I am mostly a ww2 aircraft modeler, But wanted to 'dive into' a Tamiya 1/35 scale Tiger tank model, After some research, WOW there are several versions to choose from!, Can anybody recommend a good choice?

I have all of the Tamiya Tigers and I can say that only one of the kits is not as good as the rest.
The kit to stay away from is kit number 35056.

A good choice for a first Tiger is the Early Production model. It has an easy paint scheme, Panzer Grey. And, no zimmerit was used on these tanks.

The box looks like

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Tim

Currently building this one now, the fit is great, and details are good if you don't want to go crazy with super details. And even you do there are tons of AM out there for you to choose from, highly recommened.

The "newgeneration" kits are all excellent. The points about Zimmerit are important if you are a new comer to armour, as even, "Veteran Modelers" don't enjoy doing Zimmerit, anti magnetic mine paste application in miniature. The tamiya kits are state of the art tooling and help make a pleasant build out of a plastic kit.

Jack

Does anyone know if the Fruhe production kit includes markings for any of Michael Wittman's tanks?

Yes the fruhe production does have the Wittman markings for S04 along with kill rings for the barrel.....here are a few pics of mine........
http://groups.msn.com/armorama/currentproject.msnw?Page=3

Otto, Nice tiger. Mind I ask a couple questions:

1. What upgrade are you using, the side skirts seems to be from Aber
2. How the hell do you do such a nice Tow cable, mind to share some secrets?

Very nice Tiger. I am doing a similar project now, but is making S33.