1/35 Tamiya Tiger 1 Ausfuhrung E (Sd.Kfz.181) Fruhe Produktion (For Mike, who has given so much to so many)

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 7:51 am

Good morning all

Had a late night last night (23.2.15) in M/C but not actually working on Tiger

.
Been a bit crap at work lately (see previous moans in threads), and after 17 years (been good up to 2014 but just lately its nose dived

), its time to dip my toes in the job market.
Its scary times for a "turning 50 year old" (with a mindset of a teenager still I might say

) to be doing this.
Mrs DW though knows what an unhappy bunny I am, and so is using her skills to help me look on paper the Dogs Danglies.
So last Night, with Mrs DW typing away on keyboard and translating my verbal musings (bullshit), on what makes the DW so great to hire, not a lot of work on Tigger was done.
Apart from some work on it that afternoon, but read on friends.......
....................it could have been though the end of the Tiger project last night in an instant

.
The Tiger was sat securely on its Tamiya Revolving stand next to the PC monitor.
As Mrs DW is typing, and I am rambling on and on and on............, out of no where, our new cat, Rupert (some will know that at the end of last year we lost our beloved cat Marlene. Rupert is from the UK Cats Protection League and is 8 years old, with three damaged vertebrate in his spine, so how the hell does he leap all over the sodding place, and numerous other ailments), leaps up on desk and decided to get a look out of window behind PC monitor.
His tail swished and I saw the Tiger being lifted and hurled through the air.
My heart leapt, but Mrs DW's reactions were quicker, and she grabbed the Tiger and managed to save it, and amazingly not even damage a single bit of the multitudes of PE adorning it

.
Note to myself: No cats in M/C ever.
Anyhooooooo, after all of that, what I was going to say (Jeez dont I go on

).
I did get some work done on Tiger that afternoon.
I will post pictures up this afternoon from hated Photo-Bucket

I may have mentioned earlier in the thread that I have bought some replacement Towing Cables for the Tiger.
The Tamiya Cables are fine but I wanted to "Drape" the cables in a more interesting fashion across the hull:lol:
Therefore, I had at the weekend filled the holes in the Upper Hull for the original location points for the Towing Cables.
This had taken a couple of applications of filler and some light sanding to get the desired effect.
Then by using the Tamiya supplied Towing Cables, I marked the securing brackets on to the Upper Hull with a pencil. I have then used some further parts from the Eduard PE kit, and added the Towing Cable Securing brackets in PE to these pencil marks.
Once the photos are up you'll see that some of the brackets have been left "Not Secured", to show maybe a quick requirement for the cables in battle. We'll see how it all looks once photos are up (sure that like all of us, you think that an area of the model looks great, you take a photo, and bang!.....wtf the gaps, the marks, etc, etc).
I have also got started on the Rear Turret Storage Box PE.
The Eduard instructions call for a hell of a lot of PE in this area

but I sat looking at the instructions and the Tamiya mouldings and could in many areas not see a real need for tarting it further.
I have only gone for some brackets underneath the Storage Bins and the Hasp & Clasps / Padlocks.
The PE work is nearly complete.........except for the side skirts

Thank you as always for your time reading my drivel.
Promise to get photos up this afternoon.
John

Post by **Coen** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:23 am

Ok... so firstly... good luck and the very best of luck with the employment seeking John. I know very well what it's like to do a job where you're absolutely unhappy. I really hope you find something that will take you into your sunset years with a bit of a grin.

Second ... WHEW!!!!
That is one reason that I do not have a cat. The other is I don't like cats, and a third, is the wifeypoo is allergic to the things. So my mancave is safe from small fourlegged trouble.
The small two legged king is another. So far my little fella Sam has had no interest in anything in the cave.... so far.

Tell Mrs DW that her ninja reflexes are appreciated.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:41 am

Mike

Thank you for GL's.
Insha'Allah as they say, God willing (or whoever is getting behind me).
Never was a cat man, and never thought I would be.
Marlene changed me on that.
Your right about Diane. Wow, that girl has reactions!
It could have been heartbreaking last night.
I seriously would have lost it.
Good to hear from you mate,
Have a great day, afternoon, evening.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 4:59 pm

Well blow me as promised, here come some photos...............
First off the new PE Towing Cable Brackets.

You'll notice on the side, the thin pencil line for that I traced using the Tamiya Side Skirt parts, and will replace with PE.

[img]http:[URL=http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/Donke ... 2.jpg.html]

//i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b483/Donkeywalloper/P1040358_zpskk31lxeq.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

A new tool for me to help (bit late now for Tiger, but for next projects), from Mission Models, Micro-Chisel.

