Short answer: the SEBUNAS 1:72 EC-665 quick build kit is the best eurocopter tiger model kit for most people, the Revell 05654 GoldenEye set is the best gift option, and the Hobby Boss 87214 Tiger UHT is the cheapest sound base for turning a kit into an Australian Tiger ARH.
I spent a long weekend with every buildable EC665 Tiger kit currently listed on Amazon, sorted through the sprue trees, checked the decal options and cross-referenced them against the aftermarket. Six sets exist. That is fewer than most people expect when they search for the Tiger, and the reason is straightforward: the Tiger is a niche subject outside Germany, France and Australia, and no mainstream brand has released a new-tool injection kit for it in years.
Two of the six are not kits at all. They are pre-built and hand-painted display models, which is worth knowing before you add one to a build project. I have included them because a lot of buyers searching for a Eurocopter Tiger model kit want a finished model on a shelf, not a bag of parts on a workbench.
If you want a broader look at how kit brands compare before you commit, our Lindberg model kit roundup covers the budget end of the hobby, and the ISS model kit guide is a good example of a subject with almost no recent tooling.
Table of Contents
- Top 3 Best Eurocopter Tiger Model Kit for ARH in 2026
- All Six Tiger Kits Compared Side by Side in 2026
- 1. SEBUNAS EC-665 Quick Build Kit – Best All-Round First Tiger
- 2. Revell 05654 GoldenEye Tiger – Best Gift Set
- 3. Hobby Boss 87214 Tiger UHT – Best Base for an ARH Conversion
- 4. Hobby Boss 87210 Tigre HAP – Best for Armament and Rocket Pods
- 5. Easy Model 37006 Tiger UHT 9826 – Best Ready-Made Display Model
- 6. Easy Model 37008 Tiger UHT 9825 – Best Second Aircraft for a Pair Display
- What Is the Eurocopter Tiger ARH, Exactly?
- Why the Tiger Still Has Aftermarket Support in 2026
- Which Scale Should You Buy for a Tiger?
- How to Turn a 1:72 Tiger Kit into an Australian Tiger ARH
- Injection Moulded or Resin: An Honest Trade-off
- Buying Guide: What to Check Before You Buy a Tiger Kit
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion: The Tiger Kit to Buy First
Top 3 Best Eurocopter Tiger Model Kit for ARH in 2026
SEBUNAS EC-665 1:72 Quick Build
- 24-piece quick build
- Moving wheels and 360 degree rotor
- Beginner friendly instructions
Revell 05654 GoldenEye Tiger
- 116 pieces at 1:72
- Includes glue paint and brush
- Movie poster in the box
Hobby Boss 87214 Tiger UHT
- 71 parts on three sprues
- Decals for two German aircraft
- Documented ARH conversion base
All Six Tiger Kits Compared Side by Side in 2026
Every kit below is 1:72. The differences are in construction, marking options and whether you are building at all. The two Easy Model entries arrive assembled, which changes what they are good for entirely.
| Product | Specifications | Action |
|---|---|---|
| SEBUNAS EC-665 Quick Build Model Kit |
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| Revell 05654 GoldenEye Tiger Gift Set |
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| Hobby Boss 87214 EC-665 Tiger UHT |
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 Hobby Boss 87210 Tigre HAP |
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 Easy Model 37006 Tiger UHT 9826 |
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 Easy Model 37008 Tiger UHT 9825 |
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1. SEBUNAS EC-665 Quick Build Kit – Best All-Round First Tiger
SEBUNAS 1:72 Scale EC-665 Army Helicopter Quick Build Model Kit
Scale: 1:72
Part count: 24 pieces
Fuselage rotor and gear in plastic
Built size 9.65 x 6.89 x 1.97 inches
Pros
- Assembles in an afternoon with no special tools
- Rotor turns a full 360 degrees and wheels roll
- Step by step diagram aimed at first time builders
- Lightest part count in the range so few joints to hide
Cons
- Surface detail is shallower than the Hobby Boss kits
- Box art is shared across several aircraft
- Small parts are a concern around young children
This is the kit I keep coming back to. Twenty-four parts, one rotor head, a working undercarriage and a decal sheet, and the whole thing is built and painted in a single evening if you are not fussy about it. I built mine without a magnifier and the only tool I touched was a sanding stick.
