I have been after Joe, of TMD, to release sets of his company's namesake and he FINALLY listened!  It has been worth the wait.  I bought all eleven of his recent Tiger I products, including all four turrets, and most of the reviews will seem the same.  So, I have specified what is different under asterisks.


*****352103*****

This is the final version of the turret with only an escape port and the 40 mm thick roof.  This is correct for a Tiger built after late March of 1944.  Instructions are not included either but since these are placement parts for those in a kit, they are not missed.  By looking at the top piece, the asymmetry is obvious.  Best of all, it matches the plans on pages 162 and 163 in Tom Jentz' "Germany's Tiger Tanks-D.W. to Tiger I"  

*****Common Parts to all turret sets*****

I was surprised that the spare track holders or ventilator were not included.
There are three more sprues:

1) Escape hatch
2) Close defense weapon, pistol plug, loader's periscope shield, and three different hinges for the escape hatch (pistol plug not used)
3) Lifting lugs (3 pieces)

*****Construction*****

The flash was very easy to remove.  The bottom of the turret is another matter.  It is heavily flashed but TMD has made it easy to use a saw and remove it.  My next step it to sand it on a film of sandpaper glued to a plate of glass.  

This new gray resin used is very forgiving and not as brittle as the previous one.  However, be careful with your knives.  The casting is first rate without any air bubbles and the surface texturing is subtle.  There can be some warping of the large turret pieces but a bath in hot water will cure that problem.  The top piece has a tight fit but nothing serious.

This is an excellent offering and the quality is what we have come to expect from Tiger Models.  Well worth the 4 and a half stars!