It has a lethal 2mm Cutting tip (Chisel) and is very sturdy and heavy feeling (quality to be honest), stainless steel construction.
I find my chosen weapon for cutting and trimming though is a No3 Swann and Morton Scalpel. I love them

and as long as you change the blades often, they are so sharp and precise.
I find them so brilliant, I bought another handle so I can have two handles with two different blades (Christ, not rocket science John

). You get the thinking though.

These two tools came from http://www.historex.co.uk.
As I write, I have just finished the PE padlocks on Rear Turret Storage.
Just also (of course with new blade in S&M), cut the Exhaust Tubes.
Love & Peace all.
John

Post by **rwsmith14** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:54 pm

The P.E. looks great !

Post by **Coen** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 11:08 pm

I fear to ask John... Are those clamps workable?

They look it. Wow!

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 6:42 am

Coen wrote:I fear to ask John... Are those clamps workable?

They look it. Wow!

Hehehehehehehehehe Mike, ask away

,
I suppose they are mate.
I just dropped a message to Mark regarding his use of the Eureka XXL cables he has used on his "next" Tiger (man he loves to build Tiggers).
I'm going for the "Draped" cable look rather than stowed.
Had a great couple of hours with this model yesterday where each bit of PE behaved and went exactly where I wanted it to.
My biggest fear though is coming up

.
I had a test roll of the Eduard PE to create the Smoke Dischargers on the turret. Bloody hell, its so fiddly to get the two halves to join together.
Anyway, we'll get it done through trial and perseverance and an awful lot of bad language......
Cheers mate,
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:11 am

Morning all

Well after dropping some pictures on this thread for an up-date yesterday afternoon.
I sat finishing off some PE on the Rear Turret Stowage Bins.
I was quite pleased with them.
Like I said before, Eduard would like you to strip all of the Tamiya moulded features and replace with all sorts of brackets and bits and bobs........

I decided that I would keep it simple and just replace the Hasp & Clasps and add the PE padlocks.

It just embellishes the supplied look a little more

Then I started to get cocky and want to cause some damage............

Plently of pictures splattered accross the internet of damage to this area. The Tamiya plastic on this model is quite thick and not very pliable to bends with pliers and such.........but heat

Yay Baby!
So puncture holes from rounds it is.

I used a small nail heated on the range and then,
Allez Oooops!
Through it goes like the proverbial through butter

It does of course produce a ridge of melted plastic around the hole that needs paring off with a sharp scalpel knife then sanding.
The pictures show initial clean up hence dust.
I think it looks okay.

The damage on the edges will be toned down slightly and once painted up with metals and rust should look "Knarly".
This effect though is something I would like on the front and sides in a few places to denote strikes and bounce of rounds hitting this vehicle.

Forgot to mention.
The Blue arrow denotes a small PE bracket on this side and also on the opposite side under the bins that although this is a poor picture to see it clearly, really is why a bit of PE does help on models to lift boring areas

.

Your the experts, what do you think?
As always (mostly boss eyed, depressed, boring, cut fingers, C/A glued fingers, pissed off with work, loving ISM and you guys and totally in love with Mrs DW),
John

Post by **Coen** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 9:33 am

Ok... I'm going to say that you have real skills with PE John. That looks excellent. You may even give ol'Frans a run for his money.
Well done. It's soo clean and neat.

The battle damage looks pretty cool too. Though you may want to take a sponge to the dents on the edge. It will help make them look more dent like to take off those ridges. The stowage bins were made from heavy sheet metal so they didn't spall like the armour on the rest of the tank did.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:09 am

Thank you Great One.
Frans I know is way more skilled and lets be honest (sure he would admit this), he is getting the practice in

The insight from yourself is much appreciated on this, regarding thickness of metal on these areas.
I think the edge "Damage" that I have done is a little to heavy around the ridge so to speak.
I was going to pare a little of the plastic away to soften it down.
I have some spare plastic to practice with "Spall" effects for the main hull and turret thank God, cuz I don't want to cock the whole thing up now.
As always, great to get a caring metaphorical hand on shoulder to give guidance.
PS: When you say "Sponge" could you elaborate a bit. Is this when applying chipping?
John

Post by **Coen** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:37 am

I meant sanding sponge, like the grey Ultimate sanding sponge. It's very soft and great for doing clean up or softening hard edges.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:47 am

Coen wrote:I meant sanding sponge, like the grey Ultimate sanding sponge. It's very soft and great for doing clean up or softening hard edges.

