Within this kit, you have enough stunningly detailed plastic components to create 3 Tiger II tanks. Additionally, you can:
- Equip your Tigers with either the Henschel turret or the rarer Porsche turret!
- Have each tank with their own commander or have a closed hatch to protect the crew.
- You also have the choice to give your Tigers' schürzen!
Extras in the kit:
- A detailed colour booklet providing instructions and painting guide.
- Full-colour water slide decals.
- A set of blast and damage markers.
- A Bolt Action stat card for easier gaming accessibility!
History of the King Tiger II
The Königstiger (officially named the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B or Sd.kfz 182) more commonly known as the ‘King Tiger’ or ‘Royal Tiger’ by Allied troops, was a development of the fearsome Tiger I tank. Its introduction to hostilities in 1944 caused significant problems for the Allies but ultimately it saw action too late to have a game-changing impact on the war.
Deployed on both the Western and Eastern fronts the King Tiger’s long 8.8cm gun had enormous operational accuracy with the ability to knock out any Allied tank frontally at ranges exceeding 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles), way beyond the effective range of any Allied tank gun.
Two turret designs were produced with Porsche and Henschel competing for the contract. As the first Henschel chassis rolled off the production line only the turret originally destined for the rejected Porsche project were available. Fifty Porsche turrets were mounted to Henschel’s hull and used in action until the Henschel turret variant became available.
The first combat use of the King Tiger was during the battles in Normandy by 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion (s.H.Pz.Abt.503), opposing Operation Atlantic between Troarn and Démouville on 18 July 1844. On the Eastern front, its combat debut came on the 12th August 1944 by the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion (s.H.Pz.Abt.501) resisting the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive, where it attacked the Soviet bridgehead over the Vistula River near Baranów Sandomierski.
The King Tiger On the tabletop
The King Tiger is a super heavy tank, using the armoured selector, you are allowed to use up to 5 on the battlefield per platoon or use the reinforced selector so you can use 1 per platoon. It certainly isn't cheap in points, but the sheer combat prowess and fear it gives to your opponents outweighs the cost.
With its absurdly high armour rating of 11, you'll need at the bare minimum a medium anti-tank gun to harm it whilst shooting at the front. With armour that strong, you can stand in a hailstorm of shells and be able to come out unscathed. Its main armament is the super-heavy anti-tank gun, a weapon so powerful that it needs a simple 2+ on a die roll to penetrate a medium tank - now imagine three of those beasts approaching...
Here's the King Tiger Bolt Action profile, within an average game of Tank War consisting of 2500 - 3000 points or more 5 is the perfect number:
Cost:
555pts (Regular), 666pts (Veteran).
Weapons:
1 turret-mounted super-heavy anti tank gun with co-axial MMG and 1 forward-facing hull-mounted MMG.
Damage value:
11+ (Super-heavy tank).
Special Rules:
Tiger Fear
Models supplied unassembled and unpainted
