Herr Otto's Tiger 1 mid production

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
So this will be my build for this sig
I will be building this

i got this kit second hand from a (with all due respect) older modeller who didn't want it anymore
He told me that he already removed all the sprues from the bags and after a quick check all the parts where present
1 snapped of a sprue but was not damaged
So he offered it to me at a very low price far less then the rrp
And after checking with Devon if the missing bags where a problem i gpt the green light

So here is what is in there

a kind of first look



All the parts
If you want a better opinion of this kit go to Coen's channel
He did an hour long review of this kit
And he knows much more about Tiger kits then i do


the instructions with all the double checked sprues
And the friul tracks i will be adding to this kit

I plan on having a simple build with this
Maybe a commander in there and that is about it
I won't be doing a dio this time but instead i will make this a part of a project i came up with today and that is to make a evolution piece of it
By this i mean to put the 4 major production versions together and show the design changes the Tiger had during it's production years

So that is all for now
See ya soon
Cheers Mark

PS Happy new year to all

[eightfooticeman]

Nice selection Mark, can't wait to see this build come together.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you
I made a start on it in the evening and it went pretty fast so an update should be up soon enough

[AlkaSeltzer]

That's a lot of plastic! Glad you were able to get a good deal on it. Looks like a fun and challenging build. Will be looking out for the pictures as it comes together.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks mate
I know why he sold it though
There are lots of small bits and pieces
And like i mentionned the seller wasn't the youngest among the people there
The only stupid thing is that the fuel or coolant caps are no where to be seen
All the sprues are there according to the sprue map but those parts aren't
And they didn't snap off or where removed as all the sprues where undamaged/touched
But it will be out of sight anyway so i can live with that

[Ozzie21]

One of my favourite kits that'll never find again. Good luck with the build.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks Charles
I started it already though
Even made a lot of progress but i just didn't take the time for a update yet
It is a nice kit indeed and one of the better tigers i have been building
Too bad they stopped making them

[Coen]

The only stupid thing is that the fuel or coolant caps are no where to be seen
All the sprues are there according to the sprue map but those parts aren't
And they didn't snap off or where removed as all the sprues where undamaged/touched
But it will be out of sight anyway so i can live with that

There are several Dragon kits that are missing those parts Mark. It's a small sprue that seems to have not made it into any of the kits released during 2010-2013. Kit's 6660, 6650, and 6763 all seem to be missing them. There's another part that's missing in common too but I can't remember what it is at the moment. haha.

[MarkVerploeg]

I have noticed
But i have seen it in your video too
I never knew that but it doesn't bother me really
It is covered so you will never know it is there
Altough i have made a Tiger wich has them but i can't remember wich one
But i haven't missed anything other then that
Maybe the top part of the gun recoil mechanism

[jbellos1]

This is another nice Tiger - I am sure you will do a marvelous job. Looking forward to your progress Mark.

[MarkVerploeg]

I hope so
But i think the painting and weathering should do the trick
Unlike Coen i know very little about this tank
And honestly i prefer the King Tiger over all other WWII tanks
Plus i know a bit more about them
But this build is going to be pretty simple i think
Just out of the box and no crazy stuff for once
Besides that this will be part of a project that i plan to complete later in the year where i want to combine the 4 major production types to show the evolution of this tank
And one extra initial on the side to make tiger 100 with the side mounted turret bins
Thanks for the comment

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
Well it is time for a update
Unlike a lot of you i didn't go very fast ,mainly because i took some days off from the bench
But i did some building and i think it is enough for an update so here we go


i skipped the wheels and started with the hull
There you need glue in these parts , they are for the torsion bars


all of them installed in the hull


Once the interior parts had set it was time for the torsionbars and the final drive houssings
The instructions want you to put them in the sprocket wheels right away
But i like to paint my wheels seperate from the vehicle so they will be added much later


the rear plate was placed


then the exhausts where made
Not really hard to do but the pins that hold the cover plate are a bit fiddly to get in the right place on top of the exhaust pipe


some more parts are placed
I planned on adding all the parts that are just styrene except for the shrouds they will be psinted seperate so i can reach the exhaust a bit better during the painting and weathering stages


the internals where placed aswell


the sub assemblies for the front plate
The mg can be a bit fragile when you don't allow for the glue to dry completely but i always build them in a few mibutes and leave tjem to dry in one piece



then the hull roof was installed along with the front plate
The grill covers where added too


the hatches for the hull look nice but i decided to only add a loader and commander so the will be closed


the hatches and some of the on-vehicle tools where placed
The other tools need some pe work but i wasn't in the mood for pe so they will go on later


and the gun was build next
The recoil function is funny but not really needed
It is a model not a toy even the box says so
But i had a hard time placing the U shaped part on the back of the barrel
It was too big for the recoilmechanism so it had to be chopped untill it was small enough to fit


the gun was placed and the roof was constructed
There is nothing bad with these parts but dragon could have added a bit more interior details
Although in this build it wouldn't be seen


