Yeah, Tamiya released a limited production Late Tiger I earlier this year, that had alluminum barrel and Friulmodelisimo tracks in the kit.
About the Verlinden set, hmmm well considering that this is probably the first time you do PE on armor, its ok. But the PE is much too thick, the detail is bad considering the price and the resin parts are not up to standard.
When I got that set I was really disapointed, oh and this is the exterior set I am talking about, the engine bay is pretty good.
The Eduard set is much better, and ofcourse the Aber set is the best, but also the most difficult to build.