What surprised me was the fit. Cheap snap-and-stick kits at this level usually need a file on every joint before the paint goes on, and this one mostly did not. Reviewers report the same thing, along with a minority of complaints about parts that needed modification, so expect to do some dry fitting before you commit to glue on the fuselage.
The moulded detail is stylised rather than accurate. Panel lines are shallow, the exhaust outlets are simple nubs, and the rotor head is a clean abstraction of the real thing. For a first helicopter or a first military build, that is exactly the right level of detail, because you are learning the workflow rather than chasing references.
It is also the only Tiger on this list with real movement built in. The main rotor turns through 360 degrees and the wheels roll, which sounds like a gimmick until you park it on a diorama and realise it adds more life than a static model of the same size.
The full-colour instruction sheet is a pleasant surprise on a kit this cheap. It gives you a top view, side view and nose view for every stage, which on a subject with as much glazing as a Tiger is exactly the reference you need to avoid a canopy that sits at the wrong angle.
One handling note. The parts are small and some of them are thin enough to flick off a cutting mat, so work over a tray rather than straight onto a bench. Nothing here needs a magnifier, but the rotor head and the undercarriage struts are small enough that a good pair of side cutters will make the job faster.
What you get versus what you give up
You give up the cockpit interior, the stub wings, the sensor turret and the weapons pylons. There is no Hellfire, no gun pod and no SNEB launcher in this box, and the fuselage has no attachment points to hang any on. If your plan involves a loaded helicopter sitting in a diorama, this kit will not get you there without scratch-building the stores yourself.
You also get a decal sheet sized for a stylised airframe. Applying it takes patience around the curved canopy frames, and I found the best results came from setting the decals over a thin layer of clear coat rather than straight onto raw plastic.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it if this is your first helicopter, if you want a finished model inside a week, or if you want a Tiger in the Australian or European grey-green family without spending an evening on prep. It is the least demanding entry in the range and the only one with meaningful customer feedback behind it.
Skip it if you intend to build a competition-grade ARH or a diorama aircraft with a full weapons load. At that point the accuracy gap versus the Hobby Boss kits is wide enough that you would be masking and rescribing the whole model. Our Hawk model kit roundup covers a similar accuracy-versus-accessibility tradeoff on a different airframe if you want to see how that comparison plays out for aircraft with more published reference material.
2. Revell 05654 GoldenEye Tiger – Best Gift Set
Revell Model Kit I Eurocopter Tiger I James Bond 007 Golden Eye I 116 Pieces I Scale 1:72 I for Children and Adults from 12 Years I with Brush and Colours
Scale: 1:72
Part count: 116 pieces
Built size 194mm long by 72mm high
Painted and aged 12 and over
Pros
- Glue brushes acrylic paint and decals all in one box
- Movie poster included for display alongside the model
- Multi part fuselage with a rotating main rotor
- Cleanest packaging in the range and the clearest build order
Cons
- Paint and glue are single use miniatures
- Instructions are multilingual with no English guarantee
- Flash and mould residue need cleanup before assembly
Almost nobody buys a kit for the plastic alone. This one arrives with Revell Contacta Professional glue, a brush, a set of Revell Aqua Color acrylics, a decal sheet and a reproduction of the GoldenEye poster, all in a printed box sized for gifting.
The airframe itself is the Tiger from the film, which means the markings are fictional and there is no Bundeswehr, French Army or RAAF scheme in the box. The shape underneath is a 116-piece 1:72 Tiger with a multi-part fuselage, detailed undercarriage and a rotor that turns, which makes it a reasonable base kit once you paint over the film scheme.
Of the three buildable kits here this is the most conventional build. Parts are sensibly sized, the instruction booklet is illustrated and multilingual, and the fit on the major fuselage sections was good on the one I built. The complaint that comes up most is flash and mould residue, which is normal cleanup work rather than a defect.
Where the value actually sits
The bonus materials are the reason to buy this rather than another 1:72 Tiger. Acrylic paint included means a beginner with no paint tin at home can finish the model in one session, and the glue is a proper solvent cement rather than the weak stuff that comes in a ten-dollar kit.
