1/35 Tiger II with Henschel Turret and Zimmerit

[Stokesy44]

Having got the armour bug with Tamiya's 1/35 Jagdpanzer, I set out to pick up another big cat at the Birmingham IPSM show last Sunday. I fancy a Dragon kit as people seem to like them, so that was in my sights as I trawled the show. Ended up with this which isn't too bad. Ordered some replacement tracks too as this beast doesn't come with magic tracks, only Dragon Styrene tracks which look just as bad as the Tamiya vinyl ones. I might not have needed them but I plan to have some of the skirts broken off, giving the tracks plenty of view.




The guy on the stall was waxing lyrical about the Zim and I have to agree with him, I think it looks great and I cant wait to see how it looks when painting comes around.




Started on the wheels first. I don't know if all Dragon kits are the same but I needed dynamite when getting the parts off the sprues. Clean up was ok though - once I had actually managed to cut them off!! Nice straight forward assembly and got everything level with a bit of brute force and ignorance. Also got the rear end on without any kerfuffle.




Onto the main hull now, tons of stuff to add but it all goes on nicely. One thing that does stand out with this kit is just how much duplication there is on the sprues, 4 versions in some cases, and the extras are not for the versions shown in the kit. Not sure if its generous or lazy to release kits like this. There will be a ton left over when the kit's done and I'm not sure I like that. Still, there's always the spares box. Metal cables are supplied which is nice, locating them onto the hull is ok as the there are smooth points on the Zim as appropriate. Managed to superglue myself to the kit a couple of times but no real harm done!




The instructions call for the internally operated MG42 to be added when you attach the cupola to the front armour. This is the height of folly as far as I am concerned. Might as well put a flag on it saying 'break me off please'. In the end I assembled the ball mount and attached it to the housing without the MG. Blocked it off internally as I don't need the internal detail and I can add the barrel externally when the kit is done. Much safer in my view.



Metal gun barrel came with the kit - tasty




Turret went together nicely too. All the hatches were snug and the Zimmerit looks nice too.




Fully dressed now and ready for the skirts.



As mentioned I plan to show some off the skirts as missing. This will be done while the upper hull is separate from the wheels and lower hull. I aim to paint the kit like a 3 layer sandwich because of the tracks. I cant see how I can add the tracks once the upper hull and skirts are attached. I will need access to the tops of the wheels while test fitting the track and then finally adding them once completed. The tracks will be done in 2 halves per side, glued together where they meet over the rear sprocket (or whatever its called) then completed over the front drive wheels with individual pieces added till they join up.

So, next up, deciding how to show the skirts then cutting them and thinning the edges. All good fun and there are worse ways to spend the day now we've beaten the Aussies at Edgbaston!!

[DoubleDigit12]

Hi stokesy,
is a dio still completely out of the question...

Also a good win for you against the aussies

[mannloon]

That's weird, that kit comes with Magic Tracks normally. Mine has them. Since they don't have hollow guide horns the Tamiya are perfectly good.

The reason you had issue with cutting off those parts is although this kit itself is a slightly updated rebox of a 2004 kit, the suspension has been used since it was tooled in 1995 for their Jagdtiger kit. You can actually tell the difference between the quality an fidelity of the plastic. If you look at that MG34 sprue you didn't use, that's modern Dragon. The suspension is right when they started out doing the 39-45 series.

[Hank]

I'm currently building the porsch turm version of this kit so will be following your progress. I'm using the DS tracks with the pin method but like you, I'll also be treating it like a "3 layer sandwhich" in order to get the tracks on. Progress looks good so far and I look forward to seeing your paint job.

That's weird, that kit comes with Magic Tracks normally. Mine has them.

Unfortunately, Dragon have been downgrading their Zimmerit and Premium kits. Where both the Zimmerit King Tiger's 6303 & 6302 originally left the factory packed with goodies like magic tracks, metal barrels, metal tow hooks and brass ammo, they're nearly all gone from the kits today. I didn't even get a metal barrel with mine.

