Tiger I early 43, Kurt Knispel, w/engine, work.tr.

Plastic model kit for an early 1943 production Sd.Kfz. 181 Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger I (Kurt Knispel)

• 1:35 scale
• Engine replica included
• Includes 3D-printed and photo-etched parts
• Workable individual-link tracks
• 4 marking options
• Unassembled, unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

The early 1943 production Tiger I (Panzerkampfwagen VI, Sd.Kfz. 181) was a heavy German tank with a five-man crew, a combat weight of approximately 57 tons, an 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 gun, and two MG 34 machine guns. Its frontal hull armor was 100 mm thick. Typical features of early vehicles included the tall, drum-shaped commander's cupola, rubber-tired overlapping road wheels, and externally mounted Feifel air filters. Its high firepower and heavy armor protection were offset by significant maintenance requirements and high fuel consumption.

In 1943, Kurt Knispel served as a gunner in the 1st Company of Heavy Panzer Battalion 503, fighting with the unit at Kursk, among other engagements. However, the common designation "Knispel's Tiger 101" is historically uncertain: while a photograph shows him in this vehicle, it does not confirm a permanent crew assignment; he was not the commander of this Tiger at the time. Therefore, a specific turret number or individual camouflage pattern should be attributed to his early Tiger I only with reservation.