RFM 'Wittmann's' Tiger 1 [early]

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:33 pm

The kit gives two versions of Wittmans Tiger- S04 Russia January 1944 or 1331 1st Panzer Division Leibstandarte 1943 there are also a clear parts option for the hull and turret. The kit comes with a full interior. Ryefield have also split the instructions the overall instructions are to build the S04 Tiger if your building the 1331 Tiger the additional instructions printed green must be followed for that build stage, any clear parts have a blue outline.

The box is deep and packed with sprues in sand yellow and black for the workable tracks. Lots of parts and hardly any flash if any can be seen ,also you have replacement parts for the clear parts if you dont go for the see through option. The instructions are well set out and clear but I would recommend you read through them several times . I could not track down any after market for this kit but you are provided with two etch sheets, decals for both versions and copper wire for the hawsers plus the clear parts for the viewing ports. The tracks are fully working and are assembled by glueing sets of 5 pins into each side plus adding the two rows of track teeth.

The painting guide is in two sheets one showing the interior and outside and the second for the ouside only. A nice kit overall and should build into a nice model. I also bought the interior paint set and managed to track down the Wittman crew figure set from Dragon this set is getting harder and harder to find lately.

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Post by **Meliodas2019** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:52 pm

nice Andrew, I have the same Tiger 1 kit minus the crew, it probably wont be on my list for a bit, be intersted to how you find it and see how it goes, it does look a really exciting kit

Post by **digger303** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 2:46 pm

oohh a full interior and lots of track bits, this will be interesting. Sure to learn something from this.
Your sure to make this look easy Hawk.

Post by **KalebB** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:49 pm

This will be a fun build to watch! Looks of work to be done on this one

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:17 pm

Thanks for looking in everyone

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:22 pm

The build starts with the main gun and mantlet once made up as far as I could for paint we next went onto the turret internals again its ready for paint now

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Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:04 am

He's off, looking forward to seeing this one come together

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:54 pm

Thanks for looking in and your comments Kev

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 7:04 pm

The turret innards were painted cream white and various other parts with semi gloss black, neutral gray and olive green drab. Assembly went together without a hitch. Once assembled some dry brushing was given to the floor and some other parts then a sepia wash diluted 50% was applied to the interior. I have decided to use the clear turret and hull parts to make viewing the interior easier. Started assembling the lower hull by adding the etch beams and the front drive and rear idler parts.

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Post by **KalebB** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:14 am

That's going to look so incredibly cool once finished. Being able to peer into the interior

Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:18 am

Beautiful start Sir.

I have the RFM Tiger Mid with full interior so will be watching this with eyeballs out on stalks!!!

Post by **Gary30** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:52 am

I'm amazed at how fast some of you work! I would barely have the box open by now and you are already a good chunk into the build!

It's a Tiger1, I'm going to be following.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:48 pm

KalebB wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:14 am That's going to look so incredibly cool once finished. Being able to peer into the interior

Im still working out how to paint her but it will involve a lot of masking tape and thanks for looking in Kaleb

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:52 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:18 am Beautiful start Sir.

I have the RFM Tiger Mid with full interior so will be watching this with eyeballs out on stalks!!!

Hi and thanks for looking in and your comments, the only thing Iv found with this kit so far is the plastic feels soft and if you put too much TET on you get a weird yellow puss oozing out the joint a bit like something just died on your windscreen

. Saying that the TET welds the plastic together nicely.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:56 pm

Gary30 wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:52 am I'm amazed at how fast some of you work! I would barely have the box open by now and you are already a good chunk into the build!

It's a Tiger1, I'm going to be following.

My wife lives in another country so I have plenty of time to myself without the SWIMBO and her work lists to hold me back. Plus I just love making kits and can spend all day at it.
Thanks for looking in and your comments

Post by **Gary30** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 8:07 pm

Sounds like the ideal scenario

My wife and one year old daughter don’t give me a minutes peace

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:21 pm

Added some internal bits to the clear turret roof and started adding the working suspension

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Post by **KalebB** » Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:42 am

Being able to see into that turret is just so slick.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:30 pm

Just a bit of weathering to do on the roof and it gets nailed down. thanks for looking in and your comments Kaleb

Post by **Quax** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 1:33 pm

Lovely tidy work so far HM, if I was doing it it would look a complete dogs dinner by now!

Paul

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:16 pm

Quax wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2020 1:33 pm Lovely tidy work so far HM, if I was doing it it would look a complete dogs dinner by now!

Paul

Thanks for looking in and your comments Paul and i still have time to make a mess of things

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:30 pm

The lids been nailed down I have been using Glue-n-glaze to do this on the clear parts. The turret hatches/vents/stowage have been made up and are now ready for paint. The suspension is complete and a stowage box added to the drivers side. The gearbox and drive train have been assembled.

