Italeri Tiger I Ausf. E/H1

Post by **Coen** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:26 am

That is some really slick work bud. Well done.
Nice stuff with that paper mask too.
The paint looks good.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:15 pm

Great paintwork

I also love the old-school Testors square bottle paint....takes me back to my youth

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:42 pm

NAMBiohazard wrote:Wow
That is coming along very nicely

Thank you NAM, I've been watching your build, you are doing a fantastic job

Coen wrote:That is some really slick work bud. Well done.
Nice stuff with that paper mask too.
The paint looks good.

Thank you Coen, your inspiration is endless

Hillbilly wrote:Great paintwork I also love the old-school Testors square bottle paint....takes me back to my youth

Those bottles just may have been from my youth

I've had them for a very long time. I tested them on some spare PE, as I was worried about paint adhesion to the metal, and they worked very well

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:16 am

Tool detail painting, decals, and final gloss clear coat completed.

Most photo references of the early campaign Tunisian Tigers seem to suggest the turret number centers were either the base color, or similar to the base color. The kit decal turret numbers are red centers with white outlines which were used later.

A big thank you to RWSmith14 for posting this decal set in your build...I ordered a set as soon as I saw them

More on the decals later.

The past few builds, I have used Future as the gloss coat before decal application, and then after to seal the decals. The Future worked fine on those builds, but I wanted to try the MM Acryl Clear Gloss.

The tools handles were painted with Winsor & Newton artist oils. Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, and Raw Sienna were used on different tool handles to give some variation to the tools.

More on the Star Decals: They went on the Tiger great...I have always used Micro Set and Micro Sol, and the decals worked just fine with them. I can't say for sure how they would conform to an irregular surface though, as I had nice smooth areas for this Tiger. You could do at least 3 Tigers with this decal set, and still have some decals left over

The MM Acryl also worked well after thinning with the MM thinner more than the recommended amount. I'm not sure what was wrong, but the AB tip kept clogging while spraying the initial gloss coat before decals. I added more thinner, which helped. (Probably user error, my first time using that stuff

).

Next up: Time to start getting dirty

I'll do some initial weathering to the roadwheels before assembly, then the roadwheel and track assembly next.
Till next update, take care all

Post by **rwsmith14** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:28 am

your Tiger is coming together.. Nice work..The Star decals went on nice and smooth for me..a nice product.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:08 am

I love what you did with those tools OD!!! The varying of the tones was genius!
I'll be making note of that for my own work bud, so thanks for that.

I used the MM varnishes for years with no issues before I changed over to the Alclads. I never had much trouble with them.
One thing you should remember about varnishes though, adding thinner will change the way they appear.
Adding thinner to a flat varnish changes it to a semigloss, adding it to a semigloss with change it to a gloss.
Adding it to a gloss coat can break it down.
MM gloss it pretty thick so thinning it a little doesn't usually hurt it, I had to use a .3mm needle at 18psi to spray it properly though.
It's a bit syrupy.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:23 pm

She is really looking the nuts now! Love the detail painting on the tools,adds a nice contrast

As for the Star decals,I agree 100% I used a set on my Stug build and they are top notch,they are thin,flat,very little carrier film and lay down nice.

Post by **DByrden** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:42 pm

I've been looking at all of the known Tunisian Tiger (s.Pa.Abt.501) photos, to figure out the colours etc. I think the turret numbers were simply white outlines in the 1st company and Stab. Therefore the inside of the digits was the base colour - RAL 8000. The greenish RAL 7008 was painted in some cases right up to the edge of the digits, so they looked different to their surroundings.

The tanks of the 2nd company (which became the 8th company), and the 7th company which was formed with all the surviving Tigers after the Beja mission, had digits with black insides as far as I can tell.

I have no evidence of any digits with red insides.

David

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:37 am

rwsmith14 wrote:your Tiger is coming together.. Nice work..The Star decals went on nice and smooth for me..a nice product.

Thank you RW, hopefully, both of our Tunisian Tigers will be complete and ready to be ordered 'To the Front' soon

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:19 am

Coen wrote:I love what you did with those tools OD!!! The varying of the tones was genius!
I'll be making note of that for my own work bud, so thanks for that.
I used the MM varnishes for years with no issues before I changed over to the Alclads. I never had much trouble with them.
One thing you should remember about varnishes though, adding thinner will change the way they appear.
Adding thinner to a flat varnish changes it to a semigloss, adding it to a semigloss with change it to a gloss.
Adding it to a gloss coat can break it down.
MM gloss it pretty thick so thinning it a little doesn't usually hurt it, I had to use a .3mm needle at 18psi to spray it properly though.
It's a bit syrupy.