Thanks Mike.
Yeah have a box of all different grades (they are super tools and my preferred sander).
I was like I said gonna go with a bit of peeling away with a scalpel then soften the edges.
Your a star for getting back to me.
Have a good one mate.
John.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:15 am

Morning all

Well Spring has sprung in Burton and the DW has been up bright and early as Mrs DW is off to work.
Ensconced in M/C with radio on and all of the Friul Track in front of me.
Friul Virgin.
Plenty of vids watched and so with bags separated and o.5mm drill firmly in hand, off we go.
Some work completed on model yesterday as well, so will get some photos up this afternoon.
John

Post by **Coen** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:05 pm

Let the Fruil finger begin.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:18 pm

Afternoon all

Well have had my lunch (Cheese on Toast and sweet tea from my "Tally-Ho For Tea mug Commandocomics.com).
Lets have a look at the progress then.....

Thought we could have a look at my favourite photo of a Tiger. I would love to have a go at a partial mimic of the scene for a future build.
I love the Barrel cover and the MG cover. the chap on the top of the turret next to the chap writing honestly looks like he is texting

This is a later version of my attempt, but its such a good look at this beast.
I have, as explained earlier in thread, decided to go with this battle weary look through my build. (Bloody hell, two months to go

)

So with this in mind, we have lost the side cables and added the brackets in PE.

Well its pretty much been bombed with PE already so why not

The white marks are first fill of holes for supplied skirts.

Filters added and the exhausts now complete with a tiny bit of PE in the form of the outlet mesh (Sorry picture not brilliant and arrow does not show detail).

I did have an option of creating the Upper Hull Dischargers from PE but after working on the Turret Smoke / Grenade Dischargers I really did lose the will to live. I looked at the PE version and the supplied and the difference was very minimal for the effort involved.

So on to Turret.

They were a absolute bugger to make.
I ended up not taking the Nero build way of rolling around original supplied launcher, but rolling around some plastic rod I had of same diameter.
Probably the hardest part of this build so far. but the turret is now complete.

I am now entering the final parts of construction.
The first part, and a biggest job, is the construction of the tracks in Fruil.
As mentioned earlier, I am a Fruil virgin, so after a revision of ISM's training vids, it was drill (0.5mm) out and metal file and the long fun of drilling out the track pin holes.
I am surprised at those who have done this before, that no one has mentioned the pain in top of fingers from pressing down on track tooth for multiple times

Also bit of work on Eureka XXL Tow cables. I have trimmed them down and bored the end hole out to accept the cable. Very nice kit and sure its gonna look good.

Another nice "Skirt-Less" Tiger.

My little accessory that I hope comes off. I intend to hang this on the tank as "Looted" booty for one of the crew.

I have a few PE Buckets and Funnels and Jerry-Cans that I will add later.
Anyhoo, hope you like the progress so far and love watching my fellow brothers in modelling knocking out simply fantastic offerings.
Love and Peace,
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:19 pm

Coen wrote:Let the Fruil finger begin.

Ha Mike
Finally someone has mentioned the pain in the end of the finger.
My virginity is broke and my finger is going numb.

John

Post by **Hillbilly** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:41 pm

Your P.E. skills are excellent(plus you must have the patience of a saint

) The bicycle is a brilliant touch also.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:55 pm

Hillbilly wrote:Your P.E. skills are excellent(plus you must have the patience of a saint ) The bicycle is a brilliant touch also.

Steve, your way to kind mate.
I have blood pouring out of my finger as I stupidly forgot to use tweezers to push wire home into Fruil tracks and used end of fingers.
You live and learn, and learn, and learn.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:31 pm

Hahahahahahah
I have actually brought in a small amount of the Left-Hand Fruil Tracks to work and am sat at desk in a small break twisting my Pin Vice through holes.
Boss is away, mouse will have fun.
John.

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:48 am

Tell you what John, the level of detail in your PE work would have me gouging my eyes out in frustration!!

Very nice work mate, all your patience is going to pay off as she's looking a beauty all ready!

