Panzerkampfwagen VI „Tiger“ WWII Tank as 3D large model

The Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger" was a heavy German tank that was manufactured by the sole manufacturer Henschel in Kassel from 1942 to 1944 and used by the Wehrmacht from late summer 1942. Due to its powerful main weapon and high armor protection, the Tiger was one of the most combat-effective tanks of the Second World War.

In addition to its conventional shape - without sloped armor - serious disadvantages were the complex production, its underpowered nature, the short range and a technology that was prone to failure, combined with a high need for repairs, which significantly limited the mobility of the tank. As a result, more vehicles were lost due to mechanical defects and self-destruction than due to direct enemy action. Although the strategic importance of the Tiger was low due to the low production number of only 1,350 units, it is one of the most famous tanks of the Second World War.

Although the actual design contract for the Tiger was not awarded until spring 1941, the development history can be traced back to 1937. At that time, the Kassel-based company Henschel was commissioned by the Army Ordnance Office to develop an infantry support tank in the 30-ton class as a successor to the Panzerkampfwagen IV. The prototype, known as the breakthrough vehicle "DW 1", was to have the 7.5 cm KwK 40 tank cannon, which was also used in the Panzer IV, as its main weapon. After building a chassis, the tests were stopped in 1938 because there was a new order for the only minimally modified successor "DW 2", of which Henschel also only produced one chassis.

In the meantime, Henschel was also working on a 65-ton successor to the new vehicle in the form of the "VK 6501", which - like the later Tiger - had 100 mm front armour and 80 mm side armour and whose armament also consisted of the short 7.5 cm cannon.

In August 1942, production started at Henschel in Kassel-Mittelfeld after the plant III there had been extensively expanded. 8,000 employees worked in 12-hour shifts in tank production, with the night shift achieving a significantly lower workload than the day shift. Due to an instruction from 1943, the employment of foreign workers in Tiger production without a permit was expressly prohibited. The production line consisted of nine cycles, each with a processing time of six hours. The production time for a vehicle was around 14 days. A large proportion of the components were delivered fully assembled, with the following companies being the main suppliers:

Hull: Krupp (Essen), Dortmund-Hörder Hüttenverein (Dortmund) and Škoda (Königgrätz)
Turret: Wegmann (Kassel; turret development came from Krupp)
Engine: Maybach (Friedrichshafen) and licensed production by Auto Union (Chemnitz)
Gearbox: Maybach
Electrics: Bosch (Stuttgart)
Main weapon: Buckau-Wolf (Magdeburg) and Dortmund-Hörder Hüttenverein (developed by Krupp)

Like most German tanks, the Tiger was manufactured using high-quality workmanship, so that, in combination with its complicated design, efficient mass production was not possible. In addition, the proportion of machining in the manufacture of the hull and turret was very high and placed high demands on the manufacturing technology. In order to create a stable weapons platform, the armor plates were kept as large as possible, so that the floor pan and the turret, among other things, were made from a single piece - with the exception of the front. To prevent breaks or cracks when fired upon, the armor plates were only subjected to a subtle surface hardening, so that the front plates, for example, had a hardness of 265 Brinell, half that of the Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it was very hard armor that showed no signs of brittleness.

After assembly, the tanks were run in without the turret on a test track for around 100 km, using bottled gas as fuel to save gasoline. The turret was then attached, the vehicle was fully equipped and officially handed over. The cost of a Tiger - without weapons, optics and radio - was 250,800 Reichsmarks; fully equipped, the invoiced price was 300,000 RM.

All vehicles initially delivered had massive problems with the semi-automatic gearbox, so that the Tiger was not considered safe to operate at that time. In addition to ongoing defects such as engine fires, leaks in the cooling water circuit and short circuits, there were also oil losses from the engine of up to 15 l per 100 km, which was just about acceptable. The worst problems were not resolved until the end of 1942, while an increase in assembly errors was observed as a result of the increased workload on the factory workers.
Source: Wikipedia

Our model of the M4 Sherman consists of 613 parts that are precisely lasered from 4mm spearwood. The detailed, illustrated assembly instructions allow you to build the model exactly. The highlight of this model variant are the movable track links that are mounted on the rotating track rollers. The touras and the sprocket are also movable and rotatable. 

We offer here the a model kit in wood for self assambling.
Create your own Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger" by using the simple illustrated construction manual.
When you're done, you'll have a piece of jewelry that you'll all be envious of.

Item Description:

Material:  wood
Dimensions approx. 65,7 x 27,5 x 22 cm
Weight approx: 1.5 kg
Content: 1 x lasered kit with 1329 parts / assembly instructions

Supplied as a lasered kit. This must be assembled by yourself.
No tools needed. The parts must be glued.