1/35 German Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.E Tiger I Middle Production w/Zimmerit (102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion)

The tank is a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E (with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 181, late-production version), with serial number "251 113 AMP" on the turret (AMP refers to the tank's manufacturer, Dortmund-Hoerder Hüttenverein). The vehicle's chassis number is currently unknown The tank, numbered as 231 (according to the information display board next to the tank), belonged to the 2nd Company of the 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (although there is some debate surrounding exactly which unit this tank was attached to, with some sources attaching it to the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion).

Between the 12 and 20 August 1944 the Allies launched an offensive to close the Falaise pocket at Chambois, from where remnants of the German army were attempting to escape. Vimoutiers was near the junction of Anglo-Canadian and Polish forces in the north and US and French forces in the south. On 21 August 1944, along with other German tanks (Panthers, Panzer IIIs and IVs and other Tigers) and a variety of military vehicles, the Tiger was heading out of the Falaise pocket to a fuel dump at the Chateau de l'Horloge in Ticheville during the final days of the Battle of Normandy. It is thought the tank ran out of fuel on RN 179 just after leaving Vimoutiers. The tank's crew abandoned the tank and set off two explosive charges on the vehicle, which left the tank's turret immobilized and damaged the engine decking, leaving distinct cracking on the thick armoured plates. About sixty German armoured vehicles were abandoned in the vicinity of Vimoutiers.

Advancing units of 2nd Canadian Division (the Black Watch) later bulldozed the tank off the road (it being an obstruction to road traffic) and down into a shallow embankment beside it.

Model from Dragon with metal trucks from Sector. Painted with acrylics paints and MIG pigments/washes.