A better view of the roof


thecturret was put togetherand put on the hull
Because i don't want to break the seats that stick out of there


then the wheels
These are the outer wheels so they can be seen better
To make them look a bit worn i sanded down the edge of the tyre as you can (hopefully) see on the right wheel


Some other wheels
They look very detailed but i think a lot will be lost when you think of the space they have
It is very crowded when all the wheels are installed



and this is how it looks now
I will have to make the tools with photo etch brackets and the tracks
Then add some damages to it and the it is time for some paint

So that is all i have for now
Thanks for watching and untill next time
cheers Mark

[Coen]

Vroom!!!
And he's done
Almost.
You made me look like a plodding oaf Mark haha. That's awesome work bud... Smooth as glass.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you Coen
The kit is not to difficult at all
But i am kind of used to dragon as about 80% of my builds are from them
I just need to do the pe and tools and it is ready for some primer
and the friul tracks wich will take a few hours to drill out and assemble

[Russ72]

Looking the business Mark, nice progress.

[Hillbilly]

Coming along nicely

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks guys
It is getting there
I have some pe to do and i will replace the antenna and tow cables
Altough they will be put on in the normal place just like the styrene versions
And maybe some lead for new exhaust shrouds but only if i am unable to make the kit parts look damaged
Or i will use those if it does work
Thanks for the comments

[AlkaSeltzer]

You are setting the bar high on this one missing parts or not Watching your builds helps me to learn and hopefully get better.

[MarkVerploeg]

You are setting the bar high on this one missing parts or not Watching your builds helps me to learn and hopefully get better.

thanks mate
but i don't think my builds are that exceptional really
i'm glad that you find them usefull though but i think taht with this hobby it takes practice to improve
altough it does help if others can point you in the right direction , when i started in this hobby there where only books and some magazines to get information
things like ISM are great helpers as they bring experianced and new builders closer together and the sharing of information goes better
and you get a bunch of other modellers in the same place for a good chat
thanks for the comment
cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

good evening all
i am back with a new update
this time i finished the construction stage of this build
so now it is ready for some paint


as a first step the antenna from orange hobby was made and placed
it is made up from the antenna , a baseplate and a strap wich holds the thing in place on the mount (in real life not on the model)
then i made the tow cables , i replaced the stiff metal cables from the kit with copper ones that are 1,1mm thick
this is about the same size as the kit supplied ones (maybe 0,1 or 0,05mm thicker) i just can't remember the brand but they are not that expensive and work a lot better


i then made the photo etch tool clamps and glued them on
i don't make them in one go
i make the bottom first and glue these on the hull then i add the tool itself
this makes it easier to place the top part because the entire clamp is stronger now and not so likely to bend when you apply some pressure
the handle was place on the top part of the clamps before glueing the part on the rest
this again makes it a bit easier


just a closer look at the pe parts


i then used a narrow and wide pair of pliers to bend and dent the fenders
i didn't cut them in parts like some others in this gb did
mainly because there is a thick support wedge under the panel line of these fenders and that would have taken me a long time to get through with a knife


after a short attempt to damage the styrene exhaust shrouds i gave up
i used some lead foil from druid figures to replace them
i don't know if they are still in buisness but i know that the large sheets they had are cheaper then the verlinden productions offer and about 8 times bigger
i cut out 2 small sheets that are a bit bigger then needed
then i wrap them around the styrene part and trim off the excess with siccors


then i used a hobby blade to trim it to the final shape
and as a last step i pushed down on the raised details with my finger
the raised edge on the kit part is a bit more visible but i think my scratchbuild parts look close enough
after painting i will glue them on using some ca glue and make some dents with the top of a paintbrush by pushing it against the shroud
the primer and paint give it a bit more strenght so i don't push the whole thing out of it's shape when i make the damages


