Dragon Tiger I Mid Production w/Zimmerit

Post by **alextheblue** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:04 am

Hey, wait for me!!

I think we all knew that this SiG would have a high level of participation, but wow, there's a huge amount of build threads already posted and its only the 4th of January, Before I get underway with my humble offerings, I would like to say a big thank you to Devon for coming up with the idea of this tribute build and also for allowing me to take part. I couldn't not take part in this build as Mike was the very first person to post a comment on one of my builds and the encouragement and advice he gave me inspired me to go on and continue posting my efforts. I think most of us can identify with that moment when we decide to share our efforts with the rest of the forum. You've taken all the pictures, titled your build thread, typed up all the comments and added the pics. There's that moment when you're filled with fear and excitement in equal measure and you hold your breath as you hit the Submit button. I know I'm not alone in this experience as Mike's help and generosity to the modelling community has been unwavering and I know his advice has gone way beyond modelling tips on occasion, so this meager offering of a build thread is my way of a thank you to Sir Michael Coen of the clan Campbell - sir, I doff my cap to you!

I bought this Dragon Tiger a little while before Devon posted his intention of running this tribute SiG and as soon as he did I knew I had to save it. I bought it mainly because I loved the box art, but also because I have built early and late Tigers, but never a mid-production one, so it kinda made sense.

So here goes with that lovely box-art.

A nice deep box filled with sprues of plasticky goodness!

On top of all those sprues lies the infamous Dragon instructions - complicated, difficult to interpret and littered with mistakes, but you can't help but love them as they add to the challenge.

A fair few options for paint schemes.

And onto the plastic. I didn't take pictures of all the sprues as there's millions of them - alright, not millions perhaps, but there are a lot.
Wheels, wheels and even more wheels.

Gubbins and greebles

Clear parts

DS tracks. I've never been a fan of vinyl tracks, mainly due to the lack of detai, but not only can these be glued together using TET, the level of detail on them is pretty good in my opinion.

Decals and PE

The main tub.

And the rest.......

One of the main reasons that I've been looking forward to building this particular kit is the zimmerit effect that is molded onto the plastic. I built a Dragon Jagdpanther for last years Dangerous Cat SiG and this too had the zimmerit effect and I liked it a lot.

Now onto the build - yahay!!

Before I get stuck in, I thought I'd post a quick pic of my weapons of choice. These are everything that I use along the way, but these few tools tend to be constants on my work mat during the build phase.

As with most AFV's you start off with the wheels and boy do Tigers and Panthers have some wheels. In the past I used to try and find ways of prepping and cleaning these quickly so that I could move onto the next part of the build process. For those of you that have read some of my other mad ramblings, you might know that one of my other passions is martial arts, specifically Shotokan karate. One of the things that we try and teach beginners and especially the kids, is that you need to thoroughly master each step of the learning process before moving onto the next stage. Most beginners make the mistake of constantly wanted to learn the next technique, the next kata and of course, achieving the next belt. As instructors, we constantly have to keep reigning this in and reminding them that repetition is the mother of skill and any gaps in their knowledge will show up big time later on in their learning process. It is here that I realised that I'm not practicing what I'm preaching, so now I take time with each wheel, carefully cleaning it up making sure all the seams etc are removed and I try to enjoy the whole process. And before you know it they are all done.

Next up is the rear plate with all the gubbings, as well as the fans and radiators. Some small fiddly details here, but nothing that's too difficult and being a Dragon kit everything goes together really nicely - a real pleasure to build.

One little tip here and I'm sure this is going to be nothing new to you guys, but I find it easier to drill out the tops of the tops of exhaust stacks so that the lugs of the supports locate a little easier. The picture shows two of "holes" drilled out in comparison to what they are like fresh off of the sprue.

I'll paint up the radiators and fans before attached the deck properly. You're not really going to see them once its all buttoned up, but one of the things that I've always admired about Mike is his attention to detail, so I wouldn't really be honoring him with my build if I left this bit out.

The next stage is the deck and adding some of the details, as well as the grills along with the PE grill covers. The level of detail here is really very nice what with all the fixings/straps etc that hold all the things down, such the tow cables etc.

