Tiger 1 Buddy build - Dragon's 6253 - Tiger 205... maybe

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 31, 2015 1:42 am

I'll be building a couple of kits for my entry into the buddy build
As well as taking a few that I've already built off the shelf that I've been saving for this very project.
I've been meaning to build Michael Wittmann's Viller's Bocage Tiger I for some time and this is just the excuse that I needed to make it so.

Like I need and excuse to build a tiger

So, this is going to be a multi piece diorama that will be involved not only in this buddy build but it Jim Baldwin's D-Day Facebook 48 hour build. I'll build the tiger for this build and a cromwell for Jim's, both will be used on the diorama.
I'll also be taking a Firefly and a Bren Gun Carrier off my shelf to add to the piece.

Here's what I have so far... I'll start the actual construction on or near June 01.

Maybe two of these... I may build a fresh new one...

Or I may use this one and re-weather it.

I'll be using this as well...

or I may just build a fresh one with this kit.

I'll also use this firefly that I build some time ago.

I won't be using any of the figures, just the vehicles and any of the prebuilt vehicles that I use I'll have to re-weather.
It will probably take longer if I have to build the new Bren Gun Carrier, as that Riich kit is a hell of a thing.

Post by **Nev** » Sun May 31, 2015 8:41 am

Looks awesome Mike! I fancied getting one of those Riich kits. Will be interesting to see if you decide to build it. Though I understand time factors.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:56 pm

I may just build it anyway Nev, it's a wonderful little kit.

So I started this off last night. I'm still updating my research on Wittmann's Villers Bocage Tiger. It keeps changing as to which one he was riding in during his charge, 205 (unlikely), 212, or 222.
In the end it will come down to which historian has the most plausible argument. At the moment it's looking like Tiger 222 Kurt Sowa's tiger.

One of the many reference books that I'm using, this one I'll use quite a bit.

Anyway, until I decide, I started the build as all of the unit's tanks were new and were in almost identical condition. So I can use almost any of the photos of the other vehicles as reference for features.

These are photos of Michael's unit a few days before the attack on Villers Bocage, while marching from Paris (where they took part in a parade during the D-Day landings )
Many of the unit's tanks are visible and their features are easily seen in many of the photos. Including Michael's Tiger I... 205.

Construction begins with the attaching of the Atak zimmerit. The set comes with two different patterns for the turret, 4mm and 7mm furrows. The 4mm is more for final tigers, so I used the 7mm and saved the 4mm for later.
The zimmerit went on like jam on toast and was just as easy. I'll be using this Atak zimmerit for all my zim work from now on. It looks beautiful and I can damage it any way that I like. Absolutely worth every penny that I paid for it. Just use a thick slow CA glue to attach it or you're going to have trouble. Bob Smith Industries 15-25 sec CA is what I used, but I wouldn't go much slower than the 10-15 sec stuff.

Later today I'll start the construction of the main parts.

Post by **Schoof** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:06 am

Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh. ........ eye candy in the making

Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 1:25 pm

That zimm looks great

I also like the detective work you are doing to try to pin-down Wittmann's exact mount on that fateful day,good stuff.

Post by **mannloon** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:56 pm

This looks to be the Tiger dio to end all. I'd really appreciate an in-depth comparison of the Master Club tracks to Friul and other AM Tiger tracks.

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:39 pm

Thanks fellas.
I will most likely use the fruilmodel set of tracks that I've burnished already Adam. I've looked at those Masterclub tracks and I'm quite certain that I'll never use them. I'll give them a try, but they're crazy fiddly when compared to the simplicity of the Fruil. They cost the same so I don't see the point of buying the masterclub.
Still... I'll give them a good once over and compare the two along with some AFV indie links that I also have so you'll see.

I've gotten all of the large parts built now and I've also added the battle damage to the zimmerit.
I've also decided that I'll be using turret number 222 for the tiger. From everything that I've read it is supported by the best arguments and evidence.
I've even located a possible photo of Wittmann's abandoned tank in Villers Bocage. It's not 100% confirmed, but there's some evidence that it's possible that it's his.

After allied bombing of the town...

And a shot from much further up the street with an observation sherman in the foreground.

