Anyone with Tamiya's 1/48 Tiger...

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

What exactly is the hull made of?

2

Lower hull is diecast metal. Since most often it is zinc and/or aluminum used in diecast this should give you a hint regarding your tolerance for those metals and composites. This is also pre-primed so there is no exposed metal.

I suppose if it were a real concern you could contact Tamiya and flat out ask them what their hulls are cast in or request a MSDS sheet.

3

Why not forgo Tamiya’s 1/48 Tiger I and go with either one of the quantum-leap-better Skybow Tigers?

They are all plastic and arguably the best Tiger I kits under 1/35th scale on the planet. The Skybow Early is a later version with all the S-minen, while their Late is a steel-wheeler with molded zimm. You can’t go wrong with either.

4

At the risk of embarasing myself, I’ve never heard of SkyBow. Can anyone give me a link to their site, or maybe to a review of their Tiger?

5

Here’s a link to pmms’s side by side comparison of the Tamiya and Skybow early Tigers.

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/48/misc/tiger1/tiger1early.htm

Here’s their review of the late.

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/48/skybow/tp4801.htm

HTH.

6

Thanks for providing the comparison link, buff. To be honest, in the end I think lots of those differences are much ado about nothing. In the end, unless someone is looking hard for inadequacies (and sadly there are no dearth of those in this hobby of ours), there won’t be much of a difference in appearance between the Tamiya and the Skybow kit. So go with whichever is cheaper and easier to get your hands on. The Tamiya will be a bit easier to build, the Skybow will look a little bit better.

7

At my local shop, a Tamiya Tiger went for just under $20 initially, the Skybow Tigers were just under $35 before any club discount. They do look beautiful in those see through boxes. I have been debating on whether or not to splurge for one.