[Stokesy44]

Hi James, I think a diorama is a bridge too far right now. The Tiger is only my second stab at armour so I'm learning as I go. If I did, it would be a small scene setting rather than lots of additional figures and vehicles. I wouldn't want the base to be too big, modelling in 1/35 scale is big enough and I don't have the room for a diorama that is much bigger than the vehicle being showcased. Still, its something I would like to do, just not yet...

Thanks Manloon, this kit seems to be a bit of an enigma, I have seen reviews of it with magic tracks and where the box art is subtly different, perhaps there were two releases with the differences, or maybe different releases for different countries, who knows. Its been fun so far and I'm virtually ready for painting now. This is where the fun begins!!

[Stokesy44]

Ditto Hank, interested in seeing yours as it comes along too. Have you posted it yet?

[Hank]

Not yet but it looks like we're at about roughly the same stage so I'll try get a thread up soonish.

[Nige1940]

Your doing a fantastic job so far , I never really knew what to make of those "with Zimm" kits, but looking at it in the flesh so to speak they're really nice !

[Nige1940]

That's weird, that kit comes with Magic Tracks normally. Mine has them. Since they don't have hollow guide horns the Tamiya are perfectly good.

The reason you had issue with cutting off those parts is although this kit itself is a slightly updated rebox of a 2004 kit, the suspension has been used since it was tooled in 1995 for their Jagdtiger kit. You can actually tell the difference between the quality an fidelity of the plastic. If you look at that MG34 sprue you didn't use, that's modern Dragon. The suspension is right when they started out doing the 39-45 series.

They're doing this a lot now , must disappointing , I just picked up a couple of their Bison II kits after looking at reviews online I felt pretty sure of what I was going to get.... Except that they only used to come with Magic track separate links .
Now included ...DS tracks !

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Nige, I do wonder if I would have been better off with the Tamiya kit but there you go. At the end of the day, the detail is great and I'm enjoying the build so what's not to like.

Anyway, on with the build. The skirts are on now, I split them up and left off sections on both sides to show wear and tear. I thinned down the edges so they don't look like armour plate anymore, not quite as thin as PE but not bad.






Got the PE grills onto the rear deck too. The grills that slide under the rear of the turret were nearly 3mm too wide for some reason. Bit of an oversight it must be said. Got the old PE bug out and had them trimmed down in no time. They look pretty nice, looking forward to seeing them once the painting gets done.




Painting should start tomorrow - hopefully

[razzie43]

Can i give u a tip?
Its hard work but i always go with a sandpaper over the wheels(it paint's better)
specially with humbrol 27003 metal cote

details are very important says the Japanese model-builders

cheers
RAZZ

[Stokesy44]

Can i give u a tip?
Its hard work but i always go with a sandpaper over the wheels(it paint's better)
specially with humbrol 27003 metal cote

details are very important says the Japanese model-builders

cheers
RAZZ

Hi Razz, thanks for the tip. I plan to prime the tank, paint it, wash it, then add a winterizing white for the Ardennes. How much will sanding the wheels help? Do you mean before priming and everything? Its a serious question as I have seen your work and am amazed by it. I commented on your recent posting of the 21cm Geschutzwagen, most amazing paintwork I think I have ever seen.

[razzie43]

Hi Mate,yes that's what i mean before the prime.
Thank you for you post..i inspire my paints on Adam Wilder his Geschutzwagen 2012.(adam wilder authentic metal [google it])
If u have any questions just fire away

Good luck with your big Tiger II
(love the zimmerit on it)

[Stokesy44]

Hi all, got some work done on the tracks today. Going with my previously tried half and half method where I build the track in 2 bits that attach over the rear idler (I think that's what it is). I then connect the halves at the front by adding in the final links over the drive wheels to join top to bottom. The lengths then dry on the wheels so the shape is right once the glue hardens.

They're almost done, just the sections that run up to and over the drive wheels left. Last two links will be added in when the tracks are finally attached after painting and weathering.