everything is waiting for a splash of paint
in a earlier post i mentionned that i would use some friul tracks but i am having second thoughts about this
altough they are in my stash i am planning on more tigers in the near future (before October this year) and one of them is a late production that i want to convert into a BefehlsTiger or even the last Wittmann Tank if i have the right decals or if i can find some
but that would have more PE and other after market parts and i think it is nice to use the tracks on such a upgraded build instead of an out of the box build like this
so i may use the kits ds tracks after all but i haven't decided on that yet

and before i forget does anyone know where to find a good Otto Carius figure that doesn't cost more then the kit it is going on
i did find one but they asked more then double the money i payed for the kit and 40 euro's for a single figure in this scale is a bit insane if you ask me

but anyway this is all i have for now
i hope you like it and untill next time
thanks for stopping by
cheers Mark

[Nige201980]

Wow mate fast work and she is looking great Mark.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Nige
Glad you like it so far

[mannloon]

That looks great. As to your choice of tracks, keep in mind the thing that makes this mid kit Otto's is the Tiger (P) mantlet and the fact he had early tracks, not mid/late on 217.

[MarkVerploeg]

That is absolutly right
I didn't think of it
Thanks for the heads up and saving me a whole lot of time
Cheers Mark

[Coen]

That work looks spectacular buddy. Very clean work on those tool clamps. Well done.
The scratch shrouds are also awesome.
Do you remember where you got that wire?

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks Coen
The wire for the cable is from the brannd Karaya
It is from Poland and they have a bunch of diameters
They are 1 meter long so each pack is good for about 5 cables
I think they cost about 5 euro's for a package

[Coen]

Thanks Mark, I'll check them out. You're a star.

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
just a very little update to let you all know i haven't forgotten this build
but it was time to paint and i was more in the mood to build
but you know how that is right?

so anyway here are a few photo's of the painting so far
please excuse the quality of them as i tried a kind of modulation for the first time with some home made mixes and it seems that i mixed the colors in very close to eachother shades so that will be hard to see


it was primed with Ammo dark yellow primer and then sprayed over with mr hobby H403 dark yellow but these 2 already are very much the same shade of yellow


i then tried to replicate the sunfading on the flat surfaces by adding sail color to the dark yellow
this is much the same as buff from tamiya and gives the same effect
the best way to see the result is the shine at this point
but i worked in several layers from the outside of a panel inwards and with each layer i added a bit more of the sail color


the green camo stripes where added
i think the color is H80 lime green
this had the same procedure as the dark yellow but this time i did just 1 brightened coat on the flat parts to get some sun bleaching


and after working on the 2 other tigers i am building at the moment i saw that i forgot to damage the tyres
i did sand down the edges already and now i have been cutting up the edges to make it look like the rubber is cracked and missing some pieces

and that was it already
i promise the next update will be a better one as then i should have done all the painting and maybe some weathering
thanks for watching and untill next time
cheers Mark

[Coen]

Looks very cool Mark. That camo is awesome.

[MarkVerploeg]

Looks very cool Mark. That camo is awesome.

Thank you Coen
I will see if i go on with the painting today or that i will build so more for the other 2 i started

[jbellos1]

Oh my goodness

This is looking fantastic. It's all in the details...really nice looking build Mark.

[PaulAyrey]

Camo looks great, can't wait to see a few more photos!

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks guys
I am working on the weathering now but that is going slow
I will try to get some more done this weekend if i get the time
Cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so here is the final update for this build
my plan to have this tiger as part of a 4 vehicle build still stand as all the others have landed on my bench
i keep it ssimple as i want more practice on my figures since i want to take this to a contest later in the year

but here is the build in it's last steps

i started with the tracks (the kit ds tracks)
they where sprayed with tamiya gunmetal on both sides
next i spayed the outside (side that touches the ground) with a 50/50 mix of tamiya flat earth and buff as a light dirt color
then in a random way i sprayed on a whirly line of flat earth to get some color variation and once that was dry i applied some AK track wash in a random way
this is all in preperation of the final layer of dust i will apply with pigments
the left track in the picture has the paints and wash applied the right track has been dry brushed with vallejo gun metal grey to show some wear on the high parts of the tracks and that is also the last step before the pigments
i had some photo's of each step but i accidently erased them from my phone before i uploaded them so i only have this one left


i then used AK dak wash on all the details
i like this color better then the wash they make for dark yellow subject as it is a bit darker and in my opinion looks better
but that is something you decide for yourself ofcourse , i can only show how i do things and what i like in terms of products


