Tiger build #3 - Tiger 1 Early, Mid & Late production

[RangerNeil]

Work continues whenever the OH decides she's going to be home to keep Maggie the Greyhound company.
Starting to fill up the lower hull now:

[digger303]

Very complete interior drive train I wonder what other goodies are going to populate the interior.

[RangerNeil]

Very complete interior drive train I wonder what other goodies are going to populate the interior.

Oh - theres lots more to go yet. Tonight, though, was dedicated to one of my least favourite jobs - assembling metal tracks - these are for the early type......

[RangerNeil]

I did both set of tracks in the burnishing fluid today. Not a resounding success.


They were scrubbed in hot soapy water last night, left to soak overnight in soapy water, rinsed under a running tap and scrubbed with a clean brush whilst doing so. Oddly the underside is a pretty uniform - perhaps because it is flat and smooth. I think the next time I will try soaking in IPA & see if that makes any difference!

[RangerNeil]

Both sets of tracks have now been given a coat of Dark Iron (Tamiya XF-84) on the inside faces and the mid-production ones have the outers faces done. Then the paint ran out so more is on order.


The lower pair are the mid/late production tracks, the upper pair (unpainted) are the early ones. I'm damned if I can see a difference.

Next steps for the mid production build are the cooling fans for the engine bay and the radiators ready to go in. And the front deck for the hull which had to have 7 out of the 8 moulded features carved off andsanded smooth. So far this and the reduced size steering wheel are the only noticeabl visible differences between between the early and mid production versions.

[RangerNeil]

Just for Digger - the interior (at least the non-rotating parts) is all in.


Next steps are the outer skin: upper hull deck, hatches, front plate & engine decks..
Started on the front plate - bow machine gun is in, I had to drill the mount hole out to get the barrel to pass through.


Once all these are on we start on the turret internals......

[digger303]

Thank you sir I wasn't disappointed

[RangerNeil]

Thank you sir I wasn't disappointed

Glad it met expectations!!
Moving on - the next phase is the turret. As can be seen this gets just as busy!! Typically the build is in 4 parts - Left aide, Right side, Roof and Mantlet with barrel. The sides are assembled first:


Barrel is clamped up prior to the seams being sanded. I did consider investing in a metal barrel but the Academy ones are so nicely moulded there was no need

Barrel has had the first coat of paint, PE mesh is on the engine covers & hatches and the various sub-assemblies for the turret floor are complete and ready either for fitting or painting.


Both turret halves are completed and ready for joining:


Hull clamped up whilst the upper deck is fitted:


And finally the state of play as of last night.
* Mantlet & barel are 75% complete.
* Left turret side complete
* Right turret side complete
* Turret basket floor complete
* Lower hull 90% complete - just needs tracks & hatches fitting.


Breaking news - just scored the late model complete with Zim transfers on eBay so the collection of Tigers will be complete.

[digger303]

Haven't seen any with transport tracks....maybe you need another one and a rail flatbed

Lovely work despite the friendly jab

[RangerNeil]

Haven't seen any with transport tracks....maybe you need another one and a rail flatbed

Lovely work despite the friendly jab

The King Tiger has transport tracks on it - difference is quite noticeable when sat beside the Jagd Tiger!! This one has the normal (for a Tiger) width tracks...

On to the build then. The turret assembly is 99% complete now - this is before the roof went on:




So as of tonight this is both as far as the build has got and can go till a paint delivery arrives - probably going to be Thursday now for that. For some odd reason the basket floor appears to be rubbing on the fixed floor plates. Everything is in and positioned correctly so I'm at aloss to work out why!!


Just for laughs - here's a 1/25 scale human beside an 88mm round from the Tigers turret gun and the 37mm round from an M3 Grants turret gun. Spot the difference!!

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

37 mm go pew pew, 88 mm go BOOM BOOM

88 mm on Tiger II tells Tiger I to stop being silly cos his BOOM BOOM leaves little Tiger's BOOM BOOM coughing in the dust.

I still think the best thing said of the Tiger's gun was some poor British tanker's reaction - FFS, it looks like they've stuck a bloody telephone pole on the front of the damn thing - priceless

[RangerNeil]

37 mm go pew pew, 88 mm go BOOM BOOM

88 mm on Tiger II tells Tiger I to stop being silly cos his BOOM BOOM leaves little Tiger's BOOM BOOM coughing in the dust.