Its the 4th Test tomorrow (barmy army, barmy army) but I hope to start painting at some point in the day, who knows

[DoubleDigit12]

hey Stokesy,
Nice work on the tracks... but more importantly good luck to England I am a scot but nothing like a bit of encouragement not like its needed or anything...

[Stokesy44]

Thanks James, we're certainly wielding the wood on those Aussies right now - happy days!!

[Stokesy44]

Finished the tracks and got the spare links attached to the turret.

Pleased with the sag in the tracks, hopefully I've removed enough of the skirting so they can be seen on the finished kit!




Finished tracks. There's method in the madness, the L and R references are not for the photo, I put them on because I got sick of trying to ram the tracks on to the wheels only to find I was on the wrong side!


There were no placement marks for the track hooks on the turret. Dragon must have forgotten them when went and got all excited about their lovely Zimmerit. What to do? At times like these, the idiot approach is best - assume the best course of action is also the simplest. I glued the hooks to the tracks then glued the tracks to the turret! Just need to scrape off that last ejector pin mark on the bottom right track link.



I might start priming tonight. Or I might crack a can or two and catch the end of the cricket coverage

[Nige99]

Great work and I've enjoyed reading your progress on your thread.

[DoubleDigit12]

Nice job stokesy...
Speaking off the ashes that was a nice win by England at Trent bridge. It reminds me off when I was in Nottingham with my family and we saw Stuart Broad having sunday dinner with his mates!
Oh and Michael Clarkes retirement.

[Gewehr43]

Very interesting. I tried using this exact same kit and track combo and got nowhere with it. The Tamiya track links didn't fit around the Dragon sprocket at all. The teeth didn't line up with the holes in the links correctly. Did you have any fit issues in that respect? If so, how did you address them?

Also, hi, International Scale Modeller. I registered just to post this.

[Stokesy44]

Very interesting. I tried using this exact same kit and track combo and got nowhere with it. The Tamiya track links didn't fit around the Dragon sprocket at all. The teeth didn't line up with the holes in the links correctly. Did you have any fit issues in that respect? If so, how did you address them?

Also, hi, International Scale Modeller. I registered just to post this.

Hi Gewehr, Welcome to the forum.

That's a strange one. the Tamiya tracks sat perfectly on the drive wheels on my kit. I built the tracks up from the rear forwards and when they got to the drive sprockets at the front they sat down nicely and 'bit' onto the sprocket grabs. Only a little bit of manoeuvring was required (pushing or pulling by about 0.5mm) but I didn't need to do any cutting on the sprockets or the tracks to make them meet when I added the final 3 links.

I know Tamiya have two sets of tracks out there for their Panthers and one of those is not compatible with some of their kits, perhaps it is the same for the Tiger II and you have a set that is slightly different to the one I purchased.

[Stokesy44]

Got the old airbrush out at last. Primed, pre-shaded and base camo colour applied (Tamiya XF60 Dark Yellow).




Excuse my finger!! David Bailey? Yeah, right....





Also painted the tracks dark grey and varnished with Klear. Brown sludge wash is due before fitting on to the hull.

Will start on the camo tomorrow. Going for a green tiger striping on top of the yellow base, down to the skirts, nothing on the wheels. Dreaming about doing a 'winterised' Tiger but I don't know if I have the bottle!

[d6mst0]

I am new to armor builds and I never seen this pre-shading technique, only seen where everything is painted with a black primer and build up from there. I can seen the shading through the base coat, I like it. Thanks for showing the technique.

[Oper8or]

I am new to armor builds and I never seen this pre-shading technique, only seen where everything is painted with a black primer and build up from there. I can seen the shading through the base coat, I like it. Thanks for showing the technique.

I am glad he did it as well. I will try this using a brush though. It will be interesting.

[Stokesy44]

Hi Guys, thanks for the kind comments.

I'm new to armour so I used the techniques I have been using on aircraft. I think I'm going to try the black base at some point, just haven't plucked up the courage yet.

[Stokesy44]

I didn't get to start on the camo but I did get the tracks done.

