit look very clunky compared to Dragon's latest offering. While I have no desire to see the crazy amounts of different kits that we are seeing with the Tiger 1, but modern kits of both turret versions, with and without zimmerit would be very welcome indeed. At least by me anyway! I have my fingers crossed that Meng bring the Tiger II up to modern standards. [/quote] You know,I keep thinking of Dragon's zimmed King Tigers and their Ardennes Tiger as being new,but the zimmed came out in 2007-2008 and the Ardennes earlier then that !!! Time just flies,they are very nice kits,but as you say,the more recent Panzer III and IV and Tiger I seem to be more detailed.[/quote] Agreed! It's just too bad that DRAGON has seen fit to degrade all of their most recent armor with the much-hated "DS" tracks, lack of good PE, and the substitution of opaque parts for the clear parts that they used to include in their kits. The "extra-choose-your-different-version" parts have also gone by the wayside, leaving quite a few modellers with a sour taste in their mouths... And all for higher retail prices, to boot. Their marketing strategy kind of reminds me of Monty Python's "Getting Hit On The Head Lessons", if you get my drift...

Re: The above- THAT should be pretty interesting! FYI, ZVEZDA is making a Tiger II with the "Henschell" Turret, and they are supposed to be doing the "Porsche" Turret Tiger II, scheduled for release in 2016. ACADEMY has been doing a "final" Tiger II for some time, and I believe EDUARD has done a "Profi Pack" re-boxed ACADEMY(?) Tiger II, as well. Now, I can't personally vouch for the ZVEZDA or the ACADEMY Tiger IIs, as opposed to the DRAGON Tiger II-series (also their Jagdtigers), which are in their own right, EXCELLENT kits. It's a moot point regarding the TAMIYA Tiger IIs, as they are quite dated, though with some work, they are still viable entries into the fray... Maybe someone can venture an opinion or better yet, go ahead and do some sort of a combined "comparo-build" of all available 1/35 Tiger II kits? Back in the 1970s, NICHIMO also produced 1/35 Tiger IIs, but once the TAMIYA Tiger IIs were released, the NICHIMO Tiger IIs were very rapidly shot into the weeds...[/quote] Sadly, the Zvezda king Tigers are re-pops of Dragon kits minus all of the metal parts. I have the Henschel kit and it is mostly parts from Dragon's first kit 6208. Strangely, the turret shell is different to any I have encounter before in the dragon kits. I'm pretty sure it is from their pre built king tigers they used to sell. Zvezda have replaced the etched grills and metal tow cables with nylon mesh and a length of thread. Somehow they have also managed to introduce sink marks into the kit too! Academy's kit looks good, but not quite as good as Dragon's. I can't see anything in that kit that is noticeably better. I think the turret shape is wrong, and some parts are not in the right position. I haven't got the kit so I can't be 100% but every photo I have seen of that kit makes me think something isn't quite right. The Eduard kit is a re-box of the Academy kit. The only plus I can see for the Tamiya kits are that they are easy to build and well molded. It is bottom of the list in every other area now. The cost of updating it to modern standards just don't stack up. The Dragon kits, in isolation, are very good. Apart from the abysmal photo style instructions, they go together well and look good when finished. The problem for me is that when you compare them to Dragon's recent Tiger 1 or panzer III / IV kits, they really show their age. The detail looks soft and the on vehicle tools and equipment look very dated. The kits with pre molded zimmerit look very clunky compared to Dragon's latest offering. While I have no desire to see the crazy amounts of different kits that we are seeing with the Tiger 1, but modern kits of both turret versions, with and without zimmerit would be very welcome indeed. At least by me anyway! I have my fingers crossed that Meng bring the Tiger II up to modern standards. [/quote] Are you serious Matthew? The Dragon Tiger II's with Zimmerit are pretty much state of the art kits. They're accurate and have the features that all modern kits should have....... CLEAR PERISCOPES CLEAR HEADLIGHT ONE PIECE GUN BARRELS (though I'd prefer one piece plastic ones too like on their Panthers and T-34's FULL MACHINE GUNS WITH PRE-DRILLED BARRELS MAGIC TRACKS ZIMMERIT (which looks good to me) And I don't think the kit's clunky at all. I think they're noe of Dragons better releases over the past decade or so. Also I'm not sure the Zvezda kit's a repop of the Dragon kits. I read that it was a new tool by Zvezda.