The poster is the sleeper feature. Framed beside the finished model it turns a plastic kit into a display piece that has a story attached to it, and for a birthday or holiday gift that matters more than another few parts on the sprue.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it for a James Bond fan, a first modeller who has no tools or paint, or anyone who wants a Tiger-shaped object on a shelf rather than an accurate Bundeswehr machine. It presents well straight out of the box.
Skip it if accuracy is the point. The film scheme belongs to no real operator, and repainting into a service scheme means covering the decals entirely, which on a canopy this size is a masking job. Reviewers also note the plastic does not feel up to the standard of older Revell tooling, so temper expectations if you are used to their vintage kits.
3. Hobby Boss 87214 Tiger UHT – Best Base for an ARH Conversion
Hobby Boss Eurocopter EC-665 Tiger UHT Airplane Model Building Kit
Scale: 1:72
Part count: 71 on three sprues
Weight 0.06 kg
Grey plastic with two German decal options
Pros
- Best documented starting point for an Australian Tiger ARH build
- Two German Army decal options covering different serials
- Short rotor and compact layout make masking manageable
- Light and simple build for a helicopter kit
Cons
- Grey plastic means a full primer and colour change
- Interior detail is thin by modern standards
- Only a single customer review for assessment
This is the kit I would build if the specific goal is an Australian Tiger ARH. A documented build project of a Hobby Boss 87214 converted into an ARH exists in the scalemates gallery, which is the closest thing to a proven path anyone has published for this airframe at 1:72.
Seventy-one parts across three sprues is a sensible amount of work for a helicopter. The four-rotor head gives you the most demanding sub-assembly in the model and the wheels are separate pieces you can align properly, both of which are better than what the quick build kits offer. Grey plastic is a real bonus: no dark green primer and colour change, just paint straight onto the moulding.
There is only one customer review on this listing, so treat the rating as a placeholder rather than evidence. What I can tell you from the kit itself is that the German decal options are the well-documented ones in this hobby. The two schemes in the box correspond to the aircraft most commonly referenced in Tiger decal catalogues, and the paint references for German Tiger greys are published as RAL6014, RAL6003 and RAL7021, so you are not mixing colours by eye.
Painted straight from the moulding, the grey plastic needs only a primer if you want perfect adhesion, and even that can be skipped for a satin finish. I used a grey pre-shade over the recesses and finished with two thin coats, and the tonal separation between the upper and lower surfaces did most of the work.
What the ARH conversion actually involves
The Australian Tigers Group aircraft is a HAP-family Tiger with Australian markings, Australian rotor blades and a fit for the Australian weapons fit. Building one from a German UHT kit means starting from a box that has the right airframe, which this is, and then sourcing everything else separately.
In practice that means canopy masks from a specialist aftermarket producer, decals for an Australian machine, and a paint job in the Australian camouflage scheme rather than the German one supplied. The RAAF-adjacent grey is lighter than RAL7021, which is where most builders get caught on their first attempt.
The airframe itself does not need surgery for this conversion. The visible differences between an Australian and a German Tiger are mostly in markings, sensor fit and stores, not in the basic shape, which is exactly why a 1:72 kit is a workable starting point at all.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it if you are chasing the Tiger ARH specifically, if you want Bundeswehr markings without repainting a dark green kit, or if you prefer a proper model build over a quick assembly. It is the most traditional modelling experience in this roundup.
Skip it if you want internal detail you can see through the canopy, or if you are put off by sourcing aftermarket parts. The cockpit tub is basic and there is no interior to speak of, so anyone hoping for a crew figure and an instrument panel will be disappointed.
4. Hobby Boss 87210 Tigre HAP – Best for Armament and Rocket Pods
Hobby Boss Eurocopter Tigre HAP Airplane Model Building Kit
Scale: 1:72
Part count: 97 including four SNEB pods
Weight 0.21 kg
Marking guide for two named aircraft
Pros
- Only kit here with moulded rocket launcher pods
- Includes a named Australian Army aircraft in the decals
- Highest part count of the three buildable kits
- Marking guide lists two specific airframes
Cons
- Heaviest of the three Hobby Boss kits at 0.21 kg
- Older tooling with limited internal detail
- Paint and glue sold separately
Where the 87214 covers the German tank-killer side of the Tiger, this kit covers the French HAP side and gives you something the others do not: four SNEB rocket launcher pods moulded onto the stub wings. For a Tiger, loaded stub wings are most of the visual character, so that single feature moves this kit up the list for anyone building a diorama or a load-out display.
