Ben:
Good to hear that you like the kit, I put a lot of time into it.
There were 9 Tigers sent to this unit in 1942, and all of the known photos of them are thumbnailed here
http://www.tiif.de/thread.php?threadid=16&sid=bf09bac9978aca31f713d8d4f7e3eb46
down to the point where it says "2nd company"
A brief summary: the Tigers were sent to the unit in 3 batches, all painted grey, and all with right/left tracks. The small turret bins were added to the rear of the turret by the unit. These were from Pz.3 because the Tigers units used Pz 3 to fill out their numbers.
The Tiger wasn't ready for "prime time" yet and the vehicles broke down frequently.
The decal scheme "123" is based on a photo from this period, but it's an error, we now know that the photo showed "121". In fact we know most of the ID numbers that were painted on these Tigers, but not all; I make suggestions here:
http://www.tiif.de/thread.php?threadid=507&sid=bf09bac9978aca31f713d8d4f7e3eb46
We don't know the casting numbers on the top of the mantlet. Detailed factory records like that don't tend to survive the years. All we can do is look at the surviving tanks. There is one early survivor that has a "22" there; these Initial Tigers were probably in single digits.
The Tigers were effective participants in the struggle to maintain the siege of Leningrad, but the terrain was swamp and forest, completely unsuitable for them. The first combat loss was in September.
The remaining 8 Tigers were used in small engagements along the front for many weeks. They got some modifications as winter came in:
- They were painted in the whitewash camouflage
- some crews swapped around tracks so they wouldn't have to carry different kinds of spares
- extensions were put on the exhausts because they spouted flame that the Russians could see
- Tiger 100 was reportedly holed in the left side of the turret. Two custom bins were added and the old Pz3 bin was cut off. Somebody claims that the left bin was half full of concrete to cover the hole.
The decal scheme for "100" is of course from this time. This was the company commander's vehicle. If we could read those little turret numbers in the photos, there would be a lot more decal options in the kit; in fact, I ensured that there are enough digits on the sheet to cover almost any of the Tigers if more photos should appear on Ebay.
The Russians launched a major attack on 12 January and the Tigers were committed the next day. After a week of bitter fighting around Sinjawino, one Tiger had been destroyed by the enemy, two captured, and two blown up by the Germans after they broke down. The tank troops eventually had to leave their vehicles and fight their way out on foot. The Russians broke through to relieve Leningrad on the 18th January.
Only 3 Tigers now remained, and another was lost on 31 January. Three new ones arrived in February; they were differently equipped and this kit can't build them.
The Tigers were then repainted in whitewash and numbered 1 to 5. The decal scheme for '3' is from this period; the tank had formerly been "122". You can see photos of this period on this page, under "Anfang 1943".
http://www.tiif.de/thread.php?threadid=16&sid=bf09bac9978aca31f713d8d4f7e3eb46
David