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Post by **KalebB** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:15 pm

Looking incredible bud!

Post by **Stokesy44** » Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:21 am

Phwoar!

Lots of lovely progress. Love the torsion bars and the PE spacers. That transmission looks very nice too. Great detail to dry brush on the radios as well.

Just loving this and looking longingly at my own RFM Tiger with full guts.

Post by **digger303** » Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:46 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:21 am Phwoar!

Lots of lovely progress. Love the torsion bars and the PE spacers. That transmission looks very nice too. Great detail to dry brush on the radios as well.

Just loving this and looking longingly at my own RFM Tiger with full guts.

Me too, but not yet

Post by **Stokesy44** » Fri Jan 17, 2020 5:28 pm

digger303 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:46 pm
Stokesy44 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:21 am Phwoar!

Lots of lovely progress. Love the torsion bars and the PE spacers. That transmission looks very nice too. Great detail to dry brush on the radios as well.

Just loving this and looking longingly at my own RFM Tiger with full guts.
Me too, but not yet

Ooh. Interested me is!

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:12 am

Thanks for looking in and your comments everyone

Hmmmmmmmmmmm as there seams to be a few of these floating around stashes we should have done a group build of the beasty

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:56 pm

The hull interior was painted with cream white like the turret and left to dry. The various parts for the internals were assembled and sprayed grey as per the paint references. The weathering of the internals will take place when all is in position. Tomorrow looks like a shell bashing day as I need to make up and paint loads to fill the the four side bins and the two lower floor boxes.

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Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 7:27 pm

Made up the shells and here I had a blond moment thinking I only need to do 8 in all for the side bins

in fact its 8 per side so the rest are still being painted

,the lower shell stowage is now done .

The etch rails were added for the ammunition bags and the bags added. The rear fuel tanks, side walls, radiators ,fans,cowls and other bits were painted and then added to the engine bay.

Started to assemble the engine which is now ready for paint.

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Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:22 pm

This is really flying together, looking good

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:01 pm

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:22 pm This is really flying together, looking good

Thanks for looking in and your comments Kev ,its a nice kit goes together well

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:15 pm

The shells are all now fitted and made up the majority of the road wheels. The engine was painted and added to the rear tub then the back end plate was made up first by spraying and adding the internal parts then the outer parts were added before being glued in place.

The rear mud flaps and the side armour plates were fitted to the hull. The front driver/gunners plate was made up.

The clear parts shown in the pictures along with the drivers front plate are only dry fitted at the moment they will be fixed in position once the internal weathering is complete.

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Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:55 pm

Looks stunning, great to see all that detail through the clear parts too.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:53 am

Thanks for looking in and your comments ,still a bit of tidying up to do on the internals but getting there

Post by **digger303** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:47 am

looks fantastic

Post by **KalebB** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:21 am

Looking awesome bud

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:21 pm

Thanks for looking in and your comments every one.

For anyone building this kit in the future the front clear panel is a tight fit as is the rear bulkhead. I would also recommend fitting the armoured driver slit/plate after the two front plates are fixed. Also some of the locating pins/tabs are miniscule and need careful positioning but once your aware of this it builds very nicely indeed.

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 9:50 am

Absolutely stonking build chap.
DW

Post by **digger303** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:04 am

Can't see any glue through the clear either

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 4:57 pm

digger303 wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:04 am Can't see any glue through the clear either

Im using Glue-N-Glaze to stick the clear parts down.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:28 pm

Thanks for looking in and your comments both

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 5:48 pm

The build continues after a forced break due to health matters. The inside was given a light weathering and then the clear deck was fitted. One track has been made up I must say I like RFM way of assembling working tracks its easy and quick once you have got past the clean up stage. The wheels have been undercoated and the last pic shows the Tiger with the turret on. Lots of masking to do tomorrow then more undercoating.

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Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat Jan 25, 2020 6:36 pm

Spent the day masking then I gave the turret and hull the undercoat treatment. Once dry the wheels, turret and hull were given a couple of coats of dunkelgulb yellow

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Post by **CygnusX1** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:41 pm

This is a really great build. Nice that you're keeping the clear hull / turret parts. Should look fantastic when it's done.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:02 pm

CygnusX1 wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:41 pm This is a really great build. Nice that you're keeping the clear hull / turret parts. Should look fantastic when it's done.

Thanks for looking in and your comments. I have never done a see through before so it had to be done

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:06 pm

The wheels are on and the tracks are progressing

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Post by **KalebB** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:44 pm

Ooooh that kitty is coming together real Nice

I don't even like German armor but dunkelgelb is such a great color

Post by **alextheblue** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:57 pm

That's coming on a treat!

Love all the detail. Great work, thoroughly enjoying your thread!

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 8:20 am

Thanks for looking in and your comments both a bit more color to go on then the winter wash

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 4:07 pm

It just keeps getting better