Super information Coen, I will be saving this info for the next time I use the MM gloss

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:25 am

Hillbilly wrote:She is really looking the nuts now! Love the detail painting on the tools,adds a nice contrast As for the Star decals,I agree 100% I used a set on my Stug build and they are top notch,they are thin,flat,very little carrier film and lay down nice.

Thanks Steve, you've got a very impressive build going with your Tiger also, I really like the job you've done with the panzer gray Tiger

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:32 am

DByrden wrote:I've been looking at all of the known Tunisian Tiger (s.Pa.Abt.501) photos, to figure out the colours etc. I think the turret numbers were simply white outlines in the 1st company and Stab. Therefore the inside of the digits was the base colour - RAL 8000. The greenish RAL 7008 was painted in some cases right up to the edge of the digits, so they looked different to their surroundings.

The tanks of the 2nd company (which became the 8th company), and the 7th company which was formed with all the surviving Tigers after the Beja mission, had digits with black insides as far as I can tell.

I have no evidence of any digits with red insides.

David

Thank you David, just fascinating information! Kind of makes me want to build a second Tunisian Tiger of the 501st after this one, except it will be GREEN

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:38 am

Looking very impressive.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 5:38 pm

Thank you Paul, I'm hoping to have a new update soon but those AFV Club Tiger tracks are taking an eternity to assemble

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 5:52 pm

Beautiful detail work so far...love the realism of the tools!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:19 am

UKguyInUSA wrote:Beautiful detail work so far...love the realism of the tools!

Thank you UK

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:45 am

Halleluiah, Halleluiah, the tracks are built

The AFV Club tracks took an enormous amount of time to complete, but the good news is they have very good detail and should look great on the Tiger.

The roadwheels were given a wash of raw umber oil paint thinned with turpenoid and then some minor chipping before being glued in place.

The tracks are getting a basecoat of Testors Metalizer Gunmetal from a spray bomb can.

Thanks all for looking...there's hope I'll get this Tiger complete on time. That is if I don't spend so much time admiring all the fantastic builds going on here

Post by **rwsmith14** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:24 am

She's looking great !!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:44 am

rwsmith14 wrote:She's looking great !!

Thank you RW, congratulations on completing your Tiger

Post by **Coen** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:13 am

That's looking proper awesome now!!!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:58 pm

Coen wrote:That's looking proper awesome now!!!

Thanks much Coen, by the way, thats another home run with your Knispel King Tiger dio

Post by **wappynutter** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 1:19 pm

Beautiful dude!! Looking so, so good...

Keep up the excellent work sir...
All the best...

Post by **Russ72** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:32 pm

Looking damn good.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:07 am

wappynutter wrote:Beautiful dude!! Looking so, so good...
Keep up the excellent work sir...
All the best...

Russ72 wrote:Looking damn good.

Thank you all, very much appreciated and thanks for checking in

Post by **Hillbilly** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:42 pm

That is one sharp Tiger! And you got the AFV Club tracks together...you are the man

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:32 pm

Hillbilly wrote:That is one sharp Tiger! And you got the AFV Club tracks together...you are the man

Thanks Steve

Unfortunately there has not been much progress since finishing the tracks...I really needed a break after building them

Post by **CaiusMartius** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:43 pm

Great work fella...

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:24 pm

CaiusMartius wrote:Great work fella...

Thank You!

Post by **mannloon** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:43 pm

Good god that's looking really good.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 7:22 pm

Update time!

After the basecoat of Testors Metalizer Gunmetal, the tracks were given two washes of highly diluted Tamiya acrylics.
The first wash was straight flat black. The second wash was hull red darkened a bit with flat black. I like the transparency of the Tamiya washes for tracks, allowing a bit of the gunmetal basecoat to show through, especially the edges and high points.

On to the weathering of hull and turret. This is a very nervous and anxious time for me, as it seems for me "you never really know what you are going to get". I also tried some Mig ammo Streaking Grime for the first time (more nervousness).

