Tamiya Tiger I 1/25 Scale Update 2/16/16 Finished!

[charleygnarlyp290]

The kit: Tamiya 1/25 scale Tiger I
Date of release: 1969
Kit features: Full interior, individual link tracks, working suspension

Yes, indeed, the kit of all kits in my youth. I could only dream of having one of these during my first foray into armor models... the summer of 19 and 76. To my budding, model-addled mind this was the ultimate kit to have. Large scale. Full interior. The legendary Tiger.

I eventually got hold of one in my young adult-hood, and built it. Didn't really turn out that great, so I shot it up with a pellet gun (and acquired a busted lip in the process, but that's another story).

A few years later, around '87 or '88 maybe, my brother bought me another one. I bought it with the intention of super-detailing it, but continued to hone my skills on 1/35 scale kits. Shortly thereafter, I got married, had some kids, and didn't do any modelling.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and my re-entry into the hobby. While digging around in the shed, I rediscovered this kit. Water stained box, lots of dust, but still in prefect shape inside. I got it out and put it in my measly stash of upcoming kits to build.



As luck would have it a group build opportunity came up that this kit was tailor made for. A stock, out-of-the box Tamiya kit of '70s vintage. Scratch-building ok, but no after market. Ta-da! Time to get busy!







The condition of the plastic is decent considering that the molds are 46 years old. There is a bit of flash, but quite minor. Seam lines are pretty gnarly in places (more on that later), but generally not too bad.

The first page of instructions involves assembling the torsion bars to the lower hull, and assembling the wheels, idlers, and drive sprockets. The drive sprockets had some flash and seam marks, but was fairly easy to clean up thanks to narrow sanding sticks and a new Xacto blade. Idlers were clean and needed very little attention. The road wheels were a nightmare. Seams galore. Keep in mind that I generally consider road wheels to be a nightmare regardless of the age or brand of kit. I really dislike tedious stuff, and cleaning wheels is tedious. The seam lines are pretty pronounced on the wheels and took a couple of hours to clean up.

Another thing that I had to deal with and seems to be prevalent on many kits, are openings on the sponsons. For some crazy reason I can't fathom there are these weird openings towards the rear of the sponsons that are quite visible through the engine louvers.



So, I busted out the old reliable plastic sheets and cut some fillers and cemented them in.



Then I installed the torsion bars. The instruction show a nice overhead view of the interior of the hull, clearly labeling where each torsion bar goes. There are six different torsion bar moldings and they each have a specific place to go. In addition to the very clear Tamiya instructions, the inside of the hull is also marked showing where each one goes.



After that, it was cleanup time for the wheels. It took forever, but I got them done. Assembly is tricky if you don't pay attention since there are four types of pieces that make up two different sets of road wheels. I just wrote the part number on each piece as I cut it off and cleaned it.

Here's where it sits. Torsion bars installed, running gear cleaned and assembled and ready for the next steps.

Page 1 complete.

[wing_nut]

WOOHOO... front row.

[kiwibelg]

Wow!!!
That Tiger brings back some fond memories!!
Talk about nostalgia..my next door neighbours Dad had one of these and I was in awe of it as a young fella..I couldn't get over the size of the thing. Asides from the Tiger he also built pretty much every large scale model Tamiya produced, all proudly on display in a huge cupboard in the living room. I'm not even allowed to put one of my 54mm figures on display downstairs
Amazing to see that this kit didn't end up lost and forgotten, good luck with the build buddy! Bookmarked.

Shay

[Tojo72]

Will be watching.

[Deano]

Dec 16, 2015 15:14:35 GMT -5 wing_nut said:

WOOHOO... front row.

I'm beside Marc

[Leon]

Got a front row seat before they disappear!

[deafpanzer]

SWEET!!! Count me in too!

[charleygnarlyp290]

So, moving right along...

The next steps involve installing the hull interior parts. The photo below shows the lower hull with torsion bars assemble, the sprues that some of the parts for these steps come on, and some of the parts already removed. On the left of the mat, the center console/floor plate part and front transmission part have already been assembled.



This photo shows a close up of the center plus tranny parts. Sparse to say the least.



All of the parts have been attached to the center/tranny and some ejector pin marks filled on the back plate. The gauge panel hasn't been attached yet due to the need for detail painting.



In this photo I have test fit the rear floor plate. As you can see it is bowed, due to the hull sides being canted inwards a bit. I don't know if it was designed this way to facilitate a snug fit for the removable upper hull plate, or if it has warped due to age.



This won't be a problem however, since the vertical portion of the rear of the fitting compartment will add to the structural rigidity. Here I have taped the horizontal plate to the mat and used a cement bottle to provide support to the vertical portion. I payed special attention to a good weld here buy making sure that both pieces fit together flush with a bit of sanding and a good, even application of cement.



And here is everything so far after a coat of Vallejo black primer. As you can see, the engine is really just a basic shape so as to give the impression of something being in the engine bay as seen through the louvers.



Next up, paint and more assembly.

[Leon]

Nice progress Charley! Looking good.

[panzerjager2]

Cool beans......... It's still a great kit to start with. Keep the updates coming

[wbill76]

Making good progress Charley, it's always interesting to see how these older kits stand up to the test of time.

[adt70hk]

Joining the party!

[rbaer]

Memories! I used to drool over that thing on the shelf at San Antonio Hobbies up in Mountain View, back about 1975, myself.

[BJ---Rest In Peace]

Grabbing a Chair for this one.. Talk about kits I dreamed of as a Kid

[charleygnarlyp290]

Wow! look at the updates rolling in. Yes, here is another update on the Tiger.

