AFV Club 1/48 Tiger 1 Early Version

[Luft46]

My entry into the Tiger1 SIG. This will be the 1st Tiger1 I have ever built. I also picked up a set of AFV workable tracks for it to make my life easier. I am very excited to finally build one of these Big Cats even though this is a 1/4 scale. I also look forward to seeing all the other members builds as well.

[sef]

That looks good. Be interested to know how you get on with the tracks...

[Coen]

Ooooo! A 1/48!!!!
I was hoping someone would build in 48 and maybe 72nd! Yippiiii
Nice choice Luft!

[timtamtung]

Don't worry mike, got both that covered

[MarkVerploeg]

Should be a nice build altough i prefer 35th scale
The after market tracks should be a nice addition and indeed make it a biy easier
Good luck with the build

[Luft46]

I am still working on the tracks but the tiger for the most part is done.
I only installed the inner wheels on the tank and have left off the outer ones.
I have cleaned up the outer wheels and OVM. I will prime them separately when the tracks are done.
I didn't care much for the decals in the kit so I ordered this Kagero Topcolors #29 Tiger book. It has 16 tiger profiles and also contains Cartograf decals of them for all 3 scales. I have chosen Tiger 213 the original ride of Otto Carius of the famed "Tigers in the Mud" book.
I was so excited after the new year to start this kit I forgot to take photos of the sprues sorry.
The kit went together extremely easy and was a joy to build. The only real issue I had with the kit was a ejector pin mark on the barrel which I filled and sanded (can be seen in the 3rd photo).
I would highly recommend this kit for a beginner or intermediate modeler.

[Coen]

So the book came with a sheet of decals? We're they all in 1/48 or were they in various scales? The book looks awesome, I think that I'll be ordering one of those just for the list of schemes. Nice find Luft!
It's odd that they chose to put an EPM on the gun barrel, such a prominent part like that.
Very bad planning on thier part.
The rest of that kit looks pretty good though. I'll look forward to seeing the tracks.

[Luft46]

Yes the book includes the Cartograf decals of the 16 profiles in all 3 scales 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72.
I picked it up from ebay for $13.94 plus $2.95 shipping from "runforcover" seller.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pz-Kpfw-VI-Tige ... 1568524763

[Coen]

Thanks Luft!!!!!!
Excellent!!

[Luft46]

I finished building the AFV Club Workable tracks and primed everything in AK Interactive grey primer.
The detail on these tracks is very good however the pins on them are very fragile and break easily.
Also I found that a good percentage of the holes the pins fit into need to be drilled out with a pin vise.
There has to be a better product out there in that price range. Any suggestions?
Also I found that when using this primer you have to apply very fine layers of paint which when dry allow the following coats something to grab onto.
The bottle I have is almost empty and I plan on replacing it with the new Badger primer that I have heard only good things about by the members on this forum.
The next step is to shadow and base paint the model. I recently picked up the new Modulation and Light Techniques book by Javier Solar and I will probably paint this Tank using the zenithal light or color modulation style.

[Coen]

I'm not familiar enough with 1/48 armour to suggest any aftermarket, though I'm curious now that you've mentioned it. I may have to look around and see what there is, if I see track options for this kit I'll certainly make note of them.
I've had nothing but bad luck with AK's black primer. It sprays and breaks up in evey bottle that I have, the grey and yellow are good though. That badger primer wins all though.
All paint and primer have weaknesses, the badger primer it's the thickness. You need a special pressure and needle size to use it properly. Other than that it's wonderful.

It will be interesting to see how the modulation experiment goes. I'm not a fan of modulation myself, but I've only every seen it in magazines and a couple of times at a show. So the door is always open for more examples in my experience. I hope to see your progress

[alextheblue]

That's a great kit there Luft and she's looking really good! Loving seeing all these different Tigers in different scales and from different makers - especially looking forward to how your modulation technique turns out!!

[eightfooticeman]

Alert! 10 days left! How is your build coming along?