Limited edition Tiger I late coming up from Rye Field.
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/tiger-i-late-production-from-rye-field
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/tiger-i-late-production-from-rye-field
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Beautiful rendition of Michael Wittman’s Tiger 007.
Villers-Bocage is where Wittmann was awarded his silver swords on his Knight’s Cross as commander of 2nd Panzerkompanie; Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 during the battle.
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Might buy the kit, but, not those tracks…I’ll go metal.
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I’m curious about their 1 piece track.
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“Beautiful rendition of Michael Wittman’s Tiger 007.”
What??? I don’t even know where to begin!
- This is NOT tiger 007. This is a standard Tiger but 007 was the Command version.
- This kit doesn’t HAVE decals for 007
- 007 was not Michael Wittman’s tank, he just borrowed it that one time.
and, this one is relevant to everybody:
- This kit is not a beautiful rendition of ANY Tiger that Wittman used, because it’s the final version (check the roof). Wittman’s unit didn’t HAVE any Tigers exactly like this.
David
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Where is that painting from? It has errors.
- It depicts “007” as a standard Tiger, but it was the Command version.
- It shows a final-version Tiger, but Wittman’s unit didn’t have any of those.
David
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Thank you, @DByrden David for the information.
I’d realized RFM’s 007 wasn’t a command version but overlooked all of the other specifics. Likewise, I’d wonder if that unit had any final version Tiger1’s, now I know they didn’t.
Knowing RFM that should be a fun build. I’ve no eye for Tiger 1 nuances but the model looks good overall as a nice cat to add to the pride.
May have to build of one of my 25 stash Tiger’s to make room for another.
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Hold on for a minute. Aren’t there two different roof tops on the sprues?
By the way, what’s the correct turret number for Wittmann’s Villers Tiger?
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Wasn’t 007 the one he was killed on later?
I thought the Villers tank was one he borrowed for the engagement. I don’t recall that tanks number.
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This kit doesn’t seem to have any “007” decals, if that’s what you are referring to.
So it’s intended to make Wittman’s Villers-Bocage vehicle.
What was its number? People have argued over that, and I confess that I’ve never researched it myself. I can’t add anything to what they say.
The kit probably has enough decals for whatever his number was.
The sprues have two different roofs, but as far as I can see, the second one is for kit 5008, and not suitable for any Late Tiger. I’ll discuss this more when I get a better image of these sprues.
David
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Yes. 007 was the Tiger where Wittmann was killed. I think the one he borrowed was Tiger 222 during Villers-Bocage, after his actual tank, turret number 205, had mechanical problems.
Oh goody, this old chestnut again. What number Tiger did Wittmann use at Villers Bocage? You could probably write a thesis on this. From what I’ve read, in “Villers Bocage Through the Lens” by Daniel Taylor, a likely candidate could have been 222, commanded by Unterscharfuhrer Sowa, as this was the second Tiger Wittmann climbed into, his own, 205 having broken down during the move to Villers Bocage. The first one he tried, commanded by Unterscharfuhrer Stief, presumably 234, had a defective engine. However, elsewhere in the book, there are the well known photos showing one Tiger towing another, which Taylor identifies as being taken in the area. The towed vehicle is 231, which is identified as the only 2 Kompanie SS sPAbt 101/501 to penetrate Villers Bocage (the other disabled Tigers in VB, come from 1 Kp). This information would make this tank, normally commanded by Standarten Oberjunker (Officer Cadet) Heinz Belbe and supposedly not present in time to be damaged in the battle, the most likely tank, supposing that there had been a lot of swapping about of crews on the way to VB. Ron Volstad and Dragon clearly didn’t think so, however, as they put 212 on the box art of kit 6253 which was supposed to supply all the parts to make the VB Wittmann Tiger and included a figure of the man himself in the same posture as the resin figure in the RFM kit. This is interesting because 212’s normal commander was “Bobby” Woll, his old gunner. The two volume Agte title on Michael Wittmann isn’t helpful as it doesn’t mention any numbers at all. In any case, to use the figure, which is wearing full Black Panzer Uniform, which Wittmann definitely WASN’T wearing at VB, you would have to use 205. The photo this figure was based on, was taken at a parade some weeks before the Invasion.
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I have a proposal… Why don’t we take up a collection to hire a medium and conduct a seance and Her Whitman himself ???.. Lol…
In the meantime, some people don’t have access to as much quality research material as others do, so I hope all continues to assist each other with research and knowledge… That is one of the true values of this site.
Welcome to the forum!
Hohenstaufen, that bit of information is a real gem 
in my opinion. Do you know more details on 212? Steel or rubber wheels etc.
We should make a post in the Reference by subject section, which is lacking for such a big and complicated subject.
Like what, there is a dozen small variant and gradual changes of the Tiger and not just Early, Mid, Late.
Having a websites like the theshermantank is a good way to keep thing easy. I know there is the Tiger1.info from Mr. Byrden here, and I don’t want to offence in any way and I appreciate your works, but the navigation of the site is kind of dated.
I believe that Wittmann’s Tiger at Villers-Bocage was “222”, which he borrowed.
Bill