Stokesy's Tiger II Ardennes 44

[Tomcat64]

I Like where you're heading with this mate!

[Stokesy44]

I Like where you're heading with this mate!

Off the edge into the abyss, quite probably

[Stokesy44]

OK, so I'm feeling a bit better about the base.

Did a good session on it today, all boxed in now and gaps filled in with foam debris ahead of the surface work.

Built the incline and put the first end on



Foam board work done, except for the shell holes work.





Popped the tank on for a quick looky look. I may build up the far bank to give it more height - not sure yet.



And this is the shot that's getting me all excited. If I can pull this off, it could look really good - but the dog's breakfast option is still there

[Stokesy44]

Greetings all

My apologies for the lack of updates. I've picked up some kind of bronchial infection that has laid me low. Haven't done much at the bench save for some more work on the foam board. Its not been interesting, or even any good to be honest - and I may ditch the dio idea altogether.

Once I'm feeling better I'll get back at it. I had a very short session this evening on the PE fenders and hopefully I will get fully back into things over the next few days.

I'm not dying, its just hard to concentrate when your eyes are stinging and you simply cannot stop coughing

[digger303]

Wishing for a speedy recovery

If you don't like the current dio may I venture one for you. Using what you already have it could be made into a small river rapids with the tank pushing upstream plus some figures advancing along the bank in a sneak up catch them unawares attack.

[Kevthemodeller]

Best wishes mate get well soon

[Stokesy44]

Wishing for a speedy recovery

If you don't like the current dio may I venture one for you. Using what you already have it could be made into a small river rapids with the tank pushing upstream plus some figures advancing along the bank in a sneak up catch them unawares attack.

Thanks mate

I like the ambition but river rapids may be beyond my current skill set!

[Stokesy44]

Best wishes mate get well soon

Thanks mate. Did about an hour working on one of the front fenders last night and that was plenty long enough. Fender looks ok although I wouldn't want to spend too many sessions gluing edge to edge PE going forward. Got the hang of it in the end with a little bit of cheating so it was worth the effort.

Hope to do more today then post some pics.

On a more exciting note, took advantage of Black Friday at Emodels, got a whacking great 1/16 Panzer IV arriving tomorrow!

[Stokesy44]

Got fed up with feeling fed up so grabbed a bit more bench time today

Here's my PE kit, bending bug, straight edge grippers and a diamond file. Its great having this stuff for the rare occasions I work with PE. Makes things much more pleasant.



Here's last night's work, the left front guard and fender. It comes in 4 connected bits and you have to bend and coax it into shape before gluing.



I ended up reinforcing the joints on the underside with some CA soaked plastic rod. Its a cheat but you cant see it so no harm, no foul.



Similar with the other guard, only without the side fender attachment as per the historical pics.



These are the bits I'll need as per the pics of the real thing



And mounted on the hull with blu-tac for reference. I wont be including the thin connection strips as they seem to have been knocked off the original. No mangling done yet.





I aslo need to add the connecting lugs on the intact fender and drill the locating pin holes on the other one. In the pictures the left front fender is noticeably bent downwards so this piece is going to get a bit of a beating later on, same with the front fender on the other side which is properly mangled.



I'm undecided re the rear mudguards. They don't need mangling so I may just use the kit ones and think down the edges. Or maybe I'll accept the challenge and have a go at the PE ones.

It was good to be back at it but after 75 minutes I had really had enough. I know I'm a wuss, but dammit, I friggin hate being ill.

[DrSprue]

Wow some really nicely detailed PE work there Stokesy. Very cool. Sorry your a bit under the weather too.

[TheNordus]

Liking the look on those fenders. Hopefully the reinforcing ribs don't pop out when you start mangling them. I can hardly wait to get to work on my own Ardennes Tiger now, just got a few projects I need to finish first so I don't leave them tangling.

I should also clean up some space in my room so I could try doing a properly big diorama one of these days and have somewhere to set it on.

[digger303]

Nice Pe work....no such thing as cheating. It's called being clever !
It's all coming together nicely.