And that about concludes my first efforts with this one. A great kit that is going together really nicely. Couple with the fact that this is one of my favourite subjects, combined with the great reason for the SiG and I think I;m going to thoroughly enjoy this one. I can see many hours spent drooling over all the great build threads over the coming weeks and quite frankly, I can't wait!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Nev** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:10 am

This is great mate good luck with your build! Nice thing is I am also building this kit, quite relieved as I can draw on your better experience

Post by **Filmman586** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:19 am

Great stuff!

Post by **NAMBiohazard** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:26 pm

That is looking great

Sorry if this might sound a bit rude....(not meant to be)
The two latches on the engine deck seems to be the wrong way around.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:48 pm

[quote="alextheblue"]Hey, wait for me!!

I think we all knew that this SiG would have a high level of participation, but wow, there's a huge amount of build threads already posted and its only the 4th of January, Before I get underway with my humble offerings, I would like to say a big thank you to Devon for coming up with the idea of this tribute build and also for allowing me to take part. I couldn't not take part in this build as Mike was the very first person to post a comment on one of my builds and the encouragement and advice he gave me inspired me to go on and continue posting my efforts. I think most of us can identify with that moment when we decide to share our efforts with the rest of the forum. You've taken all the pictures, titled your build thread, typed up all the comments and added the pics. There's that moment when you're filled with fear and excitement in equal measure and you hold your breath as you hit the Submit button. I know I'm not alone in this experience as Mike's help and generosity to the modelling community has been unwavering and I know his advice has gone way beyond modelling tips on occasion, so this meager offering of a build thread is my way of a thank you to Sir Michael Coen of the clan Campbell - sir, I doff my cap to you!

quote]

Very well said

Looks like this will be an awesome build!

Post by **AlkaSeltzer** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:03 pm

Glad to see this kit as I have been looking at it for awhile but just have not picked it up. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:43 am

Nev wrote:This is great mate good luck with your build! Nice thing is I am also building this kit, quite relieved as I can draw on your better experience

Thanks Nev!

Not sure about better experience though, haven't been doing this for too long, but glad to be of help anywhere I can, it's a great kit!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:44 am

Filmman586 wrote:Great stuff!

Thanks Lou!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:48 am

NAMBiohazard wrote:That is looking great

Sorry if this might sound a bit rude....(not meant to be)
The two latches on the engine deck seems to be the wrong way around.

Ahem, I've been caught!

The latches come in three parts and when I was dry fitting it all I had it the right way round. Not sure how it happened, but when I came to attach it properly, it ended up round the wrong way and it wasn't until the cement had cured that I noticed!

I was going to try and cut them off and re-attach them, but I though this might end up looking worse.

Lets keep this just between you and me!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:50 am

Hillbilly wrote:
alextheblue wrote:
Looks like this will be an awesome build!

Thanks HillBilly!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:50 am

AlkaSeltzer wrote:Glad to see this kit as I have been looking at it for awhile but just have not picked it up. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

It's a great kit AS, definitely worth getting!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:05 am

Update One

Time to go back a couple of steps and assemble the MG and front light and attach them to the front vertical plate. I'll attach the wire for the light once the main part of the body is all together.

The barrel is next and as with a lot of Dragon kits its a single mold rather than being in two halves, but multiple pieces if that makes sense

. There's a slight seam that needs cleaning up but a few passes with a Ultimate sanding stick and the jobs a good 'un.

Whilst thats all drying up it time to add some more details in the form of ordinance tools to the upper deck.

I'm getting close to the stage where this things needs to be buttoned up, so before I forget I'm going to get the radiators and fans painted up. First step is to give everything a coating of Vallejo Hull Red primer. Once dry the fans and housing will get some colour, but I'm not going into mega-detail as this won't really be seen once the deck is attached to the tub.

And a quick dry-fit and this monstrous cat is starting to take shape.

Before I build and attach the hatches, I'm going to have a look round for some crew figures, so if anyone has some suggestions for some appropriate dudes to drive this thing, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:53 am

I have to say Alex, this is a really nice build thread buddy. Very well composed and laid out. The tiger looks perfect as well.
Excellent work.
Also... wow... fast too. I'm a lot overwhelmed by all the folks building my favourite kitty, but I'm really impressed with how well they're all being built.
The finale for this light show will be pretty cool I think.
Thanks for the kind words my friend.

Post by **Russ72** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:57 pm

Nice progress Alex, looking good. Spot on with the wordy bits as well.

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:07 am

Mike, Russ, thanks for the kind words fellas!

