cyber hobby Tiger 1 early production

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so to prove i am a total idiot i will be starting yet another Tiger for this SIG
this time it will be this one


and here are the parts














i am planning to build this one with just a few add ons
i have a side skirt set for it and some replacement towcables
for the rest this will be just a out of the box build and i will even use the provided decals
my first plan was to make this into Tiger 1331 but i couldn't find the right decals in my stash and i won't order them from another coutry if i only need a sheet of decals
delivery would be 10 times more then the product and that would be crazy even for me

but that is the plan and like all the others this will be part of a bigger project

but i hope to get back to you all with a update as soon as possible
thanks for stopping by
cheers Mark

[PaulAyrey]

You like to keep busy! Look forward to seeing this one too!

[MarkVerploeg]

Well it is more because i decided to build all my Tiger 1 kits during this sig
And i do the weathering on my days of as that is more time consuming so i have 5 days left that can be filled with building

[Coen]

Ok... So...what's that... three or four tigers now. haha.
I love tigers Mark, but three all at once! Wow!
You Da'Man!!!!

I totally understand your thoughts about the decals too. I've had to go through the same thing for Michael's Kursk Tiger. The markings are very specific and finding the right ones have always proved to be a pain.
It's why I've only built his tiger three times and only once with the correct markings.
It's the number "3" in 1331 that make it annoying. The shape is almost unique to his unit.

[MarkVerploeg]

Yep those decals where a pain to find and too expensive to get
Well more then i am willing to pay for decals anyway
But with this one and the late prod. It makes 5 of them
I have 2 initials and 1 of each other type
But the mid is done so i have 4 left on the bench
A bit much but still not too much

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Some one love's them tigers too. ...
News flash, its YOU!
You have my respect on building all these kitty cats mate, love it.

[MarkVerploeg]

Some one love's them tigers too. ...
News flash, its YOU!
You have my respect on building all these kitty cats mate, love it.

Who? Me
Nah i actually like the King Tiger more then the Tiger 1
But we don't have a sig for them (yet)
I just wanted to clear my stash of them
To be honest they will be joined later and this sig is the best excuse to build them all
And maybe a little mom and the kids picture when they are all done with the big tiger and the 5 smaller ones together

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so i think it is time for an update
i have been working on this kit last week and during my weekend and managed to finish the construction already
i wanted to do the building stages in 2 parts but i had a good time building and forgot to make the update
good thing i didn't forget to take some pictures

so i hope you are comfy and have a drink within reach as this is going to be a long one


work begins on the rearplate with this kit
you need to remove some tabs on the top of the plate and there are 2 frames that need to be placed
these frames will be the base for the fenders later


and some wheels
the roadwheels are done later on but i thought i could do these rightaway
i will show the road wheels later on in this update as they where a bit different then the normal wheels you get in other kits


the exhaust where build next
in this kit the protective cover comes with molded on pins
i didn't have that on the other Tigers i had on the bench and some of you know that they can be a bit fiddly to assemble
these went together without any problem although there is a mistake in the instruction
they tell you to use a certain part for the tube of the exhust and then glue on the top part where the actual smoke comes out
this is the wrong part and you need to use the ones that have a indicator mark on them
the top won't fit if you use the indicated ones


the cooling units
i didn't paint them this time
after shining a light into a other tiger i still could not see much in there so i decided to leave it as it is as this will be out of sight


the the upper hull assembly started with the assembly of the grills on the back and the engine cover
the only big difference with this version is the intake for the feifel filters


the front plate was added
i will have 1 hatch open with this build
the radio operators hatch will be shut though


there are 4 small spots on the top of the side plates that need filling
i didn't pay much attention in this step as i thought i needed to open them up completely
that is why you can see 2 square holes on the top of the sides
i filled them with some plasticard later
and i placed the upper hull plate on the rest of the hull


all the feifel parts


and the installed feifel filters
i had a hard time getting these thing on the hull and i am still not completly happy with them but they fit and the parts that gave problems where filled as they where showing some small gaps
i used some ca glue to fill the gaps and had to sand it down a little bit once it was dry


in the pe set i have for the side skirts there where some s-mine launchers to
i tried to make 1 but it seems that a tube is a bit hard to do for me
so i used all the other parts from the pe and placed them on the kit tubes
these 2 go on the back of the hull


these are the other ones
they are the same except for the brackets wich are not present on these as they will go on the hull itself and not on the corners


the s-mines are placed


i then started with the side skirts
these come from a set by Aber wich is an okay set i was a bit suprised as the set was bigger then i expected it also includes the s-mine launchers and the exhaust shrouds
the skirts are not that difficult to make but once i started to damage them the ribs that are placed underneath them popped of
and to be honest i didn't glue all of them bac as they would be out of sight
i did make sure the bigger ribs that go on the front and rear side skirts where placed


i glued on some small strips of styrene on the hull to give the side skirts a bit more surface to be glued on to


the skirts in place


then the side skirts where damaged
as you can see one of the ribs is there too
it must have fallen off while i did the damage
but with the exception of the tools the hull is now finished
i will paint the tools seperate as i think that makes it a bit easier


