Detail your Tiger II (King Tiger) with this ultra-realistic ammunition and spent casing set, based on the legendary 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 — Germany’s most powerful vehicle-mounted anti-tank gun of the Second World War.
This 35-piece resin set replaces soft, inaccurate plastic kit parts with crisp, museum-grade detail, perfect for hull sponson racks, turret rear racks, or crew re-arming vignettes.
Kit Contents
- Pzgr. 39/43 APCBC x7 – armor-piercing, capped ballistic cap
- Pzgr. 40/43 APCR x7 – tungsten-core sub-caliber round
- Gr. 39/43 HEAT x7 – shaped-charge round
- Spent casings x14 – 88x822mm R
The KwK 43 entered service in 1944, primarily arming the Tiger II.
Its huge 88x822mm case — nearly half again as long as the Tiger I’s 88x571mm round — allowed a much larger propellant charge and a muzzle velocity that could defeat any Allied tank of the war well beyond 2,000m.
The same ammunition family armed the closely related PaK 43 anti-tank gun, used on the Jagdpanther, Ferdinand/Elefant, and Nashorn tank destroyers.
The Pzgr. 39/43 APCBC was the standard round, weighing around 10.4 kg complete. Its wider driving bands (versus the earlier Pzgr. 39-1) let it handle the KwK 43’s higher chamber pressures without the round-count restrictions older ammunition needed. The Pzgr. 40/43 APCR, at roughly 7.3 kg, used a tungsten core for devastating short-range penetration but was severely rationed as German tungsten supplies dried up from 1943. The Gr. 39/43 HEAT offered a chemical-energy alternative with consistent penetration at any range, valuable as a backup once APCR became scarce.
Spent casings were tossed onto the turret floor or thrown clear through escape hatches — the sheer size of the 88mm cartridges meant a lot of hot, gas-heavy brass (or late-war steel) to clear during sustained engagements.
Painting Tips
-
Pzgr. 39/43 APCBC: satin black body, white “Pzgr. 39/43” stencil, thin red ring above the driving bands
-
Pzgr. 40/43 APCR: matt black body, white “Pzgr. 40/43” stencil, white line marking the tungsten core boundary
-
Gr. 39/43 HEAT: field grey or satin black body, white “Gr. 39/43 Hl” stencil, wide white band at the nose cone
-
Casings: late-war steel — dull greenish-grey lacquer or dark Parkerized grey (brass was phased out by the time Tiger II production began, due to copper shortages), white base stencil reading “8,8 cm KwK 43”