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:51 pm

Alex mate, I have not got any eyes anymore.
As I write , I am at work, and am again Pin Vice in hand (steady), boring out holes in the Right-Hand tracks. Not actually started work yet so my own time.
I recieved yesterday from www.emodels.co.uk my AK Burnishing Fluid plus a load of S&M blades and some Tamiya Oil-Cans and Fuel Cans.
Left-Hand tracks are complete and I lay them out last night next to the Rubber Band supplied, and yes Fruil are expensive, and time consuming to build, but.........................they are 100% better, that is with no doubt.
Hoping this weekend to measure the tracks up and get them all finished off as far as assembly. I have found the assembly of my first Fruild Tracks to be very therapeutic and enjoyable.
Then I can get them in the fluid this weekend and that will mean I am pretty much ready for 1st coat of primer of the model. Yay!
Still miles behind, but enjoying the scenery

Good to hear from you mate and thanks for very kind comments.
John

Post by **mannloon** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:56 pm

This is not making we want to try builds with more PE or build my Friuls. Looks fantastic though. I don't know that I'll ever attempt those little PE clamps. Boggles my mind.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:52 pm

Heheheheheheheh, oh come on surly you fancy a little bash at this noble art

I have promised on my next build after this, no PE or add ons of any sort

.
If its in the box, it gets built.
I'm having a PE holiday for a while.
I have to admit that what worries me most, is this plastic kit has so much metal on it, its getting to the point where I have to bend my knees to pick it up

Thanks mate.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:49 pm

Well finished all of the Pin-Vice wrk on Fruil.
Ooooh my fingers hurt.
Have really ripped through the Left-Hand side track assembly this morning, and in a hour completed nearly all of the tracks.
Got some of the tools mounted on spare sprue ready for primer.
Hopefully will get some time to get some of the little accessories assembled this weekend ready for a coat of primer.
Got to work and found a lovely surprise of the book ordered through www.amazon.co.uk of Tigers in Combat 1 by Wolfgang Schneider.
Sure some of you Tigger aficionados have this already (and 2 as well).
What a thrumping book this is.
Big juicy pictures and loads of meaty text.
Love and Peace,
John

Post by **Russ72** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:53 pm

Build's looking good John, the PE work and AM tracks are things I haven't tried yet in earnest. Good thing about the forum, I can model these things vicariously.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:24 pm

Thank you Russ for kind words (have a go at AM, you may like the feeling

).
Pictures to follow, but I gave the Front Bow Plate, MG Plate and the sides a bit of judicious damage with the end of a hot round nail.
The after effect was rubbed down with a Ultimate sander (Cheers Mike) and the effect is pretty good.
I have this morning been making up a few Jerry cans and some Buckets.
These are part of Tamiya's 1/35 Accessories.
The buckets are nice, but the handles (moulded plastic) are pretty grim and one snapped early on whilst running an S&M blade around it

.
I resorted to a small drill through bucket, and some Florists Wire glued into place.
Far more buckety (not a word, but you get my drift).
Got to work, and had a package waiting for me from http://www.historex.co.uk of these items.
Never used Hornet Heads before

.
I intend to use the Tamiya supplied figure (was going to go figure free, but after PE'ing the inner Commander's Hatch, it left me no option).
I thought I would replace head with a Hornet supplied.
They do look rather good on other models seen. So in for a penny.......

Course its gonna be fun releasing the bloody Head-Band from that lump of resin

Plus a couple of these to sling over the sides somewhere

Must, must, must remember with Buckets, Jerry Cans, Spare Wheels, Bikes, Oil-Cans, Crates and spare tracks not to make this Tiger look like a Rag & Bone Cart.
Plus it is ready for battle, and I seem to remember the Turret needs to move freely

Hoping this weekend to get some primer down.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Some prune on R4 this morning mentioned a Heat-Wave in the UK

John

Post by **Hillbilly** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:31 pm

Those are some very nice additions John

Those Hornet heads are excellent....as for the headband...you certainly have your work cut out for you! I don't know if I would have the patience to tackle it or not.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:36 pm

Cheers Steve.
Oh that Head-Band.
Well pictures to follow as Mrs DW has just cracked open a bottle of ice cold Cava (17:26) and called for my attendance. Rude not to go.
I have completed the build of the Resin Bicycle.
Six parts, but oh the flash

Also just completed the Eureka Tow Cables.
Also noticed that I had not bored out the Front MG barrel, so bit of squinting and a very fine drill, and bobs your Uncle.
Now much as I love you chaps, the wife and a bottle of cold stuff take precedence.
PS: This morning was fun by the way. Our new cat Rupert had to go to the Vets for a look at a scab he has on his nose that is being scratched off continuously by himself. Whilst Mrs DW is settling up bill (£200

he has had to have some tests and God knows what else, as he may have Ring Worm), the cat defecates in the Cat Box in the car with me in it.
Cheese and Rice.
I drove home with all windows open.
It was one of those times that you both sit laughing and wanting to vomit. Never experienced that?......hilarious.
Forgot to say he now has cone on head to stop him irritating nose (I keep laughing at Cone Head and thinking of Brian in Family Guy when Peter feeds him gravy into cone

).
Get him back home, and box, cat and everything covered in crap.
I strip off and get cat in shower and wash cat with cone on head (not me, cat).
Then have to clean Bathroom and me top to bottom in disinfectant.
Ace morning.
John

Post by **Coen** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:13 pm

Excellent additions to the build John. This just keeps getting better and better buddy.
As for the cat nose, poop in the car story...