[Stokesy44]

Wow some really nicely detailed PE work there Stokesy. Very cool. Sorry your a bit under the weather too.

Thanks Doctor. I'm glad I made the effort with them

Liking the look on those fenders. Hopefully the reinforcing ribs don't pop out when you start mangling them. I can hardly wait to get to work on my own Ardennes Tiger now, just got a few projects I need to finish first so I don't leave them tangling.

I should also clean up some space in my room so I could try doing a properly big diorama one of these days and have somewhere to set it on.

Yeah, I'm hoping that too. I'll be careful when I work on them and will 'coax' the damage out of the fenders rather than 'inflict' it!

Nice Pe work....no such thing as cheating. It's called being clever !
It's all coming together nicely.

Cheers, yes I do like a good cheat. I looked at the fenders and thought, 'its an edge to edge join of metal under stress - chance of success is essentially ZERO!' I wont tell anyone if you wont

[Kevthemodeller]

Best wishes mate get well soon

Thanks mate. Did about an hour working on one of the front fenders last night and that was plenty long enough. Fender looks ok although I wouldn't want to spend too many sessions gluing edge to edge PE going forward. Got the hang of it in the end with a little bit of cheating so it was worth the effort.

PE does really enhance a kit

Got fed up with feeling fed up so grabbed a bit more bench time today

Here's my PE kit, bending bug, straight edge grippers and a diamond file. Its great having this stuff for the rare occasions I work with PE. Makes things much more pleasant.



Here's last night's work, the left front guard and fender. It comes in 4 connected bits and you have to bend and coax it into shape before gluing.



I ended up reinforcing the joints on the underside with some CA soaked plastic rod. Its a cheat but you cant see it so no harm, no foul.



Similar with the other guard, only without the side fender attachment as per the historical pics.

For my next armour builds with PE I'm going to give soldering a go, having seen a good few DVD's/Tube films you do get a much stronger better looking join. I used to be pretty good at soldering too, watch this space.

[Stokesy44]

For my next armour builds with PE I'm going to give soldering a go, having seen a good few DVD's/Tube films you do get a much stronger better looking join. I used to be pretty good at soldering too, watch this space.

Brave man! That's definitely a bridge too far for me. If a tool requires power (save for my compressor) then its quite beyond me. I never got into using stuff like that and my DIY skills are limited to flat pack furniture and decorating.

[Milan]

Looks sick!

[Kevthemodeller]

Brave man! That's definitely a bridge too far for me. If a tool requires power (save for my compressor) then its quite beyond me. I never got into using stuff like that and my DIY skills are limited to flat pack furniture and decorating.

I think you doing yourself a big disservice, mate.

You've mastered oil painting it's not that hard in my view just different

[Stokesy44]

So, this is as far as I can go until my bronchial infection clears up. Can't use my airbrush while my tubes are all f****d up.

The beast is all dressed up and ready for a night out.

I went for the kit's rear fenders in the end, the PE ones were too much for too little as far as I was concerned. They'll be caked in mud and snow anyway so who's going to tell the difference. They're only blu-tacked on for the painting phase as they'll need to be popped off when I put the tracks on. They can be properly attached after that.





The spare tracks will come off for painting but I put them on cos they look cool







All dressed up and nowhere to go. All ready for the airbrush, when that will be is anyone's guess. Doc said it could be a while...

[ElCapitan]

Smashing!

Literally every time I see your updates I instantly want to build a tank!

[Stokesy44]

Smashing!

Literally every time I see your updates I instantly want to build a tank!

Cheers mate

Go on, build a tank - you know you want to!

[ElCapitan]

Smashing!

Literally every time I see your updates I instantly want to build a tank!

Cheers mate

Go on, build a tank - you know you want to!

I've got a Tamiya Challenger 2 ready and waiting!

[Stokesy44]

I've got a Tamiya Challenger 2 ready and waiting!

Now that sounds like a proper beast! Only built 1 post ww2 tank and was amazed how much bigger it was than it’s predecessors. A current MBT would be an absolute monster!

