Tarasdad's Tiger I build - Tamiya Initial Production

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 3:07 am

Was just able to order this kit for the SIG:

Tamiya Tiger I Init.jpg

Won't be here until Jan 8 at the earliest so I'll have a bit of playing catchup to do! This will be a strictly OOB build, just no budget for AM goodies. I debated for a long time between this and the AFV late version kit. Decided to go with this because I wanted to do a DAK version.

Going to be watching a LOT of Coen's vids for this build!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 12:32 pm

Good choice of kits Tim, aside from missing the grills is not to bad out of the box.
It's a classic kit, but a good classic. It should be a fun build for you.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:44 pm

Just got an email stating my kit has shipped! Paid a few pennies extra for USPS Priority so it should be here by Friday if not sooner. Really looking forward to this one. I've even been debating ways to make a mask to make painting the road wheels easier!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:32 am

I just paint them all by hand Tim. I prime them in a dark colour, then spray them in the base coat and then the camo.
Then I sit down with a movie, youtube vids, a TV show, some music, or those bums on the hangouts and just paint the rubber.
If you do it long enough you get really good at it and it takes no time at all. 20-30 minutes usually for a tiger I.

If that bit of lunacy doesn't strike ya you can always use those circle templates that engineers use to draw circles. Prime the wheels and spray the rubber colour over the rubber. Stick the template over the wheel with the rubber masked off behind with the appropriate sized hole and spray the base colours and the camo. Done.

Those are pretty much the only ways to do it really. The templates come in all shapes and sizes and you can by kit/vehicle specific templates if you like. I'm a cheap ol'bugger so I'll stick to hand painting them and watching youtube vids haha.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:11 pm

Well lookee what the postal carrier dropped off today!

The box comes well stuffed with plastic:

Instructions and decals are Tamiya's typically excellent work:

Now I just need to clear off my work bench and get this Tigger built!

Post by **Art17847** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:03 am

Post by **Tarasdad** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:41 am

This is proving to be a pretty fast build!

Time to take a break, eat some dinner, and let the glue cure.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:40 am

Current progress.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:23 am

HELP! I've come to a step where I have the option of two different parts and I don't know which is correct! They fit over a vent (I think) on the turret roof. Here's a pic:

Which should I use for a DAK Tiger I?

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:04 pm

Barry, the round disk with the holes is the inside of the armoured extractor fan outlet. The dome shaped thing is the armoured cover for it. It kept the rain out of the turret.
Most crews kept that cover off and stowed in the turret bin unless they were fording a river or it was really wet weather. Leaving it off would be the normal look for most tigers.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:37 pm

Thanks, Coen!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:45 am

A bit more progress.

Looking more and more like a Tigger! Err, Tiger!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:22 am

I'm calling this one ready for primer and base coat. Well, except for sanding the filler on the front first. Ah, the things you don't see until after the photograph...

Cupola and exhaust shields won't be permanently affixed until after base coating and a bit of minor detailing. Herr Flatthead will need a tiny bit of filler before he gets paint and his cap.

Post by **Coen** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:44 pm

Looks like a tiger to me.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:39 pm

Decided my Tiger needed a bit more personality prior to being painted, so...

Not the easiest thing to do since only the edges are thin enough to manipulate. One of several places on this kit that could benefit from PE.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:56 pm

Coen, saw your comments in OD's build thread regarding the travel lock holes. The turret top on my kit has these:

Should they be filled in?

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:46 am

No don't fill them in Barry.
That's for the internal travel lock for the gun. All tigers had those.

This is the configuration for the roof of your turret.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:09 am

Haven't been able to start airbrushing the tank yet so I've been working on the commander figure:

I still need to paint his insignia, medal and badges. After that a coat of Future then washes and highlights before a final spray of Dullcote.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 1:14 am

Primed.