Gotta agree, really looking forward to the final reveal as everyone is pulling out all the stops for this one and there's going to be a whole bunch of gorgeous kitty-kats at the end.

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:53 am

Update Two

I'm really trying to take my time with this one and make sure I do everything, well, right! There will be no, "that'll do", for this build, no siree. Having said that, Dragon does make it easy to want to do everything right as the detail is really good and even on the bits that won't be seen once it is all completed. Talking of which, that leads me onto the seats inside the turret. I know someone has already commented on this, as like myself they are building the Academy Tiger with full interior. The Academy kit is good, don't get me wrong, but the Dragon kit's detail is just a different league.

With hindsight, I probably should have attached the seats right before finishing the turret as I've already broken one of the seats off three times, and something tells me that won't be the last time - I'm such a clumsy oaf!

I'm still undecided as to which Tiger to actually build (I know, I should have made that decision before starting the build, but what can I say, I live in the moment!!). but I like the idea of loading this one up with as much "stuff" as is feasibly possible whilst at the same time keeping it realistic. To that end I opted to attach the track-links to the front.

Also got the shields built up and attached, these protect the fuel tanks once in place, but they kind of negate the need to paint the fuel tanks themselves - oh well!

Pretty much everything else is done, but you know what it's like, you get into the "zone" and it becomes a blur of hands, tools and cement and before you know it everything is built and you've forgotten to photograph loads of it. I did manage to get a couple of pics of the DS tracks as I'm quite a fan of these. Previously I have always gone the Friul route for the tracks as I think the look they give is superb. They do take a little time, but they are definitely worth it. I would also like to say that to date I have only built 2 (and a half, if you include the Academy) Tiger 1's, as reading that last bit back it makes it seem like I've built hundreds!!

Some nice detail there and they hold the paint quite well. You don't get the natural sag that you get with the Friul's, but with some careful gluing it can look quite good - plus you can use TET which has to be good!

Now onto a little problem that I've noticed, but I'm hoping it's not going to be too much of an issue. On dry fitting everything together I noticed that the front vertical plate that attaches the glacis to the top deck is quite a way off.

You can apply a bit of force and get everything to fit and I noticed in Paul's build thread that he had his quite heavily clamped up, but I'm a bit worried that with that big a gap, its going to force everything apart after a while. So, in an effort to exert a little pressure onto the side walls in the hope that it might buy a little bit more width, I came up with a styrene, flexion and extension implement - more commonly know as "a bit of wooden dowel"!!

Gonna leave this on for at least a day and see if it helps to "persuade" the side walls of the tub to spread out slightly. Who knows, might not work, but I can always paint it hull red and leave it in there!!

So, with the extension implement in place, here is everything dry fitted.

Next step is to get the interior painted up and I can then get everything attached for real - and then it is on to paint and weathering!! My favourite bit - yahay!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:25 pm

That looks fantastic so far Alex. Your patience and care seems to be paying off.

That fit issue is a common one on some dragon kits, it varies from kit to kit, but that glacis plate is wonky in every other kit.
The suggested fit is to trim the offending bit of overlap so that the plate sits properly and evenly in the hull.

With spreading the hullsides I would worry that you would create another fit issue where the hullsides would bow out a bit and not fit tightly against the top deck. Once you have the top deck on I would imagine that getting that dowl out would be a tad difficult.

You have the parts right there in front of you so you can see better if that fix would do the trick or not. It's been a couple of years since I had to do it and I only had to do it the one time so I don't remember it well.

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:02 pm

Coen wrote: With spreading the hullsides I would worry that you would create another fit issue where the hullsides would bow out a bit and not fit tightly against the top deck. Once you have the top deck on I would imagine that getting that dowl out would be a tad difficult.

You have the parts right there in front of you so you can see better if that fix would do the trick or not. It's been a couple of years since I had to do it and I only had to do it the one time so I don't remember it well.

I did worry that if I left the dowel too long it would cause the whole hull to go out of skew, but with much measuring and constant sanding back, I seem to have got the size about right - more luck than judgement! I'm hoping that I will be able to remove the dowel and then gently man-handle everything in to place and then clamp that little sucker down! Or I could attach the top deck first and then the front plate and glacis once I'm happy this is all true - not too happy about this option though as it will be harder to go back if everything doesn't go to plan, so I'm hoping option A will do the job. Either way, it's all part of the fun that is scale modelling I guess!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 4:59 pm

It is Alex haha. A lot of the silly crap that I know I learned from doing exactly what you're doing with you're tiger right now. Real hands on figuring it out stuff.