Dude... That's nasty haha.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:09 pm

Good afternoon all

Finally, finally we have colour

.
Its been a while since I got the H&S Evolution out of box, so in trepidation

.
Primer laid on is good old Vallejo 74.602 Black.
Not everyone's cup of tea, but it goes on well with no thinning and sprays at 20psi.
It laid on very well and gives a very nice sheen over whole of unit.
I have missed some tiny pieces under the cable clamps and in the exhaust ducts

I shall leave the whole lot now for a good 24hrs to dry.
I am going to use the AK Interactive Modulation, German Panzer Grey (Dunkelgrau Modulation Set) AK160.
Not used before so lets see how it goes.
Here's the pictures.

Thanks for reading my thread (Clock is ticking down now to 30th April, bloody hell get going John

).
Cheers all
John

Post by **Coen** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:24 pm

Yay!!! Painting begins

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:28 pm

Heheheheheheh
Yay, indeed Mike.

John

Post by **wappynutter** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:38 pm

Looking good so far mate..

Don't worry John, I ain't that much farther along than you!.. Lol...
You'll breeze through now!
Good luck, Happy Modelling!!

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:47 pm

wappynutter wrote:Looking good so far mate..
Don't worry John, I ain't that much farther along than you!.. Lol...
You'll breeze through now!
Good luck, Happy Modelling!!

Hehehehe Andy, its like watching the race finish from across the athletics field.
The finish tape is fluttering in the wind and the medal have been awarded and the Race officials are putting the kit away

I have had the stitch and now have my second wind. Pass me the Lucozade..........
Thanks Andy.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:19 pm

Hello Peeps

How are we all?
Well a beautiful still and pleasant day in Burton this afternoon.
Just started Nights, so a bit fuzzy brained and all that, and some would consider not a good time to be working on ones pride and joy, plus the Tiger needs attention

Anyhoo.......
Despite tiredness and not a great deal of sleep, what with mobile going off downstairs and waking me up (Land-Line off and despite Mobile being turned real low, still my brain and ears got the tone drifting up-stairs).
Oh well, up and about and checking on Rupert (the Cone is driving him nuts and its sad to see him trying to lick and scratch something whilst having a sheet of Perspex between him and the intended target). He is a very depressed puss with his Cone affixed to head, seems to have the best appetite ever. Salmon, Chicken.....he motors it away.
So we have the AK German Grey Modulation set

Last night I watched Lee's very informative vid on You Tube of this set (love the Cheesy Music mate, keep dropping those tunes

).
Your right Lee about the 1st in the set i.e. AK 161 Dunkelgrau Shadow.

Pre-Armed with your good advice about thinning Lee (I did venture to try without the thinners, and just poured into cup and tried to spray

not good ).
What a bitch to spray.
It just kept clogging the AB and required drops of Ultimate to get the flow going.
After that it went on well

.
Now the trouble is my freinds, and as you seasoned builders will realise. Dark Grey and all the tones are a pigging bitch to tell where you sprayed last (well the best indication is wetness), but despite having Day-Light and two good lights the heat in the M/C was drying the paint very quickly.
I sprayed the Dunkelgrau Shadow on, and concentrated along the Track areas and under the Turret and under the Barrell.
But with the Black Base Primer the difference was minimal when sprayed on and I remember Lee mentioning that he would probably have left the Shadow colour out.
This is where pictures tell a million words, but hell with my photography skills null and void, your in for a treat.
I am just going to show you all of the photos and tell you that the last three show the tonal subtlety (

) that is produced with the next colour along which is this,

This is quite "Bluey", and as I sprayed I thought it must be a trick of the eye. Nope, it is tonally very blue. I'm sure the next colours will tone it down.
Anyway the pictures..................

See about the "Blue" tone in this picture.

