Vodnik's Armorscale set review

88mm KwK 36 L/56
Gun Barrel for German Tank
Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger I (Late model)

Armorscale B35-008
1/35

FIRST LOOK REVIEW

Armorscale set contains complete gun barrel assembly for Tiger I model in 1/35 scale, including very detailed multi-part muzzle brake and resin mantlet. Instructions do not suggest any specific Tiger I model, so the set can most likely be used with any available model of this tank. The set comes in a small plastic zip-bag containing a piece of cardboard (to protect parts), small instruction sheet, aluminum barrel and a second smaller zip-bag with five machined brass parts and tiny brass fret with seven photo-etched parts. Of these parts nine (!) comprise a muzzle brake - five photo-etched and four machined ones. Additional machined brass part provides details of a collar in the middle of gun length. Instruction sheet shows proper assembly of the barrel and mantlet parts on clear multi-color diagrams. Main muzzle brake parts are simple screwed on a threaded tip of the aluminum barrel. No suggestions are given regarding the attaching of mantlet to plastic kit parts, so modelers must find their own way to do it.

Turned aluminum barrel is very smooth with almost no perceptible machining marks and inside a hollow muzzle opening are minute rifling grooves. All brass parts are beautifully rendered with very nice details all over and should look really great when assembled. All metal parts fit together very well, but the fit of barrel to the resin mantlet is rather loose and parts have quite a lot of play and must be carefully aligned during gluing. Resin mantlet has crisp details molded on and subtle casting texture on it. Resin part comes attached to usual resin pouring block, but the area of contact between part and block was so small that the block has cleanly separated itself from part in my set, making parts preparation even easier.

Photos below (provided by Armorscale) illustrate the parts attached to a Tiger I model.





Photos of parts ©Armorscale

Once properly assembled, aligned and attached to the model, the Armorscale model should look really great thanks to the complex and very detailed muzzle brake and nicely cast mantlet.

Many thanks to Armorscale for the review sample!