I was going to use Humbrol Panzer Grey as a primer but decided to save it and used Floquil Engine Black instead. Gives a beautifully smooth finish, but good heavens what a stench! Going to give this a couple of days to fully cure - and for me to be able to smell normally again! To be honest the cleanup was worse than the painting. Oh, and FYI Fast Orange Hand Cleaner does a fantastic job of getting paint and thinner off your hands.

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:12 am

It looks amazing, floquil paints are what made me switch almost entirely to using acrylics.
Peeeyouuu! What a stink!

You can't argue with the finish though, it's wonderful.

Post by **Gb64c** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:28 am

Tim

How I do the road wheels is; prime, paint rubber black with AB, no need to worry about over spray on the disc, then use an architecture circle tem plate, and you select the size that hides the tire portion leaving the disc exposed in the hole, then hold tightly and spray each disc with base color, leaving the tire black free from base color.

Post by **Nige201980** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:57 am

Looking good mate

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:00 am

Wash time!

Post by **JediBoer** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:10 am

It looks like a nice kit! The commander figure looks great! Can't wait so see the end result!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:23 pm

Popped into the LHS and picked up some more Panzer Dunkelgelb. Also picked up a jar of Tamiya Extra Thin while I was there. I have three bottles of Testors liquid cement but figured since I'm the one who suggested he carry the Tamiya I should probably get some.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:33 am

Panzer commander is done!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:23 am

That's proper awesome!!
I love the look of this medals. Well done.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:10 am

Just wish I could do faces as well as I can do the rest. Never have been able to do them worth a hoot.

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:25 am

Excellent so far, look forward to see how it all ends up!

Post by **JediBoer** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 7:43 am

Great job on the figure!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:33 am

In the middle of spraying Model Master Acryl Panzer Dunkelgelb on the road wheels my airbrush started acting up. On examination the o-ring for the air cap appears to have swollen and stretched. My guess is it didn't react well to the Floquil paint and thinner. I was able to finish the wheels/sprockets/rollers by hand with good results but there's no way I'm trying to brush paint the rest! Time to switch back to my Badger 200 until I can get parts for the other one I guess.

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:59 am

Looking great so far Barry and love the figure, very well painted.

Sorry to hear about the AB, can you get a new seal for it or is it time to chop it in for a new one.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:44 pm

Oh those floquil paints.
At one time they were all the rage every armour, ship and train builder that I knew of was using those. They were the bee's knees.
You can't argue the finish though, they do lay down well. The thinners are toxic to both man and brush though. As you've just discovered.

My local shop still stocks them and there's still a large number of hobbyists that are loyal to them as they are the flag.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:56 pm

Fortunately I was able to swap out for my cheap Harbor Freight airbrush since it uses the same size hose fitting. This morning I've been painting tires. Lots of tires Oh, so many tires...

I just finished the last of them. Tamiya XF63 German Grey for the tires for a more scale look. Not perfect, but good enough. A little weathering and they'll be just fine. Still need to paint the hull and turret. My wife bought me this to make painting a bit more pleasant:

I've been needing one for a while, just never wanted to spend the money. She actually got a better one than I would have bought for myself! I really love that lady!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:31 am

I was sitting here perusing some of the other build threads thinking how much better the back deck looks with screen over the grilles. Just about decided to see if I could get some ordered...when I remembered that I had some fine mesh left over from building the Steyr 1500a/01 a while back. I dug out the box and sure enough there was some left and it just happened to be big enough for my purposes!

Being old enough to have learned how to do things old-school does have its moments.

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:04 pm

Barry... whatever works buddy. They look cool. Well done.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:01 pm

I remember back in the mid-80s my brother built a Tamiya Tiger I that supplied mesh for the same purpose. I don't remember if it had frames for it or not. My version may not look as good as PE but it works for me. My modeling skills aren't what they used to be or I might have tried to emulate the framing. My eyes and hands are no longer up to some of the things I could do 30 years ago, darn it.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 1:29 am

Got the first paint down on the hull:

Screens look much better with some paint on them:

Still needs more work, have to clean up a couple of spots and even out a patch or two. Then it's time to paint the turret and start the weathering process. I may redo the tires in black first, just not convinced the panzer grey looks right.