I can't tell the bloody difference, can you?
Anyway, I'll leave you with the photos and the rambling thread and you decide if this chap needs help or sleep

Hope you enjoyed the thread.
Just want to say that despite my build being very near where we started back on the 1st of January, and some of you already finished, cleaned tools and building new stuff.
I want to say how amazed and proud I am of all of the builds on here. They really are a brilliant and beautifully executed.
Thanks for now and watch this space for more "Six Shades of Grey"

John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:16 pm

Hi all

Shag all sleep today

but did manage another step in the AK Modulation game.
I'm not going to up-load any pictures of the third stage i.e. Dunkelgrau 163 as the crap photography skills of Mr DW and the subtle

tonal effects are hardly gonna be noticed

The next step is tomorrow with AK 164 Dunkelgrau Light Base that should show some better effects on pictures.
Till then my friends,
John

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 8:02 pm

chief5437 wrote:More PE?! You're nuts!

Did someone said PE? Love PE....
I'm A PE monster. ... Need PE!
More PE! Aaaargh!

lol...

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 8:06 pm

Great progress so far John

Love the grey.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:34 am

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:
chief5437 wrote:More PE?! You're nuts!
Did someone said PE? Love PE....
I'm A PE monster. ... Need PE!
More PE! Aaaargh!

lol...

Good God have we been playing with the Mr Surfacer

Mind, I do love a bit of PE.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:37 am

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:Great progress so far John
Love the grey.

Thanks mate.
Its all very depressing this Grey.
I was going through my box of colours and saw a Vallejo Flat Red and smiled at the beauty of that colour......
Then back to soul destroying Greeeeeeeeeeeeeey

Cheers
John

Post by **Coen** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:15 am

I've painted enough panzer grey vehicles to be able to commiserate with you John. Though a neat trick and a bit gimicky, colour modulation is popular these days. Those paint sets have a range of colours that are meant to be used together in a very specific way.
Myself, I toss that way out the window and just do what I think looks right, as I've done for years. Though what I think looks right has changed and, I hope, evolved over the years, I still do it.
As with the mig set, the ak set has a similar range of colours, and I find them to be too extreme when used all together and the effect looks very unrealistic in the end. I'll use the grey base as the base colour, then the shadow to do under the sponsons and fenders and maybe a few panel lines (since I prime in black most of the panel lines are taken care of by the black primer, but sometimes I wipe out a few by accident

). I'll use the light grey base to lighten the colours on the upper surfaces and the panel centres. I'll spray a little bit more on the upper surfaces to give the effect of sun fading of the paint.
That's where I'll stop. I don't use the whole range, at least I don't need to with the way that I paint. It would end up overdone and very unrealistic.
So instead of 50 shades of grey I just use three.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:40 pm

Coen wrote:I've painted enough panzer grey vehicles to be able to commiserate with you John. Though a neat trick and a bit gimicky, colour modulation is popular these days. Those paint sets have a range of colours that are meant to be used together in a very specific way.
Myself, I toss that way out the window and just do what I think looks right, as I've done for years. Though what I think looks right has changed and, I hope, evolved over the years, I still do it.
As with the mig set, the ak set has a similar range of colours, and I find them to be too extreme when used all together and the effect looks very unrealistic in the end. I'll use the grey base as the base colour, then the shadow to do under the sponsons and fenders and maybe a few panel lines (since I prime in black most of the panel lines are taken care of by the black primer, but sometimes I wipe out a few by accident ). I'll use the light grey base to lighten the colours on the upper surfaces and the panel centres. I'll spray a little bit more on the upper surfaces to give the effect of sun fading of the paint.
That's where I'll stop. I don't use the whole range, at least I don't need to with the way that I paint. It would end up overdone and very unrealistic.
So instead of 50 shades of grey I just use three.

Hi Mike
Good to hear from you.
I write to you from the M/C, and have just this afternoon applied the fourth colour of the AK Modulation set (Dunkelgrau Light Base AK 164).
I have to say that this caused problems.
I sprayed the colour, adding a few drops of Ultimate, but the paint took on a speckled / crackled appearance

.
I have been spraying all other colours at normal pressure of 20psi and had no problems (other than first colour that would not spray without a lot of thinning).
I tipped out the paint and cleaned the AB and had another go.
This time it covered properly.
Not a foggiest went on there.
You write with experience and I have to say this is my first time with Modulation.
I suspect in the hands of an accomplished modeller like Mr Jimenz and others it must be a doddle

For the novice, not so much.
I will not use again.
I'm going to carry on with this, as the experiment needs to be finished, and it would be a shame to break off and not go through with the full set.
If I go German Grey again, I would go with the Black Primer and then a base layer and lighten that colour slightly on panels.
I think with Filters and Washes all of these 6 colours are gonna be obliterated.
£14.99 is a bit expensive for a the set that you could replicate with a good base colour and some addition of white