I can hear it calling you!

[sthornton]

looing good I have not built a dragon kit yet I have one so your built has inspired me to start it in new year

[Stokesy44]

looing good I have not built a dragon kit yet I have one so your built has inspired me to start it in new year

Thanks and best of luck with your build.

If your careful with the instructions and don't mind a lot of parts then you get a really nice result. I don't tend to buy their brand new releases but their slightly older ones, if the price is right, are well worth it in my eyes.

[sthornton]

looking good what the kit like to build as I need to add a king tiger to my stash ?

[Stokesy44]

looking good what the kit like to build as I need to add a king tiger to my stash ?

Thank you.

It was a really nice build. Its a slightly older Dragon kit so it came with a metal barrel and magic tracks, you don't see those so much in the new releases. The paratroopers are a bonus if you want to do a diorama. I added the PE fenders because I wanted to detail them, there was nothing wrong with the kit versions.

[sthornton]

cool thanks mate

[Mylightweight]

This is looking great

[Tomcat64]

Great work on the fenders mate - hope you're feeling well enough to start squirting some paint at this one in the near future!

[Stokesy44]

Great work on the fenders mate - hope you're feeling well enough to start squirting some paint at this one in the near future!

Thanks mate, all better thanks but not back at painting yet. I have to have my kitchen window open for the spray booth hose and just too flippin cold at the mo.

Also, I'm quite enjoying just building away.....

[spock1701]

Great job on this one so far, Stokesy! Looks beautiful even without paint. Just back on the forum after a long absence, but I'll be sure to keep a close eye on this build

[Stokesy44]

Great job on this one so far, Stokesy! Looks beautiful even without paint. Just back on the forum after a long absence, but I'll be sure to keep a close eye on this build

Thanks mate and it’s great to see you back on the forum. Happy new year and looking forward to seeing your stuff and some good banter in 2018.

[HIghAltitudeScale]

Good work on the kit and especially nice work with the PE, wow!

[Stokesy44]

Good work on the kit and especially nice work with the PE, wow!

Thanks Bret. Not sure whether to paint then mangle them or vice-versa. The tank I'm trying to copy had pretty smashed up fenders so they are not going to look nice and neat by the end of the build.

[Stokesy44]

Now my Tiger 1 is done and on the shelf, its time to wheel out its much neglected big brother.

The fenders were only tacked on so I took those off and mounted them with the outer wheels for painting. They would only have got in the way when I was painting the lower hull and inner road wheels anyway.

A first for me, using Ultimate's new Gelb Primer. It sprayed beautifully, a couple of instances of tip dry but that was easily remedied. Coverage was nice and for once I was patient enough to lay down a mist first up then build the colour up nicely.

Forgive the tonal colour shifts in the pics, my iPhone camera has a mind off its own when it comes to colour washout. I'm seriously considering switching to my Cannon DSLR to get round the issue.

The finish is amazingly smooth, I've no idea how self-levelling paint works but I love it











Outer wheels and metal fenders





All ready for the camo now.

[TheNordus]

Now you're making me wish I'd bought a bottle of Ultimate primer with my washes. Can't wait to see more progress on the diorama too!
I've still got a Tamiya King Tiger from the Ardennes Front and some Master Box paratroopers in my stash waiting for an Ardennes Dio.

I don't know if I should say this after the huge folly I made in your Tiger 1 thread relating to the machine gun plug, but I read Tiger 1s usually didn't have the cover for the ventilator installed as it blocked the fan from working and was only for submersing the tank. I wonder if it's the same for Tiger 2s.

[DrSprue]

Oh no... more wheeels!

[Stokesy44]

Oh no... more wheeels!

Yep but at least I didn’t forget them this time!

They’re all present and accounted for, either on the tank or in the paint station..... I think

[DrSprue]

Oh no... more wheeels!

Yep but at least I didn’t forget them this time!

They’re all present and accounted for, either on the tank or in the paint station..... I think

Cant wait to see another one Stokesy! Sounds like alot of fun!