Post by **eightfooticeman** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:55 pm

Very nice looking so far. I'm glad I waited to build mine, these threads are gonna save me!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:25 am

eightfooticeman wrote:Very nice looking so far. I'm glad I waited to build mine, these threads are gonna save me!

Thanks Jermaine!

That's you and me both bud - there's some top quality builders showing their work on this one and Coen has already saved me with his help!

Post by **AlkaSeltzer** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:33 am

Looking good and thanks for the tech tips

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:05 am

AlkaSeltzer wrote:Looking good and thanks for the tech tips

No worries AS - there's some more useless ramblings coming up!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:20 am

Update Two

With Mike offering me some invaluable advice on how to get all the main parts of the hull buttoned up - thanks again bud!

, I thought it's about time to get the interior all painted up and then I can get this together. I don't want to spend an age painting in every detail as very little will be seen, but, I want to take that extra bit of time and not cut any corners. First up I had to decide on the interior colour and I know there's a lot of debate on what the correct colour is. After much research, much pondering and endless deliberation.........I decided to do it my own way!!!

These were the colours that I used - not sure why I went with VMA as I have similar colours in other paint ranges.

I wanted an off-white colour that had a light green tinge and a hint of grey. So I added a few drops of duck egg green and then matched it with white (about 10 drops of each) and then added a couple of drops of the darker green. The final colour looks a little too green in the pics, but I kinda liked it once it was dry. The only weathering was a dark grey wash and a little dark iron in the breach.
http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/alext ... a.jpg.html

And yes, I even painted the inside of the turret roof, which definitely won't be seen!

Next up were the fans, radiators and fuel tanks. I deliberately kept the colours bright and OTT as I was hoping that you would get a glimpse of them through the grills - a futile attempt I know!

And now on to getting everything assembled. Armed with Mike's advice and my styrene expansion implement (ie wooden dowel!) it wasn't quite the fight that I had feared. There was still some force that was required and my wife was missing quite a few of her cloth's pegs, but it was all in good cause!

The only thing left to assemble are the additional track links that attach to the turret. Looking at the lower attachment point, I can see a problem.

This part is supposed to be located in the link where the connecting rod joins the track links, but there's no holes in the individual links. So there's only one thing for it.......

And voila!

Attached to the turret.

Takes a little while, but it's not too fiddly and it's definitely worth the time in my opinion.

So with everything done, it's time to get some primer down courtesy of Vallejo grey surface primer.

And the obligatory photo of the "wheel forest!"

Just to finish off, I was curious to see how the Dragon Tiger compared to a Tamiya mid'late kitty that I built last summer.

The Tamiya is a nice kit, but I think the Dragon has the advantage on detail and accuracy. Having said that, I'm certainly no expert and there's many of you fellas taking part in this SiG that are better qualified to comment on this aspect.

I still haven't decided on the final paint scheme, although I do have a very good idea - I'm just trying to find some more research pictures, although I don't really fancy painting it black and white!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:25 pm

That's superb work Alex! She looks excellent bud.

Post by **AlkaSeltzer** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:46 pm

BAD AZZ

Nice job so far.

Post by **Nige201980** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:20 am

She is a beauty Alex cracking work so far.

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:39 am

Mike, AlkaSeltzer, Nige, thanks for the kind comments, always appreciated!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:10 am

Update Three

With the primer all nice and dry it's time for the base coat. I've had a real hard time picking which cam scheme to paint and I've looked at soooooo many pictures of Tigers, I'm dreaming about the big cats now!

Bearing in mind it will be Mike and Devon's beautiful children that will be looking at all of these Tigers, I did contemplate painting rainbows and unicorns all over mine and to hell with the accuracy!

But common sense prevailed (booh!!) and I opted to go for the scheme as depicted in the box art, after all it was this picture that drew me to this kit in the first place. Also, it gives me a chance to use some AKi paints that I bought recently that apparently are the new formula. So without further ado, its on with the dunkelgelb.

I must say, my first impressions of this paint aren't great. It spluttered and blocked almost immediately and that was just getting it out of the dropper bottle - I kid you not and this is a brand new unopened bottle!