Re: The above- THAT should be pretty interesting! FYI, ZVEZDA is making a Tiger II with the "Henschell" Turret, and they are supposed to be doing the "Porsche" Turret Tiger II, scheduled for release in 2016. ACADEMY has been doing a "final" Tiger II for some time, and I believe EDUARD has done a "Profi Pack" re-boxed ACADEMY(?) Tiger II, as well. Now, I can't personally vouch for the ZVEZDA or the ACADEMY Tiger IIs, as opposed to the DRAGON Tiger II-series (also their Jagdtigers), which are in their own right, EXCELLENT kits. It's a moot point regarding the TAMIYA Tiger IIs, as they are quite dated, though with some work, they are still viable entries into the fray... Maybe someone can venture an opinion or better yet, go ahead and do some sort of a combined "comparo-build" of all available 1/35 Tiger II kits? Back in the 1970s, NICHIMO also produced 1/35 Tiger IIs, but once the TAMIYA Tiger IIs were released, the NICHIMO Tiger IIs were very rapidly shot into the weeds...[/quote] Sadly, the Zvezda king Tigers are re-pops of Dragon kits minus all of the metal parts. I have the Henschel kit and it is mostly parts from Dragon's first kit 6208. Strangely, the turret shell is different to any I have encounter before in the dragon kits. I'm pretty sure it is from their pre built king tigers they used to sell. Zvezda have replaced the etched grills and metal tow cables with nylon mesh and a length of thread. Somehow they have also managed to introduce sink marks into the kit too! Academy's kit looks good, but not quite as good as Dragon's. I can't see anything in that kit that is noticeably better. I think the turret shape is wrong, and some parts are not in the right position. I haven't got the kit so I can't be 100% but every photo I have seen of that kit makes me think something isn't quite right. The Eduard kit is a re-box of the Academy kit. The only plus I can see for the Tamiya kits are that they are easy to build and well molded. It is bottom of the list in every other area now. The cost of updating it to modern standards just don't stack up. The Dragon kits, in isolation, are very good. Apart from the abysmal photo style instructions, they go together well and look good when finished. The problem for me is that when you compare them to Dragon's recent Tiger 1 or panzer III / IV kits, they really show their age. The detail looks soft and the on vehicle tools and equipment look very dated. The kits with pre molded zimmerit look very clunky compared to Dragon's latest offering. While I have no desire to see the crazy amounts of different kits that we are seeing with the Tiger 1, but modern kits of both turret versions, with and without zimmerit would be very welcome indeed. At least by me anyway! I have my fingers crossed that Meng bring the Tiger II up to modern standards. [/quote] You know,I keep thinking of Dragon's zimmed King Tigers and their Ardennes Tiger as being new,but the zimmed came out in 2007-2008 and the Ardennes earlier then that !!! Time just flies,they are very nice kits,but as you say,the more recent Panzer III and IV and Tiger I seem to be more detailed.[/quote] Agreed! It's just too bad that DRAGON has seen fit to degrade all of their most recent armor with the much-hated "DS" tracks, lack of good PE, and the substitution of opaque parts for the clear parts that they used to include in their kits. The "extra-choose-your-different-version" parts have also gone by the wayside, leaving quite a few modellers with a sour taste in their mouths... And all for higher retail prices, to boot. Their marketing strategy kind of reminds me of Monty Python's "Getting Hit On The Head Lessons", if you get my drift...[/quote] Agree about the DS tracks, clear parts and releasing degraded kits (the recent German T-34 had some older indie track links with bad sprue attachments instead of Magic Tracks) and that's part of the reason why I'm surprised Matthew wasn't impressed by the Dragon Tiger II's with Zimm as the're one of the better kits Dragon have released. They have pretty much everything in the box and I wish Dragon would do their Tiger 1's the same.

David, we all have our own opinions, and I do agree with you on some of your points, but I do not agree about the zimmerit. In my opinion, it is overdone and looks too thick. Dragon have been refining their molded on zimmerit for years now and it really shows on their newer releases. The zimmerit is also molded in areas where it shouldn't be, creating some fit problems. I didn't mean that the whole kit is clunky, just the zimmerit and the on vehicle tools. Dragon have shown they have the ability to improve both. With regards to the Zvezda kit, I assume you are referring to this one? If so, it is a re-pop of a Dragon kit. I have it on my desk upstairs. Unless Zvezda are releasing another kit?

I'm aware that opaque parts were substituted in the re-release of the first two Tiger kits, 6252 and 6253, but I didn't know that this was done with any of the new kits? In particular, the new Tiger, 6608, has transparent parts as usual. What are you talking about? David

The new Beog.Wg and V2 have opaque headlights as well.

I'm aware that opaque parts were substituted in the re-release of the first two Tiger kits, 6252 and 6253, but I didn't know that this was done with any of the new kits? In particular, the new Tiger, 6608, has transparent parts as usual. What are you talking about? David [/quote] To be more specific David, I should have said that MOST of the kits that DRAGON has been re-releasing as "NEW!!!" kits, are really just the old ones re-packaged in new boxes, with less parts, "DS" Tracks (especially the WWII German vehicles, most of which had a pronounced "Track-Sag"), instead of the more popular "Magic Tracks", less, or no PE, deleted Metal Barrels, opaque parts instead of clear ones, and no optional parts choices within the vehicle-types, all for HIGHER retail prices. This kind of thing has proved to be unpopular with quite a few modellers on this site, myself included. I don't mind the "DS" Tracks so much on US/ALLIED Tracked Vehicles, as most of them used "Live Tracks", which are supposed to be adjusted "as tightly as possible, without binding" the movable parts of the Suspension, i.e, Sprockets, Rear and Top Idlers, and the Road-wheels, according to published US Tracked Vehicle Tech and Service Manuals... As to the rest of DRAGON's "faux pas'", I'm crying "foul"...