Hobby Master King Tiger Tank sSSPzAbt 501, Henschel, Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes 1944 diecast model tank HG0106 1/48

Hitler was impressed with Allied heavy tanks and in 1941 ordered his own. In late 1942 Tiger I's appeared. These tanks were bigger and better and had a massive 88mm main gun with greatly improved armor. In 1944 the Tiger II, a larger tank arrived with an upgraded 88mm main gun and armor that was almost impenetrable. The King Tiger tank (also known as the Tiger II, Königstiger, and Royal Tiger) was far more than a highly modified Tiger I: it was a completely new vehicle that only shared a number of components with the late-production Tiger I tanks. This vehicled emerged from the competition, again between the firms of Henschel and Porsche, and was dubbed the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B "King Tiger" tank (SdKfz 182): generally assessed to be the most powerful, largest and heaviest tank to see combat during World War II.

Just the sight of a Tiger II caused fear in its adversary, but they were too few and too late. The Tiger's biggest enemy of the war was lack of fuel, an under-powered engine, mechanical breakdown, and its sheer massive size. The beast weighed in at 68 metric tons, 12 metric tons heavier than the Tiger I tank! This had an obvious effect on the King Tiger's mobility, which was even worse than the Tiger I, and also placed an even greater strain on the engine and drive train components.