I sound a bit down in the mouth, but I'm just tired as on Nights mate (right in middle now).
Would I recommend this set to a fellow modeller.
No.
Its always great to hear from you Mike, and you are an experienced modeller and I take your advice on board.
The Tiger looks great, and its just great to get some paint down instead of breaking my fragile eyes with more PE.
The clock though is ticking away. Will I get finished in time?
The house is due a big renovation soon, and I am going to lose the M/C and have to go dormant for a while, whilst the building and decoration work goes on.
We have postponed the works for ages and now the funds are available this is the time to go for it.
I have asked (note asked), Mrs DW for space on the Dining Room table as a compromise for losing M/C.
I may get away with some time building simpler models without masses of PE.
Mind I do want to finish off the Chief that is sat on shelf, and that does still have a load of PE to finish it off (and myself).
I shall leave you in peace now Mike.
Thank you as always for your kind words and advice.
Your the man.
John

Post by **Coen** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:05 pm

Always a pleasure John

**Felis Barcinonensis YouTube Channel** · Post by **felisbarcinonensis** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:54 pm

A wonderful thread John! the Tiger is looking sooo goood!!!

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 6:33 am

Your build is awesome. Keep up the good work.

I am with Coen on this. The modulation sets are ok and I think work well if you completely disguise it with the extreme weathering that has originated from the same place.

I would also use the three basic shades. You can make the grey a little more interesting by lightening with a flesh colour - reference Marcus Nichols' DVD Realistic Armour Finishing

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:51 pm

PaulAyrey wrote:Your build is awesome. Keep up the good work.

I am with Coen on this. The modulation sets are ok and I think work well if you completely disguise it with the extreme weathering that has originated from the same place.

I would also use the three basic shades. You can make the grey a little more interesting by lightening with a flesh colour - reference Marcus Nichols' DVD Realistic Armour Finishing

Cheers Paul
That's a interesting idea about Flesh Paint. I shall have a look at this on-line tonight.
I shall not use this form of Modulation again (i.e. buy a set). For a novice it made sense but now it seems easier lightening paint with white (or flesh).
The Modulation I feel and all its subtleties, will be lost under weathering, washes and mud, glorious mud.
Hope you have a great weekend mate.
Take care.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:52 pm

felisbarcinonensis wrote:A wonderful thread John! the Tiger is looking sooo goood!!!

Your very, very kind mate.
Thank you for your kind words.
Have a great weekend, whatever your up to.
John

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:43 pm

Hey, John, loving your thread and the Tiger is looking very nice, especially with all that eye-watering PE!

Personally I'm loving the colour and I like what I see from your pics. I think you're doing the right thing with pressing on with the modulation set and once you've washed and weathered it it will all come together nicely. I have to agree with everything that Mike was saying about the modulation technique, but personally I'm a fan. I believe that the theory is, the smaller the scale a model is, the lighter the colour should be. Colours always appear "faded" the further away you look at them from and standing 1 foot away from a model is the the same thing as looking at a real Tiger from 35 feet away. For this reason you have to "trick" the eye into thinking that the colours for the model and the real thing are the same. This is all well and good if you have the luxury of having a fleet of WWII AFV's halfway down your garden, but I guessing most of us don't. But in isolation, colour modulation can look a bit odd and it is a bit of a Marmite thing.

Anywho, enough of my boring crapola - your Tiger is looking the biz!

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:19 pm

Alex your a master of words and brilliant advice.
Marmite is a good analogy of Modulation.
Some Love it, and some absolutely Hate it.
Living where they make Marmite, perhaps I am partial to a bit of Marmite but I prefer Vegimite

).
Have just finished this afternoon last of the Six Shades of Grey and pictures will follow (probably next week now, as just up to my neck in work).
One of the worse things that can happen whilst AB'ing, is the bloody phone keeps going off

, but you have to answer it, as your waiting for the one call you want.
I have an interview for a job next week

I have to be honest, I don't know where I stand on this system.
I have followed vids and research on this system, and all I can say at the moment is that it looks mighty light in colour and not at all what I expected.
I have followed the system and instructions to the picture and word.
Maybe it is because we have been all so use for years to seeing and working with flat German Grey (and other flat colours such as OD) models, and that is what we expected and what we saw.
Now we see Modulation and tonal differences used by modellers and its all so new and dare I say funky (dare John, dare).
Back in the 70's, cars were Red, Grey, Black, Green and Blue (My first car was a 1.3 Morris Marina in Teal Blue, one knows the colour cuz one spent a lot of time in Halfords buying Rattle Cans to touch up the ever creeping rust