I also have all the photos of possible vehicles that I may add to the diorama.

Alla Keefek A 7th RTR Firefly

My version of it...

Calamity Jane, a Stuart Light Tank.

My version... (I haven't removed the crew as yet as I'm not sure that I will use her.)

Cromwell T187796

The entire general scene with the two cromwells.

My build of Cromwell 196 predamage.

And the Tiger with her damaged zimmerit and state of build.

The vehicles that are already built will need to be damaged and re-weathered or repainted entirely as they're all very old.
Hopefully they won't be too much work. For now the work will focus on finishing the tiger, then I'll worry about the second cromwell.

Post by **Chip1942** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:55 pm

That was really fast (unlike my reply) lovely zimmerit damage

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:49 am

Update time....

So quite a bit done to the tiger, as well as a second Cromwell being built in a 48 hour build. (http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... it=48+hour).
Unfortunately the scene that I had originally planned to build has to be changed.

This scene is one that I've always wanted to build. The only thing that I was missing was the second Cromwell tank and Wittmann's Tiger.
There's a problem with that... Wittmann didn't knock these tanks out. Two other tigers of his company did.
When Wittmann and his company launched the attack on Villers Bocage he went one way down Route 175 into town, and the others went up hill 213 to attack the positions there. This crossroads was part of hill 213.

Now I need to find another part of Wittmann's route to model with the vehicles that I have. That's going to be tricky.

Either way... I continue on the tiger and finished the Cromwell.

This is the cromwell, you can follow the link above to see the build it's self, along with the other builds done for the event.

I'll try to reweather the second cromwell to match this one as best as I can.

The tiger is just about built now. The small parts are going on now.
I'll soon have to put it aside for a week or two, as I've ordered a PE set for another build and I need the mud flaps from that set to finish this tiger.
The kit ones are crap and they need help.
I also didn't use most of the PE tool clamps and fastenings as I want them for a different kit and build.

Here's how it looks as of yesterday.

I did some more work on her last night, but that's for the next update.

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:02 pm

She's all done now but for the tracks.
I have a PE set on order for the front mud flaps but I don't want wait for it.
So I dug a bow plate from my spares and cut off the styrene flaps. They're nicely detailed and once cleaned up they looked fine.

After that was all done I installed them and the fenders and called it built.

Post by **Nige99** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 6:43 am

Wow

this is going to be spectacular Mike

I love the research your doing to give this iconic battle 100% accuracy. That Dragon 6253 is a beautiful build Mike, you've done it awesome

can't wait to see it painted and more so the dio. Keep it up dude.

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 12:36 am

The dio you'll have to wait for Nige, that's a ways down the road yet.
As for painted...
That I can do.

This is the colours and general scheme that I'm going for.

I've also noticed today that the mantlet of tiger 222 in these later shots is a different one than the one on the tigers of the earlier shots of the allegedly tiger 222 in Villers bocage.
So, either the mantlet was replaced, or the historians have made a booboo and its a different tank in Villers bocage.
It's possible that this is tiger 222 right after the battle of Villers bocage, freshly repaired.
I'm not so sure.

This is also tiger 222 but much later on. The mantlet is a different variant.
I'm not sure if it's the same tank or it's a replacement with the same turret number.
Several authors seem to think that it's the same machine but repaired post Villers bocage.

Next is the detail painting, gloss and the washes.

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:04 pm

all the base painting is all finished now, all that's left is the weathering process.
So gloss, wash, matte and dirt.

Post by **Danta2er** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:04 pm

Wow...just wow

Post by **Nev** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 7:23 pm

Looks spot on mate

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:55 pm

Thanks Fellas.

Now that she's all based, I glossed her and covered her with a heavy sludge of Ultimate Dark Dirt. I waited for that to dry then I took that off all the flat surfaces with a damp cotton bud.
Then I went over a few spots with a pin wash of Dark Dirt.
I'm very pleased with the results so far.
She's flat coated now and once that's dry I'll start a dot filter, some rust work, and the fuel/oil stains.

Here she is with the Ultimate all over the lower hull and freshly removed from the turret.

A better shot of what it looks like after application and removal. The hull is freshly applied, the turret freshly removed.