Post by **Nige99** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:41 am

She looking good Barry, well done on your tiger build. You mention about not being able to paint faces?? Why don't you put a brown serpia wash on the face? Leave the figure lying down and let the wash settle and dry in all the creases. They use the base colour you used for his face with a touch of white mixed in, keep the paint really think, like milk and high light the cheek bones, bridge of the nose and chin. Hope this helps.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:40 am

Haven't gotten anything done over the past few days. Rainy weather and what feels like a nasty cold have kept me unproductive. I'm going to try to finish up the base paint in the next couple of days, then get a coat of Future on so I can do the decals. After another coat of Future it will be time for weathering - and this is where I need a bit of help. I'm not sure what colors to use for a sludge wash or a dot wash. I have a fair selection of enamels and acrylics on hand, and I'm going to get some artist's oils from my mother-in-law as well. What I could use are some suggestions as to what colors of each type I should be considering.

As long as I've been in this hobby I'm still a total newb when it comes to certain aspects. Weathering is just one.

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:23 am

Loving the colour of that base-coat Barry - if you don't mind me asking, what did you use?

As for dot filters etc, feel free to take a peek at my Tiger I build thread as I stuck up a pic of the ones I use - basically brown, yellow, white and a darkish blue, all oil paints.

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:53 am

If you're going to be using a clay based wash for the sludge then a dark brown colour is best for the camo colour you're using. If you're using an oil sludge wash then burnt umber is probably the best colour.
The colours that Alex has listed for the dot filter are good ones, though go easy with the blue as it is easy to overwhelm with it. Just a few dots per panel should do of that colour.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:55 pm

alextheblue wrote:Loving the colour of that base-coat Barry - if you don't mind me asking, what did you use?

As for dot filters etc, feel free to take a peek at my Tiger I build thread as I stuck up a pic of the ones I use - basically brown, yellow, white and a darkish blue, all oil paints.

Alex, the base color is Model Master Acryl Panzer Dunkelgelb 1943 (#4796). Acrylic version of their enamel #2095. Great paint, sprays and lays down beautifully. Being sprayed over Floquil Engine Black.

Coen, I was thinking a dark brown wash. I have Panzer Schokoladenbraun which should work great. I'll decide once I can get to the m-i-l's house to see what she has. I've been wanting to get some oils for weathering, just keep shying away from spending the money.

Thanks to both of you for your input!

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:42 am

I've been debating whether to do a simple display base for the finished model. Coming up with the appropriate ground cover should be fairly easy. Thess photos were taken in my front yard:

I can find all the materials I need just by walking outside!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:07 am

Whats happened to your Tiger, it's turned blue and grown wings!!!

Thanks for the paint tip Barry, might have to invest in some.

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:13 am

Where's all the snow?

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:55 pm

In the Sierras. Foothills are about 20 minutes west of here. One thing I do miss from the time we spent living in northern Utah. *sigh*

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:30 am

Model Master Acryl thinned with distilled water does not spray as well as it does when thinned with 70% isopropyl alcohol.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:28 am

Build progress has been halted by a nasty upper respiratory infection. Just now getting over it enough to feel like working on the kit some more. One thing that I've decided is that as nice as the kit tracks are I just do not have the patience to deal with them, so in the next few days I'll be ordering a set of Friulmodel tracks for this beast on evilBay.

--------------------------------------------------------

Tracks have been ordered. Now it's just a matter of playing the waiting game.

Post by **Tarasdad** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:29 pm

Look what came in the mail today!

Looks like I have a bit of work to do today! Ordered these from sk1968sk (achtungpanzer, aka Szymon) on ebay and he added the two 2m antennas as a bonus - great service!