).
Now look at car colours.
Myriads of colours and hues and metallic finishes vaster than any colour palette imagined back then (then again the technology in paint application and manufacturing has just changed).
The weathering and washing will tone it down immensely and that will be interesting to see the effect that has on it.
Its a first time with this and I am gonna drop the ball from time to time, and that's to be expected, but what fun it is picking the ball up again and having another go.
God knows how it will turn out

It has a nice weekend to cure and be left alone now.
Next week is days off

I am planning Tuesday as "Me Day". Or should that be Tiger day.
Its all steam ahead for the next step which will be the Tools being painted (plus the job that every Tiger fan will relish, Rubber Wheel painting

)
Should I have left the Tools on or off?
Another Marmite subject (are we confusing our brethren across the seas with this talk of Marmite. I shall be sending pots of the stuff out next to my friends to try

)
Some paint with tools on, and some off.
Who knows what's right or wrong.
Alex, I have never once heard "Crapola" from you

Only the best advice and the most eloquent writings seen on this board, and boy do we have some great writers of "This and That" on here.
I like to think that I am up there with the best writers of dirge and crap

Have a great weekend mate and speak soon.
John

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:50 pm

Good afternoon all

How are you all?
Been a while.
I came off Nights on Monday morning and have been resting and trying to get the sleep patterns back into "Normal" configuration.
Yesterday (Wednesday), I attended a Job Interview.
Only my third interview in 17 years, so it was exciting but a nervous affair as you can imagine that for all of us who have trod this path know.
The role is as a AFM (Assistant Facilities Manager) at a large school.
The school needs a person in this role before this Friday, and so I am in the running with three others.
I am expecting a call either today or tomorrow with a 1 in 3 chance of success or failure.
I am not (as you who follow my rambling threads) a confident person at times in myself.
Diane puts me on a pedestal and supports me like the proverbial trooper.
She has (she is a manager of a very large department), experience in Interviewing and so tutored me and cajoled me since last week and right up to the point of the Interview.
She threw me curved ball questions like "You have been at your job for 17 years, so why leave now?"
I am crapping myself, as I want the job a lot, and its a real progression for me and the chance to get out of the crap situation that I am already in (read previous threads).
I know all the comments "if you don't get it, try, try again"...................

Stay near the phone Mr DW.
Anyhoo..............
The Tiger build.
Whilst hanging around, I have continued with some more work.
The Modulation Paint-Job is finished.
Its all so light

Everybody who builds Tigers knows how many wheels are on the model, and how much time is taken painting tyres

(Lucky chaps who have worked on the Late Types with Metal Rims).
I used the Tamiya XF-85 Black Rubber. I kept it thinned quite loosely with X-20A Thinner so the paint worked around the rims with Capillary action.

I applied a coat of Alclad 2, Klear Kote Matte.
The tools have been painted using the Mig Ammo Tools Colour Set (A. MIG 7112).
Tried some very wood grain work on the Upper Hull Box.

I have also used Mr Hobby, Mr Metalizer, Iron (212) on all metal surfaces (Breaking Bars, Shovel Heads, Hammer Heads and such). First time using this paint and very easy to use. Keep shaking the bottle as the metal flakes / pigment's do settle very, very quickly.
I then burnished the metal parts with a Baby Bud and once dried it is amazing how it brings a shine up just like Iron (weird that).
The Eureka Towing Cables have been painted in a mix of Model Air 71.057 Black and a few drops of Model Air 71.065 Steel.

I have then applied a wash of rust on the Exhaust Shrouds and the Exhaust Pipes.
Still more work on this part so to be continued.

I used Light Rust A. MIG-030, Medium Rust A. MIG-40 and Dark Rust A. MIG-041.
I will once Filtered and Washed apply MIG Black Smoke P023.
Decals have been applied and I used the Micro-Set and Micro-Sol system.
The Rear Turret Buckets had been Shell and Round Damaged by my Hot Nail system, so a careful use of plenty of Micro-Sol and a very sharp S&M Blade and a Hypodermic needle were used to poke holes in the Decals.

It worked

.

So there you go.
I shall tomorrow apply another coat of Klear Kote to seal the Decals on to surfaces, and then the fun that we all get a kick out of (Why?) begins.
Pin Washes.
Filters.
Weathering.
Also need to finish off the Tracks with the bath of AK Metal Burnishing.
Let me know what you think mates and as always I send my love and thanks,
John