Here she is all washed, cleaned, and flat coated with Alclad flat.

Like I said earlier, next is the dot filter, rust work and oil/fuel stains.
After that I'll start the pigments.

Post by **mannloon** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:01 am

She's a beauty Mike. There are a lot of things about this that are just perfect. Love that Zimmerit chipping. I'm glad to see the Atak stuff worked out well. I hadn't invested in either Atak or Cavalier for my 6253 and 6406 in the stash. Someone had suggested to me Cavalier was better because it had precut spots for details and Atak didn't. You have any idea what that's about?

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:50 am

I know what they're talking about, but who ever said that is wrong. The details are all cut out on these. I had to trim the flash, but that's expected on resin this thin and flexible.
I don't know about other sets for other subjects, but for this variant of the tiger I they were fine.

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:53 pm

A little pigment work and the tiger is as finished as I can make it until I can put it on the diorama. Then she'll get placement weathering.

So the exhausts get some rust and soot and the soot for the MGs and main gun.

Then I called her finished until she's placed and final weathering can be done.

Post by **mannloon** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:36 pm

Coen wrote:I know what they're talking about, but who ever said that is wrong. The details are all cut out on these. I had to trim the flash, but that's expected on resin this thin and flexible.
I don't know about other sets for other subjects, but for this variant of the tiger I they were fine.

I will for sure being getting at least one Atak set. That's a beautiful Tiger Mike.

Post by **JediBoer** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:44 pm

Stunning work Mike! Another great Tiger!

**Felis Barcinonensis YouTube Channel** · Post by **felisbarcinonensis** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:41 pm

Looks great Michael!

Post by **Nige99** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:02 am

Stunning work Mike

I've used that Atak stuff on one of mine it does work well and it's a lot cheaper than others out there. Love the chipping you've done and the cam looks great.
Another great build by your good self.

Post by **Nev** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:12 am

Ha told you would beat me

Bloody nice mate if mine looks half as good as this will be really pleased

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:29 am

After building a few Tigers this year i thought i knew how to build a kitty
But your Tigers keep amazing me
Great work so far and i will be looking forward to that dio you mentionned

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:38 pm

Thanks

I started work on the dio last night.
It's going to be a fairly simple thing as dios go, what will make it complicated is all the vehicles. Two of which will be wrecked and one firing weapons.
So... simple... but hard.

It's not going to be a small thing as it will be a dio of Route 175 just outside Villers Bocage near where Wittmann first mounted the road.
The two KOed vehicles are not in completely historically correctly places as I can't find an account or record of any Cromwell tanks being KOed near where the Riflemen's UVCs were parked. They're more there for dramatics then accuracy.

The general story that I will try to tell is the moment were Wittmann had just crossed the field next to Route 175, taking out a Bren Carrier and Cromwell while firing on the move. Then he's mounting the road as some of the British personnel attempt to flee or fight back.

The base is just a large piece of MDF smeared liberally with yellow carpenter's glue, then tinted Celluclay is layered on top of that.
I chose Celluclay over modelling clay on this to save on weight. The MDF is quite heavy.
Once it was applied I shaped it with a spoon and an artists palette knife into a roadway with two ditches.
This is the end result that I want to emulate.

These are all of the same length of road, Route 175 along Wittmann's attack.

Mine will be considerably less wrecked, as it will be the moment that the battle started. Those shots are much later after all the fires are out and the vehicles have been looted. The road and vegetation is hopefully going to look similar though.

Here's where it's at now.

The Raw cellyclay tinted with black paint.

Now shaped into a road shape with gravel added to the surface and a few boulders scattered about. About 5 different kinds of sand are used on this to add earthen texture.
I would have used real dirt but it's far heavier and would have made both working with the dio and later handling and storing the dio very difficult. The Celluclay, once dry, is as lite as paper with sand glued to it.

Then a mock up to add the vehicle tracks and to ensure proper placement.
(Note. I'm short one Bren Carrier... it's still under construction)

This is where the missing Bren Carrier will go.

Wittmann mounting the ditch.

Now I'm just waiting for it to dry and I'll start the base painting.

