| |
| King Tiger |
by Diecast 1/72 |
| Manufacturer: Altaya/IXO - Dragon Armor |
|
The King Tiger is one of the most famous tanks of WWII. It's also
one of the most manufactured models in small scale. Here we will look at the infamous
King Tiger from both Altaya/IXO and Dragon Armor. Both manufacturers claim their version
as 1/72 diecast, we will take a close look at both models and the differences between
them.
Upon first glance, both tanks seem to be very similar. Both King Tiger tanks have the Henschel Turret, both seem
to be about the same size and neither have Zimmerit coating. Upon closer inspection, you
will start to notice a few differences between the two tanks. |
 |
 |
To begin, we take a look at the two
turrets side by side. Looking at the turrets from underneath, you will notice
that both are hollow. The inside of the Altaya turret is completely
empty. However the Dragon Armor turret is different in that the bottom of the hatch
cover is accessible from the bottom of the turret. The hatch covers on most Dragon Armor
tanks are simply glued on and will either push out from underneath with a little force or can be pried off with an
exacto knife. If done gently, neither way should damage the tank and the hatch can be
glued open and a tank commander mounted inside. |
| Looking at the top of the turret, there
is a difference in the level of detail between the two tanks. Both tanks include the hatch covers
and various grooves on the turret, however the Altaya turret detail is rather
soft and not as crisp as the Dragon Armor turret. The Altaya turret detail seems to fade away
into the rest of the turret where as the Dragon Armor turret detail is very defined. Another
difference is how each turret is manufactured. The Dragon Armor turret is completely plastic, the
Altaya turret is metal except for the plastic barrel, track section mounted to the side of the turret and
the very bottom of the turret where it connects to the hull of the tank. |
 |
 |
Moving down to the hull of the tank, the main difference between
the two tanks again seems to be the level of detail. The drivers hatch covers, rear
engine covers and other details are more defined on the Dragon Armor tank than the
Altaya tank. The Altaya tank has an antenna mounted to the rear while Dragon has no
antenna. Looking into the hollow shell of the tank you can see the metal weight Altaya
uses. Dragon is a little different in that the bottom plate of their tank is made of
metal. |
| On both tanks, the hulls are completely plastic. The tow cables on the side of the Altaya tank
are molded as part of the hull where as the Dragon Armor tank tow cables are actual metal
and seperate from the hull. Everything else on both tanks are plastic. |
 |
 |
From a frontal view, the seam is noticeable on both
tanks between the tow hooks where the bottom of the hull is glued to the base
plate. The tow hooks on the Altaya tank are loose but fixed
on the Dragon Armor tank. The Dragon Armor tracks have more
detail than the Altaya tracks which are soft. |
| From the rear, the Dragon Armor tank
has more defined detail than the Altaya tank. Like the front tow hooks, the rear tow hooks are loose on
the Altaya tank and fixed on the Dragon Armor tank. The exhaust pipes are plastic
on both tanks and have no hole on the tip of each pipe. |
 |
 |
The detail on the sides of the two tanks is the same as what's been
mentioned previously. The Altaya tank has no weathering on the tracks and road wheels
and the Dragon Armor tank does. The added weathering on the Dragon Armor tank helps bring
out the rivets and other small details. |
| In conclusion, the crisp detail on the Dragon Armor King Tiger gives
it the advantage over the Altaya/IXO King Tiger. Dragon Armor has a huge range of
1/72 scale tanks and has set high standards for other manufacturers.
Altaya/IXO lacks the detail of Dragon Armor but makes up for it with a very unique
range of 1/72 scale tanks not available elsewhere. |
|
|
