Back in the mid 1970’s, the 1/48^th armor scene was dominated by Bandai Corp., who released a series of WW2 Allied and German military vehicle kits, together with a number of figure and accessory sets. Included among these kits was a late war German Jagdtiger, a true monster of a “tank”. Despite their “state of the art” nature at the time of release, the Bandai range is now showing its age. Also, Bandai stopped manufacturing these military vehicle kits in the mid-1970’s!

To remedy the “need” for a Bandai replacement, Tamiya has come to the modeler’s rescue with a lovely rendition of the Jagdtiger in their own 1/48 Military Vehicle range. As per usual with Tamiya’s German military vehicle kits, the model is produced in a tan plastic, which has been the norm over the past year or so in this range, Tamiya has chosen to move away from the relatively poorly detailed metal lower hull unit, and have moved to much better detailed injection plastic lower hull parts.

They say that there are only two things in life that are certain, death and taxes. I’d like to add a third: the precision fit of a Tamiya kit. Not that this model is perfect, but it sure was a pleasure to build. After building several other brands, I forgot just how nice a Tamiya kit goes together.

When the box is opened, one is greeted by 264 parts, 213 in green styrene, 17 in gray (for the figures), 8 in clear, 10 large and 8 small poly caps, 7 photo etched metal parts, and one length of steel chain. The parts are beautifully molded with no sink marks, excepting for the usual molding seams and punch-out marks. These are mostly unseen once assembled.

In steps 1-3, the lower inner hull is built. Details are crisp with no fit issues whatsoever. I was a little concerned at first, since the usual tub is not there. But I was amazed by how well it all went together. It was spot-on and I needed no filler anywhere!

Postwar Armored Fighting Vehicles 1945-Present is a vehicle identification guide covering the post WWII era to present day. The book consists of 192 pages, which include 40 photographs and 200 color profile drawings. Each drawing has a paragraph with a general description of the vehicle and where, when, and by whom it was used. There is also a specifications box listing: Crew, Weight, Length, Width, Height, Engine, Speed, Range, Armament, and Radio.

The book is arranged chronologically and chapters include:

This is an in-the-box look as well as a little building info. The I-207 was a neat little fighter that never became of anything. I think there were only 3 made. They had good performance for the day but were already being outclassed by other designs. The instruction sheet gives you a brief history as well. The kit is a re-pop from AZ. It's the same as one I built several years ago, but this time Pavla has done it justice in the form of 6 resin pieces, a new decal sheet from Tally-Ho, as well as a neat Vac windscreen! Nice job guys!

This will be a box-review of Round 2/ Polar Lights' Batboat, from the classic “Adam West Years-of-Batman”. Round 2 has been giving us great stuff, and this is no exception! They have taken the old molds and tweaked them: then providing great decals and informative and easy instructions. The box and artwork are nicely done as well.

The breakdown of the parts is simple: 13 chrome pics, a great decal sheet, a full hull, a stand and 25 blue colored plastic pieces that make up the rest of the boat. Adam and Burt are also included in the box! The box and artwork are nicely done as well!

No paint codes are mentioned but colors are. Follow them closely and you will be rewarded. The clear parts for the windscreen are a bit thick, but workable. If you want to have fun, give one of these a try. A beginner could actually build this and not paint it, but it should be done-up to bring this boat to life!