I thinned it with about 20% of Ultimate thinner, but this still seemed a bit too runny in the paint cup, so I added some more paint. I tentatively sprayed the underside and it still seemed to pool slightly, even though I was being extra careful just to "mist" the first coat on. Managed to get the first coat down ok and the second coat was undiluted straight from the bottle, which was a little better. Had some problems with tip drying after spraying for 15 minutes or so, but nothing that a quick dab with a cotton-bud soaked in Ultimate couldn't solve.

The colour dried quite nicely, but I still prefer Mr Hobby's Aqueous paint - love this paint and it seems to give a really deep lustrous finish and i rarely have tip-drying problems.

Now it is onto the reddy-brown and with a little trepidation I reached for the AKi paint again. Again, it was straight out of the bottle without any thinner and to my eye it seemed a little too thin. After a couple of trial sprays I moved onto one of the wheels and all I can say is.......aaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhhh!!!!

It was horrible, too thin and prone to "spidering" and the colour just didn't seem right. It probably would have dried ok as a lot of paint colours always seems lighter when it's wet, but i couldn't be bothered to fiddle around with the pressure on my compressor, so I ditched the AKi paint and reached for my old faithfuls. Unfortunately I'm all out of Mr Hobby red-brown, but I had some Tamiya equivalent. I preferred this colour for this particular model as it seems to lean more on the brown side - and no, that's not a euphemism!!

And that's where she's at so far. Nest up is to spray a "tie-in" colour lightly over the top. Normally I would go for a much lighter colour of the base-coat, but I don't fancy using the AKi, so I may just revert to good old Tamiya buff instead. After that, a couple of washes and a filter should finish the paint scheme, so it will be the tracks next - oh yeah, and I've got to finish painting all of those tyres, which I prefer to do by hand rather than using a mask.

As always, thanks heaps for taking a look!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:04 pm

That's crappy that the paint went all screwy on you Alex. No idea why it would do that, the new formula is supposed to be better. I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard others rave about it. Nothing is foolproof though (not saying that you're the fool

)
The end result of the dunklegelb looks good though. So you managed to work through the troubles.
I'm like you, I like to paint the rubber tyres by hand haha.

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:08 am

Yeah, there's something quite Zen-like painting tyres by hand, I really quite enjoy it!

And as the saying goes, a wise man is just a fool who doesn't realise it yet!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:46 am

Update Four

With the camouflage scheme done it's time for some washes and filters, but first I gave the whole model a light mist with Tamiya buff, making sure to hold the air-brush a decent distance away from the beast. I should really have used a lightened version of the base=coat, but I wanted a slightly dusty look. Anyways, once the washes etc are done it's not going to be overly noticeable.

Next I gave the whole model a very diluted wash of burn't umber. When I say wash, it was more like a filter and was very diluted, probably 10 parts paint to one part thinner (maybe even slightly thinner than that). I always check the wash/filter on a piece of kitchen roll/towel first and the quicker it spreads and absorbs, then the more subtle the effect.

Once this is done, it's on to a dot-filter, again with oil paints. I will say at this point, and I'm sure there will be some shaking heads, but I use the cheapest oil paints that I can find for my weathering etc. Reeves do a nice set of 12 colours for about £10 sterling and they are the smaller tubes which is idea for scale modelling. I've had my set for almost a year now and there's plenty left. The colours I use are as follows -

You have to be careful with the blue and use it sparingly as it can take a fair bit of spirit to blend it and take it off. Really speaking you can dot the paints anywhere and then stump them off with white spirit, the aim being to blend the camo colours together. You can pre-determine where you put your dots as the brown indicates mud, the yellow, lighter dirt, the white, dust and streaks and the blue, shadows and darker grime etc. However, I try not to get too accurate about this as it's really only to provide and effect and with this Tiger I only want a really subtle effect - very unlike me!!

One little tip here, I generally buy the large 1 L cans of white spirit as it works out a lot cheaper than buying the smaller plastic bottle (plus I would always recommend buying artists grade white spirit, as the general stuff can leave a residue). The problem with the large tins is that it's difficult to pour, but with the aid of a little funnel and a well rinsed bottle of empty Ultimate thinner, hey presto, easy to dispense white spirit.

Right, that's enough waffle, I'll try and keep it brief from here.