Post by **Chip1942** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:41 pm

The speed and quality is fantastic

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:50 am

I've got tonnes of time on my hands

And as such.. I've finished building the last vehicle for the dio and got this first of the base paint on it.
It's a Riich kit and it's awesome!! The detail and the fits were superb.
However. It's part heavy and very fiddle ot build. So not really for the beginner.

I'll do more with this later.

For now I moved ahead with the dio.
The first base colours are added....

Then I started on the ground cover and the scatter.

Then the trees...

Then a mock up with the vehicles...

So that's it for now. Next I'll finish painting the vehicles and weather them into the diorama.

Post by **Nev** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:59 pm

Cracking job Mike looking really nice fella!

If you don't mind me asking where you putting this beast of a dio?

Nev

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 12:43 am

I have an entire shelf dedicated to Wittmann and his vehicles, it will go there in the corner.
After this one is done I'll have only one more to build and that's his pre Kursk Panzer III.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 1:19 pm

The dio is SOOOOOOO impressive Mike

One can only imagine what was going through the minds of the soldiers and tankers at moments like that

Post by **captbiggles** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:03 pm

Hi Lord Coen
in your opinion, would you recommend the ATAK Zimmerit over the Eduard version as I have used the Eduard Zimmerit on my Tiger 1 mid-prod build, and I found the PE not easy to work with. Using PE Zimmerit was a first for me, amongst others (AFV, Airbrushing, PE, Zimmerit, CA glue etc..)

Coen wrote:I may just build it anyway Nev, it's a wonderful little kit.

So I started this off last night. I'm still updating my research on Wittmann's Villers Bocage Tiger. It keeps changing as to which one he was riding in during his charge, 205 (unlikely), 212, or 222.
In the end it will come down to which historian has the most plausible argument. At the moment it's looking like Tiger 222 Kurt Sowa's tiger.

One of the many reference books that I'm using, this one I'll use quite a bit.

Anyway, until I decide, I started the build as all of the unit's tanks were new and were in almost identical condition. So I can use almost any of the photos of the other vehicles as reference for features.

These are photos of Michael's unit a few days before the attack on Villers Bocage, while marching from Paris (where they took part in a parade during the D-Day landings )
Many of the unit's tanks are visible and their features are easily seen in many of the photos. Including Michael's Tiger I... 205.

Construction begins with the attaching of the Atak zimmerit. The set comes with two different patterns for the turret, 4mm and 7mm furrows. The 4mm is more for final tigers, so I used the 7mm and saved the 4mm for later.
The zimmerit went on like jam on toast and was just as easy. I'll be using this Atak zimmerit for all my zim work from now on. It looks beautiful and I can damage it any way that I like. Absolutely worth every penny that I paid for it. Just use a thick slow CA glue to attach it or you're going to have trouble. Bob Smith Industries 15-25 sec CA is what I used, but I wouldn't go much slower than the 10-15 sec stuff.

Later today I'll start the construction of the main parts.

Post by **mannloon** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:39 pm

PE zim is a pain. Go with Atak.

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 4:45 pm

I've tried the eduard and I've seen it used as well by a few fellow modellers and in my opinion... It's pants.

The Atak is a far superior zimmerit material in comparison for my money.
I will say that if I can find it, I will be using Atak to do all of my zim from now on.

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:41 pm

Tis Finished!!!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:35 pm

Outstanding work Coen

So much to see in the dio , i don't even know where to start

Post by **Nev** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:50 pm

Holy moly bud

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:20 pm

Post by **billk** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:00 am

I try to find words for about 2 mins now but i can't.So i am thinking to talk about what i like the most in this. Except the weathring on the vehicles what i finds really nice it's the shades of green on the Dio,from the trees and the woods till the road and the grass. There is a variety of colors and diorama materials that mix together really nice.
What can i say..i like it? Great work Mike!

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:04 am

Thanks my friend

Post by **Paips** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:03 pm

Looks awesome Mike . love it

YouTube · Post by **haxorb** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:15 am

I love the build Coen! I really wish i could build stuff like this. Keep up the good work!

Haxorb (Toon)

Post by **Davethepitch** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:15 pm

Superb diorama.

Dave

Post by **privatepete** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:31 pm

Absolutely brilliant work especially the outside pic's bringing the hole thing to life.
Pete