COBI Small Army 2017

Sturmtiger released.

Cobi destroyer released.

Did anybody notice that Cobi has updated some of the "Nano" tanks?

3016 - Leopard I Nano Tank

Old:



New:




3017 - Tiger I Nano Tank

Old:



New:




3021 - T-34 Nano Tank

Old:



New:

Yesterday I assembled the updated WoT Tiger I, and a realized that the model was not just a simple update (new nozzle, raised cupola), but a complete re-design!



The whole chassis of the tank was a completely different construction than the previous version, and this was really fun and challenging to build, not just your typical Cobi build.
When I opened the bags (now you only get a "big bag" labeled "2", the bags for building step no. 1 are losely included in the box, but they have a printed "1" on them),
I noticed 2 silver rims, and I wondered what they would be for. Well, they were for the engine, a brick build engine, not just one universal "engine" part used on all previous tanks.

Some notable new features are:

- new nozzle piece
- new raised cupola piece
- nicely built towing cables with small clips at each end
- "brick-build" engine
- sticker sheet with historical German crosses

Don't get me wrong, this is a great model, but I still have some issues:

1.
There is a gap of 1 plate hight between the tank body and the turret. But you cannot put the 4x4 turntable piece one plate height deeper into the turret, as the 3x3 plates with round edges used at the bottom of the turret prevent that.
But you can switch to a 2x2 turntable plate instead. Then the gap is gone, but the turret cannot rotate 360 degrees anymore. The part preventing the 360 rotation is mainly a 2x2 round part on top of the rear engine hatch, so you have to get rid of that part aswell, or lower the rear hatch by one plate.
After that, the rotating turret just hits the 2 front hatches a bit, but is still able to rotate. It looks to my like the model was originally designed without that gap, but was later changed to a version with that gap, because after lowering the turret the 3x3 plates with round edges at the bottom of the turret fit perfectly along the printed 2x3 grille tiles when rotation the turret.

2.
The visor for the driver is also "brick-build" now. But I would rather use a 1x2 slope brick (as used on the back of the turret) rather than a 1x2 "jumper plate" with a 1x1 tile on top

2.
At the back of the vehicle, Cobi should have used a printed tile between the 2 exhaust pipes again, as seen on 2462 and Tiger 131. The big 4x6 plate used there shows too much studs ...

3.
The printed 2x3 tiles with a grille pattern (for the rear engine covers) are ugly. I would have preferred a part with a real relief, like the existing 4x4 hatch parts.

4.
On the front side of the turret the fog grenades are missing. Why use the 2x3 slopes with a hole in it, if you mount nothing on it, just a 1x1 round tile?

About the wot tiget i; you're right on all counts Caracho

But i got to say that that turret ( when lowered 1 plate) is really a big improvement, cobi did a great job on it
They made it much flatter ( same as my Witmann tiger, where i manager to use the 4x4 pin plate and even 1 plate lower than Cobi's)

i like the hull and fenders too, way better

My biggest complain is the wheels and allignment; way to high and wrong

Does the Tiger have national emblem stickers of just those useless WoT ones? They'd be less useless if they ever included the raptor emblem I always use though

Looking forward to this one. I'll have to order it from eBay instead of waiting for it to show up on Amazon. When Cobi updates these things and then uses the SAME product number as the previous version, you never know which you're getting when you order from a big online retailer.