then i went on with the turret
this begins with the construction of the gun


i made the interior of the hatch for this one
because i wanted it open
i accidently launched the bracket (bottom of the photo) and haven't found it
but there was a pe replacement in the pe fret from Aber so i used that one


i didn't fill the epm's inside the turret after a small test fit i found that you can't see then because of the gunbreach
this keeps them hidden so i didn't bother to fill them and wait before i could continue
after this the turret sides where glued together


then the instructions want you to build the turret roof
asyou can see there are 2 large openings on the sides
the spare track holders will go in there later


here they are placed
i had to be carefull with the glue though
i want to paint the turret interior later on so i need to be able to remove the roof
but i managed to do so
the cupola is also placed at this point
there are 2 small inserts to place on top of the roof to give the impression that there where smoke grenades on there at one point
these however don't reach the edge of the turret
so i glued on the brackets that you use if you have them installed


the brackets where then cut off near the edge and on the side of the turret
this way the positions are correct too
i then used the white sanding sponge from Ultimate to scratch up the side that was cut
it gives a rough finish as this is the course sander
but the result resembes a torch cut as was seen on the corners of the armorplates aswell
these launchers where ofte removed in the field so they didnt bother to make it look nice
and it provides you with a nice weather detail as you can do some rust on there and some soot from the torches flame on the paint
just a little bit though i don't want a black tank


here is the turret and as you can see the roof can be removed


the stowage bin was thinned out with a rotary tool before i glued on all the parts
once those where dry i made a few small damages on one side
i will have a flag or tarp hanging out of the other so i didn't damage that side


i then rolled the shrouds
and i made the towcables
they are from eureka xxl and come with resin eyeleds and soft copper wires
this time i wanted to do them laying on the sides instead of in the brackets on top of the hull
it looks nice in my opinion and sometimes the crew didn't have the time to put them in their place so they would have them hanging on the tanks


i then made the wheels
there is a small arc inbetween the wheels and i never seen these
but i decided to leave them as they are because a small testfitting showeed that you don't see them and it makes the sets of wheels easier to handle


on the outer roadwheels i sanded of the edges to make the tyre look worn then with a hobby knife i cut out small chunks
this resembles the breaking of the rubber that happened on the tyres due to small stones and debris that put more pressure on the tyre because it gets crushed between the tyre and the track and then the rubber breaks under this pressure leaving these small cuts


i then gathered all the tools and track cable
the cableset includes this cable too but i don't have the brackets that hold them on the hull so those went in the spares box


a final testfit of all the parts
i may add some stowage later but i haven't decided on that yet
if i do add something it will be small stuff anyway but i will see what i have in my small stuff box


and that is all i have for now
the building part is done and i have stripped it down to prepared it for painting by putting everything on sticks
and this one will be set on the shelf for a little while
i will build my last Tiger first and once that is build i will go on with priming and painting all my unpainted builds at once
this way i have all my builds in the same stage so i don't have to clen up my bench every time and i don't have the room for 4 build next to eachother
it gets a bit cramped if i try

so that is all for now
i hope you like it
thanks for watching and untill next time
cheers Mark

[Donkeywalloper]

Hey Mark

Your no idiot mate, just a gifted modeller. If you like something, well keep doing it.
How were the Eureka Cables?
I have a set myself for my Tiger.
The aperture for the cable to enter looks awfully small
Great job, really great.
John

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much John
The cables where very good
I thought it would be fiddly and i needed to drill the holes to make them bigger
But it fits already
I only cut off a bit from the cable as they where a bit long
I think they need to be about 19 cm in lenght as that is the lenght they need to have if you have them in the brackets
That is without the ends though
I don't know the full lenght of the things

[Coen]

Holy crow that was a hell of an update.
She looks the nuts too.
I was wondering what you would do about those loops on the road wheels.
If you aren't putting it on a diorama with lots of contours it wouldn't make much difference if they were there or not.

[MarkVerploeg]

Holy crow that was a hell of an update.
She looks the nuts too.
I was wondering what you would do about those loops on the road wheels.
If you aren't putting it on a diorama with lots of contours it wouldn't make much difference if they were there or not.

Thank you very much Coen
The suspension is fixed on the hull anyway so i couldn't make them working if i tried
That is the only bad thing about this kit
But i don't know how the dio base for this one will look like yet
But i guess i needs some road or flat surface to put it on
I will see what i will do with it later
But it is a Kursk Tiger so maybe just in some long grass or something like that

[OliveDrab]

Holy Tiger! FOUR beasts at once...very brave, and hitting home runs with them too

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much
It is very repeating really
For the most of it they are the same with only smaller changes
But i do get a chance to see the changes that where made to the Tiger with every production model

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

now that's a great update Mark
Keep it coming!

[MarkVerploeg]

now that's a great update Mark
Keep it coming!