[ElCapitan]

Yasss I was hoping I would see an update on this soon!

[Stokesy44]

Yasss I was hoping I would see an update on this soon!

Thanks mate.

It’s certainly been a while, I have to admit. Hope to get a lot done over the next few days. Camo and tracks by the weekend hopefully.

[Stokesy44]

Only a small update today.

Painted the camo on the wheels and the aluminium on the wheel rims. Tamiya for the camo, Vallejo metal colour for the rims.









A few touch ups needed but with the tracks and outer wheels on it should all look ok,

Wet pigments next for behind the wheels on the lower hull. With roughly half of the fenders missing there will be a lot to see so I will be plastering it on

[Stokesy44]

Added the pigments over the weekend

Topped them up today, hence the wet areas. Used Vallejo pigments, no idea how they rate versus other products. They go on and stay on so the Stokesy will take it as a win.





Then it was on with the outer road wheels and YES I did not forget any this time!

I'm pleased how they turned out and I'm sure they will look ok when the tracks go on. I just need to decide how dirty I am going to make this build. I've ditched the diorama idea so I'm not necessarily wedded to really plastering the lower parts of the hull and the running gear with mud and snow effects.









We all know the younger Tigger was a massive beast but I cant get over just how big that Henschel turret is. Talk about Go Big or Go Home!



I've decided to tack on the fenders for the camo painting so that will be next instead of the tracks - they can wait.

[OneSmallStep1966]

That’s looking great

[Tomcat64]

Great to see you're moving along with this one now mate - looking forward to seeing it parked up next to its older brother

[Stokesy44]

Great to see you're moving along with this one now mate - looking forward to seeing it parked up next to its older brother

Thanks mate

I did put the hulls together a while back, younger Tigger made his older grizzled brother look a bit on the teeny tiny side

[digger303]

Great to see you're moving along with this one now mate - looking forward to seeing it parked up next to its older brother

Thanks mate

I did put the hulls together a while back, younger Tigger made his older grizzled brother look a bit on the teeny tiny side

Go MAN Go

[Stokesy44]

Go MAN Go

Cheers mate, I'm going, I'm going

Ultimate Oxide primer for the tracks today. Its their newer product which is darker than their original offering so its perfect for track priming.

Here's the spare tracks, all set up on my Tamiya spray station - $40 plus tax, available from wesawyoucoming.net



The primer went down well, 30psi with just a little bit of tip dry, no dramas



Then it was on to the camo - or at least that was the plan.

While it was too cold to paint over the weekend I took my frustration out on the PE fenders, gave them a jolly good trashing as we say this side of the pond. Then after the track work this morning I masked off the wheels and tacked them to the hull ready for the camo.









It was at this point that I began to see the gelb primer I had applied to the hull was a bit weak in places. There were definite areas that lacked depth and some shadowing where parts of the hull had received very little direct spray. I kicked myself and decided to add some more primer. That put the kibosh on the camo for the day. I could have gone back to it later but its better to leave it for 24 hours. camo tomorrow hopefully.

[Stokesy44]

After topping up the primer I used Tamiya Dark Green and Red Brown for the ambush scheme

Had a bit of a mare first off with the green. I think I over-thinned it so coverage was pretty awful until I reloaded and tried again. The paint went down nicely after that and the result is nice and smooth - unusual for me!!





Paint went down a bit heavy with the brown on the side of the turret, some touching up required





I've got to say I was sceptical about the Ultimate Gelb colour after I sprayed it, it seemed to be too bright to my eyes. Now the camo's on I quite like how it looks, the contrast is nice and strong versus the darker colours.











Pattern work on the rear end is a bit indistinct but I'm not worried about it, I plan to dirty it up a lot so it wont be a problem.



This is the only area I'm really concerned about. The pattern got away from me a bit and I think I need to add some Gelb back forward of the turret and down on to the forward sloped armour.



Overall, not too shabby. Should be a nice base to work on going forward.

[Tomcat64]

Nice! Very nice!

That Ultimate gelb really does lend itself to the paler shades used later in the war doesn't it.