Next up the tracks and these were primed with Vallejo black surface primer. I then brush on Vallejo track primer from the panzer aces range. I prefer to brush this on as it doesn't matter if it is unevenly spread, this is more about effect than colour.

Then it's on with some track wash from Mig. I prefer this product as again this is more about adding a rusty effect to the base two colours in the hope of giving the look of used metal.

And then finally a dry brushing with a metal colour of your choice. I actually use a stainless steel colour, but you have to be careful not to overdo it with these sort of colours.

I do like these DS tracks - I was tempted to buy some Friul tracks as I think they really are the dogs do-dahs, but I couldn't quite stretch to it at the moment and I think the detail on these is pretty darn good. I will add some more/stronger rust effect, plus dust and dirt effects once the tracks are installed onto the tank.

Finally it's time to paint the exhaust stacks. These get a base coat of Vallejo dark rust (Panzer Aces set), with a heavy dry-brushing of light rust over the top (again, Vallejo Panzer Aces). Once dry, I'll add a dab of Mig ochre rust pigment sealed with some pigment sealer.

And that's where I'm at, as they say. Apologies again for the guff and waffle, I do tend to get a bit carried away, I will try to reign it in a bit in future - maybe!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Yevgeny** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:09 pm

Looking good

Like the rust. Found it difficult to get right, so thank you for sharing.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:40 pm

There's a whole lot of dog's do dah's going on here Alex. That's a sweet looking tiger buddy. Nicely told too.
She's a real beaut

Post by **mannloon** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:13 pm

Very well executed. Seriously good work.

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:00 am

Yevgeny wrote:Looking good
Like the rust. Found it difficult to get right, so thank you for sharing.

No worries, glad to help.

It was the one thing that I really struggled with, but it's just a matter of trying different techniques and products until you get one that you're happy with. I'm still not there yet, but having fun trying!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:01 am

Coen wrote:There's a whole lot of dog's do dah's going on here Alex. That's a sweet looking tiger buddy. Nicely told too.
She's a real beaut

Thanks Mike, you're too kind - all I see is a whole heap of do-dah!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:02 am

mannloon wrote:Very well executed. Seriously good work.

Thanks mannloon!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:47 am

Up0date Five

Picture the scene, Monday evening and I'm battling my way through the rush hour traffic in the west of London after a long hard slog of a day at work. A slight smirk turns up the corners of my mouth as my mind drifts to thoughts of painting tools, fitting tracks and maybe evening a spot of decaling. Some people dream of sandy beaches and turquoise blue oceans under a balmy tropical sun, but for us scale modellers, it's play-sand, day-light lamps and the heat from mini-compressors - ah, paradise! But the strangest thing happens, later that evening sat in front of my workbench I just sit staring at the big old kitty-kat, spinning it slowly round on it's paint stand, not quite knowing what to do next. It's not that I've lost interest, who could lose interest in a Tiger, it's just that I fancy doing something "different". Different, but still related to the Tiger; so without further ado, I fire up the laptop and before I know it the following items are ordered and winging their way to me!

And as if by the magic of a 24-hour delivery service, they're sat beside me on the workbench - yahay!!

I ideally wanted some resin figures, but either couldn't quite find the right ones, or couldn't afford the ones that I did like. The Dragon set I was looking for didn't seem to be available anywhere, but I found these fellas at a decent price along with some modern US figures that I plan to use on the Modern Armour build. Being Tamiya, I know there's going to be a certain amount of clean-up, but that the overall quality and detail is going to be pretty good. On opening the boxes, they are pretty much as I had expected, and generally I'm pretty pleased.

I've no real plan as to which ones I'm going to use or even the setting that I want, my only plan is to build them all up, have a play around and see what I like and what I don't like. First couple are done and only need a miniscule bit of filler and some light sanding, but I must say, I quite like 'em!

These should keep me distracted just long enough before I'm back on the Tiger, but not too long hopefully. Still, that about wraps it up for this update, so as always, thanks for taking a look!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:12 am

Update 5.5

Not really a full update and hence the half-of-an-update (half-arsed more like!). Got the rest of the "crew at rest" figures finished and made a start on the shell loaders. Once cleaned up they're quite nice and I think they'll paint up ok. Not sure which ones I will end up using or even the setting, but this seemed like as good a start as any.