Washed them with a thick dark brown wash and let them dry. In the meantime, I applied a similar wash, although thinner, to the wheels and the lower hull. Once done, it was time to look at the tracks again. I had planned to wipe them down but I felt they looked just right as they were. I figured I would attach them and then see if they needed any more work.



Bit of tidy up wash needed on the wheel where I missed a chunk







The only thing I can think of to do is to dry brush them a little with maybe aluminium or even a lighter brown, just to lift the detail a fraction. suggestions welcome

Put the rear mudguards on too, having sprayed them last night in preparation.



A couple of bits on the wheels need a little wash to tidy up but I don't know if the wheels need more weathering in general. I don't plan on adding any form of debris such as mud but I may do a black pastel wash to bring out the recesses and bolts. Haven't decided

[Stokesy44]

Got the camo on

I've just done a Jagdpanther in a yellow / brown / green pattern so I didn't want to do that again here. I've gone for the green tiger stripe of the 101st Heavy Tank Battalion which were based in Ohrdruf, Germany in the summer of 44 before being thrown into the defence against the red army during Operation Bagration. Credit Wikipedia for the background, the kit instructions just say Ohrdruf in 44!

It looks like the unit fought until February 45 before being absorbed into other formations so there's still the possibility of winterising the tank. Still no further along in deciding though.

Happy with the camo, hands are still shaking though.






Where the skirts have been torn off, I ended the camo at the level where the skirt would have been. My reason being the camo would have been sprayed on when the tank was new and, presumably, had its knickers on properly.







Detail painting next, tools, exhausts, spare track and cables etc. All good fun - there are worse ways to spend the time

[rwsmith14]

Camo Looks Great !! well Done !!

[Coen]

Yup!! Camo is beautiful!

[Hank]

Glad to see how well this is progressing! The camo scheme is very attractive.

[Stokesy44]

Thanks guys, your encouragement is much appreciated.

[Stokesy44]

Not too much done over the weekend. Painted all the various tools, cables, exhausts and extra track links.





On with a nice coat of Klear. Now my tiger's all nice and shiny!!





Decals on and brown wash added to the tracks to rust them up.



Next up is more Klear on the turret to seal the decals then its time for a dirty wash all over (exc wheels and tracks). Once the wash is done, dry brushing for rust and then the decision about winterising!!!!

[burnie43]

Fantastic job......
thanks for sharing !!
Cheers
Mark

[demarcation]

Brilliant work mate!!

[Stokesy44]

More progress over the last few days.

Applied a dirty sludge wash to the hull and turret then wiped it all down once dry. Added a fair amount of dark red to simulate where the primer was showing through the paint. I figured the hull deck and the top of the turret would have the most wear due to being clambered all over by the crew and any infantry that hopped on for a lift. The engine deck area would have been well worn too. I have to admit I'm not entirely convinced and may apply a little lightening to tone it down a bit.

I also need to tone down the '333' on the turret, way too bright at the mo - and a bit of silvering which is a real arse-ache














So, a bit of head scratching before I try to finish it off. How to tone down the primer effect and get rid of the silvering on the turret. I also want to fade the paint a bit on the track guards. Way too fresh looking at the moment.

Nearly there.....

[razzie43]

Hi Stokesy44,perfect balance on those tracks(hull).
love the nice colours u made here.

[Stokesy44]

Finished -

Managed to reduce the silvering round the decal on the turret. Matted it down with some pastel sludge wash. It also took some of the brightness out of the numbers themselves which was what I was after too.

Matted down the paintwork as, despite a dark wash, the colours were still too bright. Brushed on more brown wash and applied only a very light wipe off and it seemed to work. Thought I was done till I noticed the towing hooks were still missing - all 4 of them.

As for my plans on winterising the big kitty. I think that may be a bridge too far at this stage. Maybe next time?









Whilst I think it looks great, I shudder at its purpose. I know its only a kit but I try not to imagine the fear it caused in the minds of those it faced.


I'll do some gallery pics soon. Mind you, I said that about my Panther SP and that is still conspicuous by its absence in the gallery section!!

Stokesy44