Scale Military Modeller International – August 2019

tamiya

T

his was a diorama that

I had in mind after I

began to research the

intriguing story of some

representatives of the

Japanese military visiting

Germany during World War II.

Their intention was to inspect the

current line-up of German armour

and maybe buy a Tiger 1 or Panther

for evaluation purposes. They visited

the Eastern Front and then the

Kassel works, and a sale of a Tiger

1 was actually agreed, with chassis

No.250455 earmarked for export.

The plan was to ship the parts to the

Far East from France at some point

aboard U-Boats to be assembled

and then trialled. The project never

went any further as the War dragged

on and the complicated logistics

proved impossible to carry out by

either party. The tank was eventually

‘loaned’ back to the German Army in

September 1944 and put to use by

its original owners. But what if....?

So, my diorama shows an early Tiger

1 undergoing successful trials on

an island somewhere in the Paciic,

which has led to a very lucrative

deal for the German military! The

oicer in charge is taking notes

as the moment is captured by the

photographer for some propaganda

use back home. Out of shot the

hapless mechanics are debating how

to it the two remaining road wheels

in the unforgiving jungle heat! Let’s

see how I got on and how it all came

together.

Tamiya – Tiger 1 Initial

Production

I chose the classic early

Tiger 1 from Tamiya,

as I wanted a nice

easy build with no

problems after a run

of very complicated

builds recently. The build is

typical Tamiya, and although

it has of course been around

a while the detail and it

were more than adequate.

There are many options

included for no less than

six variants so a very nice

package all round. For my

needs though I reasoned

any tank transported on

a U boat or shipped in

parts for trials would have

all the unnecessary parts left

behind or sent separately.

As long as it moved under

its own power and the

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM 77

Tamiya- Tiger 1 Initial Production - #35216

Master Club – Tiger 1 Track Link Set -

#MTL35007

Tiger Models – Resin Turret Roof Upgrade

Set - #352118

Tamiya – Japanese Officer Set - #35341

Tamiya– Maintenance Crew - #180

Bravo 6 – German Photographer - #B6-35125

Tamiya - Etched Tiger Grilles - #35179

Tamiya – 88mm Brass Rounds - #35189

LSG Laser Kits – Trestle Table - #A35004

Kits and Accessories Used

Diorama

Jungle Tiger

A SALE OF A

TIGER 1 TO

JAPAN WAS

ACTUALLY

AGREED,

WITH

CHASSIS

NO.250455

EARMARKED

FOR EXPORT