Keep it coming?
I thought this was enough to keep you busy for a few weeks
But like i posted in the update it will remain on the shelf for a short while
Just untill the last Tiger is build and then i can do the priming and painting on several builds at once
It should save some time with cleaning everything and i don't have to search for stuff all the time
I have a habit of leaving all the tools paints and weatheringproducts on my bench untill a build is finished
Then i store everything in it's place and begin a new build
So with 4 more builds in several building stages that would mean a big pile of stuff
With all of them in the same stage i can continue painting when 1 drying and that continues up to the weathering
Some things like streaking dry faster so that will be done 1 kit at a time
But washes and that sort of things can be done on several at once
So i will have my very own Panzer factory

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so i still need to make the final update for this build
i know it is a bit late but the reveal was done in time and i was very busy at work so after an hour or hour and a half at the computer my eyes start to bug me
but anyways this time i will try to show the painting and weathering techniques i used
so let's go to the pictures (more intresting then my blabbering i think)


the tank was primed with ammo's dark yellow primer
this is almost an exact match to the paint i used later as it is base coated in mr hobby aqueous H403 dark yellow
the advantage is that if you should happen to miss a spot with either the primer or the paint it still has the right color
except if you miss it twice ofcourse but then the grey plastic should show for that


i then added some sail color H85 to the the dark yellow to get a faded version of the basecolor
this was used for some panelfading
a technique i am still getting used to as i never did that untill this year , so i am learning something here



then the khaki green H80 camo stripes where painted on there


although it is not very clear to see i did the same as with the dark yellow here
so a drop of sail color in the green to fade it and then i sprayed that on the surfaces that should be exposed to sunlight a bit more so mainly the hull and turret roof but also a little bit on the top of the side plates
if you happen to use tamiya acrylics you can use buff to the camo color to get the same effect/result


the inside of the turret was painted with tamiya flat white
the seats where painted with Vallejo modelcolor leather brown


i then did a little bit of chipping on the turret roof around the hatches
this ws done in 2 layers the first is ammo dark yellow base and those chips where filled in with ammo chipping color wich is a very dark brown
this gives more depth to the chipping as you get the effect of the basecolor that is damaged and then the corroded metal underneath
i think you can even go a step further by adding a layer of red oxide primer in between the chipping color and base color
the fire extinguisher was painted with mr hobby aqueous flat red


the tools where painted in the same way as i did with my other tigers
so a mix of english uniform and white in a 4 : 1 ratio for the basecolor of the wood
that was drybrushed with smoke to get the effect of laquered wood ,all those colors are Vallejo modelcolor
the baremetal parts of the tools and the towcables(not in this picture) are painted with mr metal stainless steel
this was brush painted but thanks to the size of the pigments it gives a more even metal look then most other paints like the Vallejo gunmetal grey i used in the past


the model was then coated with alclad aqua gloss
once that was dry i applied ak dak wash around raised details and in the weldseams on the turret and hull
also the decals where added and covered with a second layer of qua gloss


i then did the streaking
i used 2 colors first ak's dak streaking effects and then rust streaking from ak
these where left to dry for about 15 to 20 minutes
then with a flat brush and some thinner i refined the streaking to the point that you see here
keep in mind to use a flat brush and only moist it in thinner don't soak it as it will wash away the streaking effect


i then did some mud on the lower part of the hull
i do this by brushing on ak earth effects first just on 1 side as it will dry too fast to do the entire hull all at once
i then apply pigments to the wet earth effects with a old brush
i tend to use 2 or more colors and work from dark to light
for me the first pigment color is always dark mud from mig productions
i then add either dry mud or europe dust pigments but you can play with the colors a bit
and if you want more texture you can mix the pigments with a bit of plaster and some gloss or satin varnish to get a wet effect on the mud


i then tried something different for the dusting of the upper parts
i sprayed ak dust effects over the tiger
as this is a wash it is thin so basicly it should go through the airbrush
it was very hard to see where it was applied so i had to turn it into the light to see where it was wet
but it dries like a pale greyish yellow (if that makes sense)
it showes best on the exhaust shrouds next to the tank
but it worked good enough for me and i want to try it some more on other builds
the effect is much more gentle then with pigments although it is less controlled or you need to mask parts to get more controle


the tracks where painted in tamiya gunmetal
then the outside was painted with tamiya khaki to get a base for the dust
the part that sticks out was then drybrushed with Vallejo gun metal grey
and once that was dry i added mig productions europe earth pigments


the gun muzzle received a bit of black pigments for soot on the edges of the openings
it may not be all too realistic but it is a effect i like so i do that on most of m builds
in real life it would have been fired a lot to get such staining on there and the germans had to do a lot of maintenance so it would be cleaned before there was this much build up of residue


the wheels where dusted in 2 steps
i first applkied ak kursk earth effects on the tyre and outer part of the wheel
this was left to dry and then the excess was whiped away with some paper towel
then once they where on the tank i used some of the europe dust pigments


then the flag was added for some extra detail
it shows some damage but i think it is good enough and they didn't always take that much care of their flags


and then it was finished

so that is all for this build and update
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers Mark

[burnie43]

Really great post and a fantastic build and paint job
Thanks for sharing
Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much
Glad you like it