Scale: 1 / 16
The kit
This is a large-scale static kit that builds an "Early" Tiger. It is the most detailed Tiger kit in this scale.
It has a rotating turret, an elevating main gun, a hull MG that elevates (but does not traverse like a real one), all-openable crew hatches, and (optionally) working suspension and tracks.
There are optional parts to represent many (but not all) Tigers constructed in a range from January to April 1943. Decal/paint schemes are included for four standard Tigers and a single Command Tiger (which has two schemes).
Some frequent modifications seen on the Tiger are not supported by the kit, e.g. it does not let you omit the front roadwheels or the S-mine launchers.
The tracks comprise 3-part individual links plus pins. There is a sheet of photo-etch. There are a few interior parts (not sufficient for a glance "through the hatch". A full commander figure is supplied, apparently based on the same pattern as that in a 1/48 Tiger from Ustar. The figure is said to represent Michael Wittman.
There are no obvious preparations for more interior detail to be supplied in the future. The engine hatch is not a separate part.
Some of the kit's marketing materials give the impression that Michael Wittman's Tiger "S04" was a special version with a unique radio setup. That is not true. "S04" was a standard Command Tiger.
Notes on the decal/paint schemes
The kit's instructions assign specific parts to each scheme. However, they are not always correct. In some cases, parts are needed that the kit does not include. Here is the information that I can glean regarding the real Tigers represented by the decals.
It's also worth listing the parts and changes for certain famous Tigers that are not on the decal sheet.
Michal Wittman and Tiger S04
On 14 January 1944, in a tiny village in central Ukraine, Untersturmführer Wittman was awarded the Knight's Cross in a brief ceremony [1, see page 121] . A photographer captured Wittman, his crew, and - most important for us - his then Tiger, numbered "S04".
But this was not Wittman's only Tiger. He had fought the battle of Kursk in another one, but his unit left their armour behind when they transferred to Italy in August 1943 [1, see page 118] . There, they were issued new Tigers. Wittman got Tiger "S21" and his company commander, Hauptsturmführer Kling, must have got "S04". The unit returned to the Ukraine in October 1943 and resumed battle.
On 30 December 1944, Wittman took over command of the company and therefore, in theory, "S04" became his vehicle. He reportedly disliked the "Command Tiger" variant, because it carried less ammunition than normal. But even if he continued to use standard Tigers, it was "S04" that he was photographed with.
Photos from the ceremony show 88 "kill rings" on the tank's gun barrel. They were probably painted for the photographer and removed soon afterward, because Wittman's unit was very wary of drawing attention to their commanders' tanks. That is why they named this Tiger "S04" intead of "S01", and it is why - months later - they had an "007" instead of an "001".
As a Command Tiger, "S04" carried two radios and was intended to be a mobile command post. But it had an 88mm tank gun and could fight like any other Tiger [1, see 3.2.5] . At the time of the photographs, "S04" was configured as a Sd.Kfz.268.