longmc Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 (edited) Long time listener, first time caller to armor modeling... I've been building aircraft for over 30 years, but just recently became interested in armor and vehicles. I want to build a late model tiger and have two options I'm interested in. Academy's new kit or tamiya 49504 w/ figures. I can get both for about the same price. I've built a couple of tamiyas older kits and like that their easy to build, but are more toy like. The academy seem more detailed and come with PE. Both lack zimmerit, but I can get slide decal version for tamiya and it comes with figures. that's about as far as my knowledge gets me on the differences. TIA! Mike the Noob! Edited November 17, 2018 by longmc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Auger Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I've built both older Academy & Tamiya Tigers, at the time both kits were the 'standard' turret, where they did not correctly portray the asymmetric turret. I couldn't be bothered to obtain an aftermarket 'correct' turret, as they were priced more than the kit, at that time. Recent Tiger kits from other manufacturers, like Dragon, have depicted the correct shape. The Tamiya Late Tiger has individual tracks & a commander figure, along with the option of different barrels, loaders hatch, roof & gun sight. You only need to add zimmerit & their etch screens for the rear deck. Academy's latest Tigers, have corrected the shape of the turret, have etch screens, but 'band' track. However the roof is still questionable, and escape hatch is 'early' type. Therefore your looking at replacing the track, to achieve a realistic look on the model. Looking at online reviews/builds on the latest Academy Tiger, I never bothered to obtain it. Mainly due to the msrp being 2-3 times what I've paid for both older Tamiya & Academy Tigers. I've also managed to pick up Dragon Tiger kits for less. Two online reviews highlight some issues while building the Academy kit. If the turret shape is not an issue for you, the Tamiya kit is a classic. HTH http://amps-armor.org/SiteReviews/showReview.aspx?ID=3400&Type=FB http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=11351 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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