i then applied streaks with AK streaking grime for dark yellow vehicles
this is applied in thicker streaks and left to dry for about 15 minutes
then with a flat brush that is dampened with thinner i softened the streaks at first by pulling the brush downwards
then i whipe the brush on some paper towel and dip it in the thinner again and start to thin the streaks untill i have a collection of fine lines that run from top to(wards) the bottom
the streaks don't have to go all the way down on a surface and it even loks a lot better if they don't
and the more random it looks the better
the main rule is to pull down the streaks from the top to the bottom


i then repeated this proces on the fenders but this time with rust streaks
i only used these on a few places and all start in places that have been scratched or chipped
so i ressembles the rust being washed down by rain
i also coated the towcables with some AK dak wash
they where to bright in my opinion so i used the wash as a kind of thick filter to make them look darker with repainting them


for the wheels i tried something new (to me)
the tyres where covered with eath and dust effects from AK
these are basicly liquid pigments and are enamel based
once they had dried i used a clean and dry brush to whipe away the excess wich work just like with the powder pigments
the dust effects was only used in the cracks i made earlier to make the cracked rubber look a bit lighter the other color was used all over the wheel including the rim and then brushed to remove the excess dust
to finish the wheels i added some streaks in a random way to resemmble some mud that is drawn outwards when the tank drives through a puddle


just before i could start with the pigments i added some fuel and oil stains
the oil stains are concentrated around the engine hatch while the fuel stains are near the big grills around the fuelcap covers
i also added some oilstaining near the turret ring/bearing so it looks like some grease has be spilling out of there
it doesn't have to be much though if you can see just a little bit of this it will be a nice little detail on the otherwise clean and flat surface that is the hullroof

then a start for some wet and dry mud effects
i used AK earth effects to cover the area around the suspension
you can use a pigment fixer but if i should miss a spot this has a good color to cover that clean spot


then i applied Mig productions dark mud pigment in a kind of random way
i think that the edges of this mud covered side will dry first so i kept away from those a bit
they will be covered in the next step
all the excess pigments where chought on a piece of A4 paper by shacking the model above it and put back in the jar (why waste it if it is not used)


then the dry mud was added in the same way
i used it in the middle too as there could be dry spots there aswell
and in the end this will be out of sight for the most part as the wheels cover most of this


some old rust pigments where used on the spare tracks and exhausts
i don't know if i showed them before but they where painted with Ammo's rust set and applied with a sponge to get more color variation
and a thin coat of pigments won't cover all of that so with just 1 pigment color i still have a lot of variation on them allthough the photo doesn't really show it


then my home made shrouds where added and with the tip of a brush i bashed in some dents


i then applied some dark mud pigments on the outside of the tracks and the pigment that wouldn't stay in place fell on the inside
that was brushed over the track to make it look like a layer of dust
all the other parts of the tank where dusted with a coat of dry mud pigment
i used a bit more on the flat surfaces and a bit less on the sides as there is less surface for dust to hold on to


finally so black smoke pigments to make a coat of soot around the exhausts
and a wee bit on the gunmuzlle


and then i called it done

i will be adding a figure of Herr Otto later
i have it already but i think my figure painting is not yet good enough to make that fine resin figure shine like it should
as sayed before it will go on a small diorama later when i have finished all the Tigers i want on there
it will be a sort of evolution of the Tiger 1 where i want to show the changes that where made on these tank between the initial production up to the late production
and all of them will get a small vignette like base to place them in a certain setting
but that will be for a later date as i still have to build 2 of them and repaint another

so that is all for this Tiger
i hope you like it so far but i think i will finish the entire project after the first of April when all my gb entries have to be finished and i don't have anything planned untill the homeland gb starts so i have 2 months for that

thanks for watching and untill next time
cheers Mark

[Coen]

That is a work of art Mark
Well broken down into workable steps too. Fabulous work bud.

[OliveDrab]

That's one fabulous Tiger Thanks for posting the weathering steps, very useful information

[rwsmith14]

"MEOW !! looks awesome !! thanks for the weathering tips !!

[Art17847]

Another great build!!....very nice step by step info on ur weathering tech came out superb......great job on this one

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks guys
I think i missed a lot of things though
Well with pictures anyway but i did explain how i do certain thing from the weathering process and if it helps someone it is good enough for me