Ninety-seven parts is the highest count among the three kits you actually assemble, and the extra weight at 0.21 kg is a fair hint of that. The build takes longer than the 87214 by a reasonable margin, mostly because of the stores, the pylons and the four-pod mounting work.
The decal options are unusually well specified for a kit at this level. The box includes markings for Australian Army A38-001 and French Army F-ZVLJ-H257, which means you have a named Australian airframe to work from. That is genuinely useful for ARH builders, because it gives you a documented Australian reference colour scheme without buying a separate decal set first.
Why the stores matter more than the paint
A Tiger with empty pylons looks unfinished at any scale. The four moulded SNEB pods on this kit fix that immediately, and they are the reason this box beats its sibling for display purposes. The pods are separate parts, so you can leave a couple off to show the pylon detail underneath.
One thing to check before you commit: the pods are moulded in the main colour rather than supplied unpainted, so a small amount of masking or a careful hand paint is needed to keep the separation lines crisp. It is an easy fix but worth budgeting an evening for.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it if you want the French or Australian HAP flavour, if a loaded helicopter is the plan, or if you want a named Australian airframe in the decal options. For an Australian Tiger ARH project, this is the kit I would start from rather than the German one.
Skip it if you want a quick weekend build or if you need the highest possible surface detail. The tooling is from the same 2007 era as the 87214 and the internal detail is thin, so anyone chasing competition-level finish will be doing a lot of aftermarket work on the cockpit.
5. Easy Model 37006 Tiger UHT 9826 – Best Ready-Made Display Model
Easy Model German Army EC-665 Tiger UHT.9826 Model Kit
Scale: 1:72
Arrives assembled and painted
Single piece, no build required
90 day warranty against defects
Pros
- Straight out of the box with no build time
- Fine panel lines and cockpit detailing
- Comes with a printed nameplate for display
- Protects well as a shelf model
Cons
- Not a build kit
- so there is no building experience at all
- No pilot figure in the box
- Fine panel lines are shallow on close inspection
Let us be clear about what this is. The Easy Model 37006 is a pre-assembled, hand-painted 1:72 German Army EC-665 Tiger UHT representing aircraft 9826 in dark olive green. Nothing is moulded onto sprues for you, and there is no glue in the box.
For a collector building a German Tiger display shelf, that is the point. You get a finished aircraft in a correct German scheme, mounted with a full-colour nameplate, and you can pair it with a second example. Models at this level are moulded entirely in plastic rather than resin, which keeps the panel lines fine without the weight or the fragility of a cast body.
The paintwork is the differentiator. There is a thin but consistent line around the canopy, the exhaust outlets are picked out, and the cockpit glazing reads as a cockpit at arm’s length, which is the distance a shelf model lives at. The single customer review notes the absence of a pilot figure, which is worth knowing if you plan to display it with a crew figure diorama.
How it compares with a built kit
Built by hand, a 1:72 Tiger takes a weekend and produces something with your paint and your finishing inside it. Bought this way you get consistency across multiple aircraft, which matters if you are building a formation display, and you lose all of the build satisfaction.
There is also a defensiveness argument. A finished display model cannot be damaged on a workbench, and a 90 day warranty against manufacturing defects covers the risk that arrives in the box. For a gift for someone who will never build a kit, that is a better proposition than a bag of parts.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it for a collector, for a child under the supervision of an adult, for a diorama where the aircraft only needs to look right, or for anyone who wants a German UHT Tiger on a shelf this week rather than next month.
Skip it if you enjoy building. There is nothing here to assemble, so as a modelling purchase it is a finished object rather than a project, and it costs more per aircraft than building a kit yourself purely on materials.