I still think the best thing said of the Tiger's gun was some poor British tanker's reaction - FFS, it looks like they've stuck a bloody telephone pole on the front of the damn thing - priceless

Work progresses. Tracks had the remaining silver areas covered with a mix of rust and grime and left to dry whilst the hull and turret got the "washable winter white" overlay applied over the DunkelGelb.


When the infills had dried the tracks went on followed by the side skirts and then the hatches were added, all in the open position. The barrel clamp for transit also went on, this still needs painting and the hold-down strap added








On this one some of the interior is visible through the hatches:




I'm thinking when I do the late production version I might build it tiered on clear plastic supports. Needs thinking on......

[RangerNeil]

Mid-Production build is now completed - markings are for Spz.Abt 505 in Russia, March 1944. Must admit I'm not overly sold on the washable white overlay - but we live and learn.....

[RangerNeil]

Early production Tiger 1 now complete - markings are for S.Pz.Abt 502 with the Afrika Korps, Tunisia, 1943.










And the Mid-Production version was also completed - this one carries the markings for S.Pz.Abt 505 in Russia in 1944.










Feel free to play spot the visible differences.

Got notified today the Late version has been shipped now.

[RangerNeil]

And now the final build in this Tiger sequence - the Late model as released by Airfix. Got this from eBay - and had a nice surprise when I opened the box. Seller had included the Tamiya "Detail Up" package of Zim coating for the late model Tiger 1!!

[RangerNeil]

Moving on with the late build the first thing noticeably different is this large hole in the base of the hull. I have no idea whether they included an escape hatch in the bottom of the tank but I can't think of another reason for it. That said - its going to be blocked, access wise by the floor plates of the crew compartment and torsion bars that run across the hull. The base coart of paint is the revised Dunkel Gelb from mid to late 1944 on.


Thus far the middle road wheels are done together with the drive sprockets and idlers together with the zimmerit coatings on the lower hull.




The Zim transers are meant for the Tamiya Tiger 1 so have needed minor trimming so far to fit the Airfiz/Academy kit being worked on - no big deal but something that does need to be borne in mind.

[RangerNeil]

Rear bulkhead now on. Probably the worst of the zim decals thus far. None of the cut-outs for the Tamiya version lined up with the mouldings on the Airfix/Academy one. Having painted it I found a couple more spots that need trimming. I think it looks good though. All the road wheels are now on so the "simplified" wheel arrangement can be seen.

[BigWall]

Nice work! Your Tiger collection is coming along nicely

[RangerNeil]

Nice work! Your Tiger collection is coming along nicely

Thank you
This is the last of the display collection - got two more coming that will be the subjects of weathering/dioramas.

Right now I am questioning the sanity of Airfix. Bearing in mind this is, basically a re-boxed Academy kit they have taken out all the interior - BUT - there are two turrets in the kit and a host of smaller parts that will never be used. If they were trying to save on plastic and thus costs why not leave the inerior in and dump the unwanted extras????

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

Nice work! Your Tiger collection is coming along nicely

Thank you
This is the last of the display collection - got two more coming that will be the subjects of weathering/dioramas.

Right now I am questioning the sanity of Airfix. Bearing in mind this is, basically a re-boxed Academy kit they have taken out all the interior - BUT - there are two turrets in the kit and a host of smaller parts that will never be used. If they were trying to save on plastic and thus costs why not leave the inerior in and dump the unwanted extras????

They must have Dragon in their sights!

I saw Takom have released 3 Tigers, all new molds, metal barrels, one with Zim. Link and length tracks. £49 from Hannants.

[RangerNeil]

Nice work! Your Tiger collection is coming along nicely

Thank you
This is the last of the display collection - got two more coming that will be the subjects of weathering/dioramas.

Right now I am questioning the sanity of Airfix. Bearing in mind this is, basically a re-boxed Academy kit they have taken out all the interior - BUT - there are two turrets in the kit and a host of smaller parts that will never be used. If they were trying to save on plastic and thus costs why not leave the inerior in and dump the unwanted extras????

They must have Dragon in their sights!

I saw Takom have released 3 Tigers, all new molds, metal barrels, one with Zim. Link and length tracks. £49 from Hannants.

Oh you unmitigated bounder!!!! You KNEW that I would have to go and check these out!!!

[Stokesy44]

Oh you unmitigated bounder!!!! You KNEW that I would have to go and check these out!!!