Anyway, heres the steps completed so far:
1. Full "Sludge" wash covering the entire hull and turret. This was done with Raw Umber oil with a touch of black added, thinned with Turpenoid.
2. Applied the Mig Streaking Grime to the vertical surfaces of the hull and turret. Initially, I was not too happy, as it looked to me like I went way too heavy with this effect. I seem to be warming up to the look now, after viewing more pics of the real Tigers with nearly every inch of them covered in dirt, grime etc...
3. Did some chipping with a sponge and Tamiya German Grey straight from the bottle.
4. Next, I did some fading or "dot filter" with oils. Yellow Ochre, White, Burnt Umber, and Raw Umber with Turpenoid thinner.

There's more weathering to do yet, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And, I really have enjoyed every moment of this build...well maybe not so much those tracks

Thanks for looking

Post by **Russ72** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 9:41 pm

That's looking awesome mate, love the look of that weathering.

Post by **Coen** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:01 pm

That's... Frigging.... AWESOME!!!!

Seriously excellent work bud. Nicely done.

Post by **mannloon** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:05 pm

Making me proud to be a cheesehead modeler OD. Way to represent. That looks just about perfect to my eyes.

Post by **rwsmith14** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:50 am

The weathering looks awesome !!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:50 am

Russ72 wrote:That's looking awesome mate, love the look of that weathering.

Coen wrote:That's... Frigging.... AWESOME!!!!
Seriously excellent work bud. Nicely done.

mannloon wrote:Making me proud to be a cheesehead modeler OD. Way to represent. That looks just about perfect to my eyes.

rwsmith14 wrote:The weathering looks awesome !!

Thank you all very much, I'm just happy to be part of this AWESOME SiG

Post by **Hillbilly** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:18 pm

Absolutely brilliant chipping,fading and weathering!

Really gives the one color paint scheme some pop.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:14 pm

Hillbilly wrote:Absolutely brilliant chipping,fading and weathering! Really gives the one color paint scheme some pop.

Thank you Steve, keep on modelling!!!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:08 pm

The Final Update, WHOO HOO

Eventually, I hope to add some crew to the Tiger I. I had to do some digging through the stash, and the best I could do was these Tamiya figures. These won't be complete anytime soon, but I do hope to get them done...someday!

The final weathering stages:
5. Applied 'mud' to the roadwheels and lower hull. The mud was a mixture of fine black dirt (the real stuff), some highly diluted white glue, and some brown acrylic paint. This mixture was randomly brushed on, and then blended in areas with a clean brush and water. The tracks also got this treatment.
6. Next up was pigments to the roadwheels and lower hull. A dark brown and light dust color was randomly applied, and then wetted with Isopropyl alcohol.
7. The final weathering was the same dark brown and light dust pigments applied dry to the rest of the Tiger. The dark color was concentrated on the outer edges and corners, while the light dust went just about everywhere else.

And, here she is...well one pic anyway, until the reveal.

Thank you all for following along, this was such a great ride and so much fun for my first SiG

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:40 am

OD, that is a awesome build mate, just bloody awesome.
The builds on this SIG have just been breath-taking.
I cannot believe (but to be honest it is believable the artists on here) some of the quality and care and dedication that has come to light on these beautiful models for and the pride we have for Coen.
Well done mate.
John

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:51 pm

Donkeywalloper wrote:OD, that is a awesome build mate, just bloody awesome.
The builds on this SIG have just been breath-taking.
I cannot believe (but to be honest it is believable the artists on here) some of the quality and care and dedication that has come to light on these beautiful models for and the pride we have for Coen.
Well done mate.
John

Very much appreciated John, Thank You! I too am blown away by so many wonderful builds in this SIG. By the way, no worry about finishing your Tiger by the deadline buddy, we will love it just the same regardless!!! Model on my friend

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:49 am

OliveDrab wrote:
Donkeywalloper wrote:OD, that is a awesome build mate, just bloody awesome.
The builds on this SIG have just been breath-taking.
I cannot believe (but to be honest it is believable the artists on here) some of the quality and care and dedication that has come to light on these beautiful models for and the pride we have for Coen.
Well done mate.
John
Very much appreciated John, Thank You! I too am blown away by so many wonderful builds in this SIG. By the way, no worry about finishing your Tiger by the deadline buddy, we will love it just the same regardless!!! Model on my friend

Mate, thank you for that, its much appreciated.
Have a great day.
John