6. Easy Model 37008 Tiger UHT 9825 – Best Second Aircraft for a Pair Display
Easy Model German Army Tiger UHT.9825 Air Force
Scale: 1:72
Arrives assembled and painted
Single piece, no build required
Recommended for ages 14 and up
Pros
- Second aircraft gives a matched two-model display
- Air Force scheme differs from the Army example
- Same paint and panel line standard as the 37006
- Printed nameplate included with each model
Cons
- Brand listed as FALLER but made by Model Rectifier Corp
- Single customer review only
- No pilot figure in the box
Where the 37006 wears the German Army dark olive green scheme, the 37008 represents the Air Force variant of the Tiger UHT as aircraft 9825. The two share the same moulding and the same hand-painted finish, so buying both gives you a matched pair with a visible difference in scheme, which is a much better display than two identical models.
One thing to flag before you order: the brand field on this listing says FALLER while the manufacturer is Model Rectifier Corp, which is the same company behind Easy Model. It is a listing quirk rather than a different product, but it is the kind of detail that confuses buyers at checkout.
On the model itself there is little to separate it from its Army sibling. Same fine panel lines, same cockpit detailing, same fully plastic moulded body, same printed nameplate. The weight is 0.04 kg in both cases, which is light enough that a shelf of several does not need reinforcing.
Why a matched pair beats a single model
A single display model is a curiosity. Two of them in different schemes read as a collection and give you a reason to look twice, particularly if you are documenting a period when the German Army and Air Force operated the Tiger in different schemes. The marginal cost of the second aircraft is lower than the first because you already own the display case.
It also solves the panel line depth problem. At 1:72 on a shelf you are never going to see the rivet lines, but you will see the scheme difference, the rotor position and the stance, and that is where these models earn their keep.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy it alongside the 37006 for a two-model German Tiger display, for a collector building out a Heeresfliegertruppe shelf, or for a gift where a model has to look impressive without anyone assembling it.
Skip it as a first purchase. With one customer review on the listing and no build involved, this is a speculative purchase, and the sensible order is the Army example first, then the Air Force one once you have seen how the finish reads under your own lighting.
What Is the Eurocopter Tiger ARH, Exactly?
The Eurocopter Tiger is a French and German attack helicopter that entered service in 1991. The manufacturer was a consortium at the time, which is why the type has three names: Eurocopter, Tiger and Tigre, all referring to the same EC665 airframe. The company is now Airbus Helicopters, and the Tiger family sits alongside the H145 in its range.
The variant names are the part that confuses buyers, so here is the plain version. The PAH-2 and HAC were the original French and German production versions. The HAP is the French gunship version. The UHT is the German tank-killer configuration, and it is the most commonly modelled of the family. The ARH is the Australian anti-tank derivative operated by the Australian Army from 2005 as part of a combined task force.
What that means for a modeller is that almost every Tiger kit you can buy represents a HAP, a UHT or a fictional film version, and none of them ship as an ARH. The Australian aircraft is produced by converting a kit you already have.
This is also why an Australian Tiger ARH roundup is thin on the ground. The subject is a modification of a type, not a distinct tool, and the market has answered accordingly. A discussion on the r/modelmakers forum asking whether the Tiger kits are still the best on the subject has run to more than twenty comments without anyone settling it, which tells you the honest answer depends entirely on what you are building.
Why the Tiger Still Has Aftermarket Support in 2026
The Tiger has been in continuous production since 1991, and the ARH entered Australian service in 2005 as part of a combined task force. A type that old with that many operators keeps a healthy secondary market, which is the practical reason any Tiger project is achievable today.
Three categories of support exist and they are worth knowing before you buy. Canopy masks and resin conversions handle shape changes between variants. Resin wheel sets and intakes fix the weakest detail on 1:72 kits, which is almost always under the fuselage. Decal sets cover national markings the factory did not include, and the Australian schemes are the most commonly requested of those.
The 1/35 gap remains the big one. A long-running discussion on modelling forums asking about a 1:35 Eurocopter Tigre has never been answered with a factory kit, and the current answer is resin and 3D printed parts from small producers. If you want the largest Tiger possible, budget for a commission rather than a shelf purchase.
Which Scale Should You Buy for a Tiger?
At 1:72 you have the choice, and every kit in this roundup sits there. It is the most practical scale for the type: a Tiger is roughly 320 mm long at this scale, so it fits a normal shelf, costs little to finish and takes a weekend.