The other set of figures actually seem slightly better in quality and the hands and feet actually resemble hands and feet as opposed to clubs and shovels!! The hand does appear to be out of scale with the body, but this is down to the shite depth perception that smart phone cameras have when you zoom in (well, mine anyway).

At first I thought this fella looked like an opera singer - Pavarotti, the lean years!! But then I noticed the smile on his face and realised that he actually works in a zoo, in the elephant house specifically and he's just about to administer a suppository!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:34 am

Now that's a pleasant image haha.

I like that scene Alex, a nice "waiting for orders" dio"

Post by **Paul** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:42 am

You need to shake the hell out the 17ml dropper bottles, whether its ak ammo vallejo etc or it doesn't mix properly which is what i suspect has happened here. As for the bottle blocking, those 17ml bottles need storing side on or they do block the bottle nozzle again be it vallejo ammo or ak

Tigers looking good though buddy

Post by **wappynutter** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:25 pm

Now thats some awesome building right there!!

Dude, this rocks!!
Cannot wait to see "Lean Pavarotti" and the rest of the band all painted up!
...and Elephant??? Thought this was a Tiger SiG??

Keep up the excellent work my friend....
I'll be watching from now on!..

Post by **JayCub** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:00 am

I love reading through your build logs Alex they are good for the soul, and one of my favorite cats, even on my ammo loading crew the hands seem to be out of scale or one dam scary German and the build looks brilliant to date as with all your builds, I wasn't aware of the upper hull fit issue as its one I would like to try myself as the others I have are italeri and tamiya
Tom

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:56 am

Coen wrote:Now that's a pleasant image haha.
I like that scene Alex, a nice "waiting for orders" dio"

That's the sort of scene that I had in mind - seen some great pics for inspiration

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:02 am

Paul wrote:You need to shake the hell out the 17ml dropper bottles, whether its ak ammo vallejo etc or it doesn't mix properly which is what i suspect has happened here. As for the bottle blocking, those 17ml bottles need storing side on or they do block the bottle nozzle again be it vallejo ammo or ak

Tigers looking good though buddy

Thanks Paul!

Was going to ask the wife if I could put them in the washing machine on the spin cycle, but thought better of it!

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:04 am

wappynutter wrote:
Now thats some awesome building right there!!
Dude, this rocks!!
Cannot wait to see "Lean Pavarotti" and the rest of the band all painted up!
...and Elephant??? Thought this was a Tiger SiG??
Keep up the excellent work my friend....
I'll be watching from now on!..

Thanks Andy!

Elephant versus a tiger - FIGHT!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:07 am

JayCub wrote:I love reading through your build logs Alex they are good for the soul, and one of my favorite cats, even on my ammo loading crew the hands seem to be out of scale or one dam scary German and the build looks brilliant to date as with all your builds, I wasn't aware of the upper hull fit issue as its one I would like to try myself as the others I have are italeri and tamiya
Tom

Thanks Jay. I'm not the best of modellers, unlike some of the gods taking part here, so I try and add a bit of waffle to my threads!

The fit problems that I had weren't too bad at the end of the day and with a bit of patience and some clamping they were quite easy to resolve. Apparently this doesn't happen to them all, so hopefully your's will fare better!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:12 am

Update Six

I've been a bit slack on the old posting front, but I've been following everyone's work on the SiG and there is some stunning work going on - some of the dio's especially are just jaw dropping!! I feel as though I've inadvertently got myself seating in first-class on a long haul flight when I should actually be in the back in cattle class breathing in everyone else's germs and fart-fumes!

Still, I have no plans to leave as I'm just enjoying myself too much - unless of course I get forcibly ejected in the meantime!

Got most of the details painted up, starting with the spare track links.

Decals on and the rest of the details painted.

And that's about it, does't look a whole heap, but I've just been taking my time chipping away at it. And talking about chipping, that's next up on the agenda. I'll do a bit of light weathering, but will do most of this once the figures are all painted and the base is built.

And once again, bravo everyone, there's is some really amazing work going on in this SiG!!

Post by **wappynutter** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:45 am

You so deserve that 1st class seating Alex....

It is I who should feel the shame of "cattle grade" transport....
Germs and fart-fumes should be all mine.....

You doing a grand job sir, looking the part of a Tiger 1 now!
Well done...

Continued success my friend, more soon please!!..