[RangerNeil]

Takom temptations aside.... The work continues - and its amazing how fast its going without the interior. And with nothing to look at inside I've opted to build this one buttoned up. As of last night we have a zimmed hull and turret with the zim removed from the area where the turret numbers will go. Still got to remove the zim from the hull where the unit insignia goes. A nice touch was Airfix providing a tool to create the zim patterns.


And I'm biting the bullet on this one and going with the Schweres SS Panzer Abt. - its a better scheme just because the cammo pattern. Here then is the hull and turret with the zim transfers on and painted in the late version of Dunkel Gelb.










Now the burning question is - what to do about the tracks?? Do I use the flexi ones in the kit? Or order another set of metals from Friuhl? If I do the later I suppose I can order a set for the Comet too.....

[RangerNeil]

Almost finished the Late Tiger. I think it may have looked better with an airbrushed finish, the brush edges look a bit too stark to me. But its done & decaled now with a coat of matt clear coat to seal the decals.
I had a - brief - look at using the tracks included wjth the kit but, quite frankly, I think they look absolutely awful:


So I think its back to ordering another set of Friuhl tracks - unless anyone can suggest an alernative?
Meanwhile here is the finished, albeit trackless, late Tiger 1.

[BigWall]

I think I'm with you on the brush painted camo, but it doesn't look bad.

[RangerNeil]

I think I'm with you on the brush painted camo, but it doesn't look bad.

Thanks It looked ok wet but as it dried the edges seemed to.stand out more.
Ah well.- we live and learn.... Next time.......

[digger303]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004 ... Redirect=y

[RangerNeil]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004 ... Redirect=y

Cheers Digger

[BigWall]

I think I'm with you on the brush painted camo, but it doesn't look bad.

Thanks It looked ok wet but as it dried the edges seemed to.stand out more.
Ah well.- we live and learn.... Next time.......

You should be able to hide the edges with a few coats of clear flat. That's what I do to hide the edges of decals

[RangerNeil]

I think I'm with you on the brush painted camo, but it doesn't look bad.

Thanks It looked ok wet but as it dried the edges seemed to.stand out more.
Ah well.- we live and learn.... Next time.......

You should be able to hide the edges with a few coats of clear flat. That's what I do to hide the edges of decals

Thanks This is what I've actually done but I feel the abrupt change in colour is iffy, if you see what I mean The fade out effect an air brush gives looks more the thing to my eyes. I've a couple more Tigers to do for dio builds so I'm going to try the airbrush on at least one of them.

[RangerNeil]

So - started on assembling the AliExpress metal tracks as recommended by Digger.
Got three packs of 20 done and subtracting 60 from the links in the box leaves 92 - or 46 per side for a total of 106. If memory serves it was around 100 links a side on the Friuhl packs so all looks good.
Assembly-wise - the link pins are pre-cut to length so a massive time saving over Friuhl. So far its running about 75% are push fit, the remaining 25% fight back and require work to get the pins in. My feeling is these links were cooled too quickly and have a slight warp. Best solution I've found is get the actual pin started then work another pin in the other as far as possible. Then the main pin can be worked down, displacing the second one. Some pins are looser than others and tend to slip out so I'll treat those to a smear of CA gel later on.
Still got to get some burnishing fluid for once they are all assembled but still - an couple of hours work to get 60 assembled links starting from scratch is pretty damn good. With the Friuhl one I'd still be cutting link pins to length!!

[digger303]

So - started on assembling the AliExpress metal tracks as recommended by Digger.
Got three packs of 20 done and subtracting 60 from the links in the box leaves 92 - or 46 per side for a total of 106. If memory serves it was around 100 links a side on the Friuhl packs so all looks good.
Assembly-wise - the link pins are pre-cut to length so a massive time saving over Friuhl. So far its running about 75% are push fit, the remaining 25% fight back and require work to get the pins in. My feeling is these links were cooled too quickly and have a slight warp. Best solution I've found is get the actual pin started then work another pin in the other as far as possible. Then the main pin can be worked down, displacing the second one. Some pins are looser than others and tend to slip out so I'll treat those to a smear of CA gel later on.
Still got to get some burnishing fluid for once they are all assembled but still - an couple of hours work to get 60 assembled links starting from scratch is pretty damn good. With the Friuhl one I'd still be cutting link pins to length!!

The smaller link set I used for my Jap tractor actually had a better fit percentage, but the holes were a bit sloppier fit and I had to glue in every pin.Probably why they go together so easily.
One thing with those tiger tracks you get a nice pin with a proper end and not a cut bit of wire.
Glad you liked them.