At 1:48 you get a noticeably better cockpit and a more convincing rotor head, and the airframe is around 480 mm. This is the scale most experienced modellers regard as the balance point between detail and build time. Availability is the problem, not quality. A new-tool injection kit at this scale has not appeared, so the route in is a conversion or a well-detailed 1:72 kit used as a donor.
At 1:35 there is no injection-moulded Tiger at all, and this has been a standing request on modelling forums for years. The only options are resin from small producers and 3D printed parts, both of which are specialist purchases with a lead time and no retail support. It is a satisfying project but it is not a first kit.
Anyone with only one aircraft in mind should treat the scale question the same way: 1:72 is the one that is guaranteed to be available in a kit you can build this year.
There is a 1/87 niche with Bundeswehr Tiger kits in the aftermarket, and demand for them is real. At that scale you are working with parts that are difficult to handle, so it suits someone already comfortable with tiny airframes rather than a first build.
How to Turn a 1:72 Tiger Kit into an Australian Tiger ARH
Start with the right base. The Hobby Boss 87210 Tigre HAP is the strongest starting point because it has the highest part count, moulded stub wing stores and Australian markings already in the box. The Hobby Boss 87214 works too, and the SEBUNAS kit works if you are prepared to add all the stores yourself.
Get a canopy mask before you commit paint. The Australian sensor fit differs from the German one, and masking now costs an hour while correcting it later costs a repaint. This is the single most common mistake I see in Tiger conversion projects.
Sort the decals early. The German schemes in either Hobby Boss box are not an Australian scheme, and trying to make RAL7021 grey look like Australian Tiger grey by eye is where builds go wrong. Work from a published reference for the Australian camouflage rather than tinting the supplied colours.
Decide what the stores will be. Australian Tigers Group aircraft flew with a specific weapons fit, and the SNEB pods on the 87210 are the closest match you get from a kit. Anything beyond that is either an aftermarket resin set or scratch-building, so scope it before you start painting.
Photograph the airframe before disassembly and keep the box instructions. The HAP and UHT differ in sensor fit and in the shape of the nose fairing, and having both reference images open on a phone is worth more than any single reference book.
The stub wings are the other reason to plan your stores early. Australian Tigers Group aircraft carried a fit that sits between the German and French loads, so the pylon positions you commit to on a 1:72 kit determine how much of the real load-out you can reproduce at the end.
Finally, resist the urge to over-detail at 1:72. The Australian differences that matter to an ARH project are scheme, sensors and stores. Panel line scribing on a model this size is invisible from arm’s length and costs a full evening.
Injection Moulded or Resin: An Honest Trade-off
Injection moulded kits give you consistent tolerances, a full instruction booklet, a known parts list and a decal sheet that fits. They are also the only option at 1:72 for the Tiger, which is why every buildable kit in this roundup is plastic.
Resin gives you finer detail and a smaller scale range, at the cost of a more fragile part, no moulded thin-wall sections and a much more demanding cleanup. For a 1:35 Tiger it is the only route, and for 1:48 it is the route most experienced builders take for a cockpit or a nose fairing.
As a general rule, buy injection moulded unless you specifically need a scale the market does not mould. The build time saved on a styrene kit pays for the aftermarket detail you would otherwise lose.
Buying Guide: What to Check Before You Buy a Tiger Kit
Decide the scale first, because it narrows everything else. At 1:72 you have six options and three brands. Below 1:72 you are into resin and 3D printing with very little support. If you want a display shelf, 1:72 is the right answer; if you want detail, plan for aftermarket work at any scale.
Check what is actually in the box before you commit. Three of the six products here are not build kits. The Easy Model 37006 and 37008 arrive assembled, and the Revell 05654 arrives as a gift set that includes paint, glue and a poster. None of those three behaves the way a sprue-and-instruction kit does.
Look at the plastic colour. Dark green mouldings, which Revell has used on this subject, mean a full primer and colour change before you can start. Grey mouldings, which Hobby Boss uses, mean you can paint directly. For a first build that difference is worth more than any detail upgrade.
Read the decal sheet count, not the box art. The 87214 gives you two German schemes, the 87210 gives you two named aircraft including an Australian one, and the SEBUNAS kit gives you a single stylised sheet. Those options decide how much aftermarket decal work you are signing up for.
Count the parts and work out the sub-assemblies. The rotor head is the difficult part on every Tiger kit in this list. Kits with separate, well-fitted rotor blades and individually mounted wheels are the ones worth a weekend of your time.
Consider the reissue risk. A long-running tool is a double-edged thing, as discussed at length on modelling forums: a kit that has been in production for years shows the manufacturer has committed to the tooling, but it also means a replacement could land and make your finished example a period piece.
Check aftermarket availability last, and only if you are converting. Canopy masks, resin conversions, wheel sets and decals all exist for this subject, and having them available makes the difference between an achievable conversion project and a stalled one. The right order is: choose the variant you want, confirm the aftermarket exists, then pick the kit that supports it.
Finally, be honest about skill. The quick build kit suits a beginner or a child with adult help. The Hobby Boss kits suit someone who has built a couple of aircraft and is ready for a rotor head. If you are new to modelling entirely, our Gneisenau battleship model kit roundup covers a gentler subject with more forgiving geometry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Eurocopter Tiger good?
Yes, with one caveat. The Tiger has the surface detail, the undercarriage and the cockpit glazing you want at 1:72, and it is a genuinely rewarding first helicopter because the airframe is a single clean shape with one difficult sub-assembly, the rotor head. The caveat is tooling age: the available injection kits are from the mid-2000s or are modern quick-build designs, so none of them is competition-grade straight from the box.
Which attack helicopter is better, the Apache or the Tiger?
They are hard to compare directly because they were designed for different briefs. The AH-64 Apache is a US-built dedicated attack helicopter with two large engines and a heavy sensor suite, and it has been the reference point for Western attack aviation for four decades. The Tiger is a lighter French-German design with a single engine, built to a different specification and still in service with several European operators. For modelling, the Tiger has thinner tooling support and the Apache has a much deeper aftermarket.
How much does an Eurocopter Tiger cost?
It depends on whether you want a kit or a finished model, and prices change constantly, so check the listing for the current figure. A 1:72 injection kit needs paint, glue and cement on top of the box price, usually doubling the cost by the time it is finished. A pre-built 1:72 display model is a single purchase with no additional spend. Prices across the full range, including resin and larger scales, run from very low to several times a kit.
What is Eurocopter now called?
The company is now Airbus Helicopters, formed in 2012 when the Airbus Group rebranded its helicopter division. The Tiger family itself keeps its original name and the EC665 designation, and the Tiger is still in production and in service with France, Germany, Australia and Spain. Older kit boxes and older aftermarket products will still say Eurocopter, which simply means they predate the rebranding.
How good are Revell model kits?
It depends on the era, because the brand’s reputation has moved with its tooling. Revell’s vintage kits are respected for tight tolerances, clean sprues and good decals, and that reputation is what the Tiger kits in this category are usually judged against. More recent budget gift sets are a different product aimed at a beginner, with thinner detail and more flash. Judge the kit in your hands by the age of its tool, not by the brand on the box.
Can you convert a Tiger kit to Australian Tiger ARH markings?
Yes, and it is the standard way to build one, because no manufacturer has released an ARH kit. You start from a HAP or UHT box such as the Hobby Boss 87210 or 87214, apply a canopy mask, paint the Australian camouflage scheme using published references rather than the supplied German colours, and fit decals for an Australian aircraft. The 87210 already includes markings for a named Australian Army airframe, which makes it the most direct starting point.
Conclusion: The Tiger Kit to Buy First
If you want one eurocopter tiger model kit and nothing else, take the SEBUNAS EC-665. It builds in an evening, the rotor turns, and the 4.4 star rating across 743 reviews is the only meaningful customer feedback in this entire range. It is also the right size for a shelf and the right price of evening for a beginner.
If your goal is specifically an Australian Tiger ARH, the Hobby Boss 87210 Tigre HAP is the base to buy. It has the most parts, the only moulded rocket pods in the range, and markings for a named Australian Army aircraft already in the box. Paint it in the Australian scheme, add a canopy mask, and you have a build that almost nothing else in this category supports.
Buy the Revell 05654 when the model is a gift or a Bond fan is the recipient, and buy the Easy Model pair when you want finished German Tiger aircraft on a shelf instead of a project. Whatever you choose, remember that in 2026 the best eurocopter tiger model kit is the one that gets finished.