[RangerNeil]

So - started on assembling the AliExpress metal tracks as recommended by Digger.
Got three packs of 20 done and subtracting 60 from the links in the box leaves 92 - or 46 per side for a total of 106. If memory serves it was around 100 links a side on the Friuhl packs so all looks good.
Assembly-wise - the link pins are pre-cut to length so a massive time saving over Friuhl. So far its running about 75% are push fit, the remaining 25% fight back and require work to get the pins in. My feeling is these links were cooled too quickly and have a slight warp. Best solution I've found is get the actual pin started then work another pin in the other as far as possible. Then the main pin can be worked down, displacing the second one. Some pins are looser than others and tend to slip out so I'll treat those to a smear of CA gel later on.
Still got to get some burnishing fluid for once they are all assembled but still - an couple of hours work to get 60 assembled links starting from scratch is pretty damn good. With the Friuhl one I'd still be cutting link pins to length!!

The smaller link set I used for my Jap tractor actually had a better fit percentage, but the holes were a bit sloppier fit and I had to glue in every pin.Probably why they go together so easily.
One thing with those tiger tracks you get a nice pin with a proper end and not a cut bit of wire.
Glad you liked them.

Yes, it struck me as I packed up for the night that my thumb and fingers weren't sore from the cut wire pin previously used piercing the tips as the pins were pushed in . A welcome surprise!

[RangerNeil]

And tracks are complete - 102 links per side. There are 8 links left unused and maybe 20 of the pins. Total assembly time was around 3 to 3.5 hours compared about 1.5 days for Friuhl so I'd definitely use these again if available for the model being built.



Just ordered another bottle of Ultimate's burnishing fluid so now to await delivery of that!!

[digger303]

And tracks are complete - 102 links per side. There are 8 links left unused and maybe 20 of the pins. Total assembly time was around 3 to 3.5 hours compared about 1.5 days for Friuhl so I'd definitely use these again if available for the model being built.



Just ordered another bottle of Ultimate's burnishing fluid so now to await delivery of that!!

Never mind it gives you some more time to scrub those blighters. The tracks look good.

[Kevthemodeller]

Very nice, something about a Tiger

[RangerNeil]

Finally got round to dumping the tracks into Burnishing Fluid. I used Ultimates product again, it always works for me. This time the tracks were were sprayed with IPA and scrubbed with it before being allowed to dry before dunking. I don't know whether its the Aliexpress track links or the IPA scrub that worked wonders but they began changing colour almost as soon as they entered the fluid. A little bit of agitation with a stiff brush was required for a few air bubble but other than that this is the best they've come out. Only bright spots are where CA has caught the edges.










On fitting to the vehicle I have to say they aren't as good a fit as the Friuhl ones - the gaps between the horms are a fraction narrower so I had to work to get the inner wheels between them. Also its hard to get the right length for the Tigers slack track system. As it is they are a fraction too long to sit right but if I took a link out tbey were too tight. I suppose it depends on how fussed you are about the way they sit.... Looks OK from.a distance - maybe for something like a Sherman with return rollers they would work better?
Anyways - this is the finished vehicle:




And this is the full range of Tigers:


From left to right - front row:
Porsche prototype for Tiger 1
Early production Tiger 1
Mid production Tiger 1
Late production Tiger 1
Tiger (P) Elefant
Sturm Tiger

Back row:
Königs Tiger
Jagd Tiger.

[digger303]

Disappointing the tracks don't sit better. Could the rear idler be made adjustable ? I did find with the tracks I had the pins were loose in the holes and it could be curved to the side more than it should be able to, but they sat ok.
Nice collection of Tigers and variants.

[RangerNeil]

Disappointing the tracks don't sit better. Could the rear idler be made adjustable ? I did find with the tracks I had the pins were loose in the holes and it could be curved to the side more than it should be able to, but they sat ok.
Nice collection of Tigers and variants.

Thanks for the kind words Digger!

Unfortunately the Academy kit of the Tiger has no provision for adjustment of either idler or drive sprocket. Would have been ideal if they did. Biggest issue for me on fitting were the horns being just a fraction of a fraction too close together. They run inside one wide pair of road wheel then outside the next narrow pair, repeated the length of the track between drive an idler and I really had to work on them to persuade the horns to go over the the narrow pair of wheels. Got there in the end.

Stiil got a pair of Sturm Tigers and, I think, a King Tiger in the stash - these will be diorama subjects

[aur0ra145]

A Tiger(P)! That's a nice collections of Tigers.