I have now completed building up to step 10. This covers the assembly of the running gear and the lower hull interior. In the photos below, you can see the completed interior including paint and weathering. I did the base coats: Grey for the lower hull up to the sponsons, and the floor plates; an ivory color for the remainder of the interior, minus the central transmission housing. In my research, I found that at times the lower portions might not match due to parts supplies coming at different times, (i.e., replacement parts in the field). With that in mind, I thought it would break up the colors in the interior a bit to paint the tranny grey. This seemed to be the most logical mis-matched part in color. I painted up the details and gave everything a black artist oil wash. Once that dried I did some chipping, using the sponge method. This was my first time using this method and I really like it. I didn't go too crazy, as I want to represent a vehicle that hasn't seen too much action yet. Then I hit the diamond plate floor with some aluminum to replicate wear, along with some of the other high-traffic areas.





Steps 11 through 13 were next, which involves front outer hull details, and the rear hull details. Parts on the right are cleaned up and ready to go.



Here is a closeup of the Feifel air cleaner system canisters. The one on the right has been cleaned up. The one on the left shows what older kits presented in fit sometimes.



Here is the front with parts installed.



Here is the rear. The exhaust covers have not been installed to make rust application to the exhaust easier during the painting stage.



Here are the covers, prepped and ready to go, and the jack assembled. I will install these parts after the basecoat of paint has been applied.



So, that's it for this time. More to come soon.

[Leon]

Nice progress Charley! Interior is looking really good.

[Tojo72]

I like it,looking real good.

[charleygnarlyp290]

Due to a hectic schedule since my last post, I haven't had the time to post any updates. That does not mean I haven't been able to work on the Tiger, however.

Steps 14 through 17 deal with the upper hull and hull sides.



The first item on the instructions here, is fabrication of the track installation cable. The kit came with a metal cable and some smallish diameter vinyl tubing to make the ferrules that fasten the end of the cable to form the loop. The instructions provide a template to use to make the cable shape, but I used the hull itself. The pegs that the cable wraps around are molded onto the hull sides, so they are plenty stout enough to handle having the cable wrapped around them.

The other items in this first step are the fenders. The fenders come in one piece per side. I wanted to make them a bit more realistic by cutting them apart and also add some battle damage. I began by cutting the fenders at the joint line. Then I twisted and bent some of them, and left others out altogether. For the really bent piece on the left rear of the hull I cut off the first two bolt heads and drilled out holes where the bolts would have been in the fender and the hull. I wanted to simulate a badly bent fender that when it was damaged, it ripped the bolts out. I also made a support rib on the damaged, exposed end of the fender section using white styrene sheet.

This photo illustrates the cable after installation, a fender strip before cutting (bottom of photo), and the cut and damaged fenders installed.



In the side bar of this page of instructions, the assembly of the two front hull hatches are called out. Each hatch went together pretty easily. The only part I had to watch out for was the hinge plate. In this first photo (hopefully) you can see a raised ejector pin mark between the two locator pins. Not a very good place for it. It was easy enough to clean up, though.



And here are the finished hatches.



Next are the Feifel system hoses and fittings. These had some pretty prominent seam lines and took a bit of work to clean up.



Here is everything cleaned up and assembled.



Everything else were various fittings, and tools. The tow cables haven't been installed because I am going to scratch build some new ones using the existing cable ends and some picture hanging wire, or something similar. Also, on this first overall view you can see another missing fender section. For this one, I took the piece that wasn't going to be used and carefully shaved off the bolt heads. I measured the bolt head locations on the fender and marked the hull where they should be. Then I cemented the bolt heads onto the hull. I modeled this to indicate a fender removal by the crew or maintenance chaps with the bolts replaced in the hull for remounting a new fender later.



And here is the last photo from these steps showing the installed Feifel air cleaner system.



Next time will be the turret and main gun assembly.

[Leon]

Nice progress Charley! The damaged and missing fenders look good.

[wbill76]

Coming along nicely Charley.

[BJ---Rest In Peace]

Looking good

[Tojo72]

The big boy is looking good.

[c3p0.]

Coming together nicely sir. Keep the updates rolling in.

[deafpanzer]

Looking real good especially the hoses!

[adt70hk]

Really, really nice so far.


As someone who's sticks to braille scale, it almost seems a bit disappointing that so much of the excellent work, never gets seen......

Looking forward to how this turns out!!

Andrew

[charleygnarlyp290]

Slowly but surely I am getting closer with completion of the assembly stage.

The next steps involve assembly of the main gun, turret and turret basket. It all went pretty smoothly. One odd thing that needed attention was this weird raised ring around the escape hatch. A little sanding took care of it.



I got everything assembled, cleaned up, primed, and painted with my own interior off-white concoction. The color didn't really turn out as ivory as I wanted, but since the interior will only be visible through open hatches, it will suffice, especially after weathering and chipping.

Here are the painted parts prior to final assembly.



The next thing to do was mask off the hatch openings, turret basket, interior of the engine grills, and the turret opening on the hull. The hatch openings and engine grills should have been taped off before I cemented the hull roof on because it would have been much easier, but I was successful in the end. Here is everything ready for primer.



As of this post, primer has been applied and small parts have been painted, so another update should be coming up pretty quick.

[Leon]

Nice work on the assembly Charley! Bring on the primer.

[dierk]

Apologies for showing up late Charley. I remember drooling over this kit in my LHS in Rotterdam as a teen. Nice progress! And because I'm me I just cannot help but mention: my, haven't you got a big pussy

[charleygnarlyp290]

Thanks chaps. And dierk... nice one

When I was first getting into armor kits at about 12 years old, I remember seeing this in my local shop, B&F Hobbies. To me, the 1/25th scale Tamiya Tiger was the Holy Grail of models. Well out of my price range and (I thought) well out of my limited model building abilities. I didn't get my first one until I was 21 or 22 years old.

[charleygnarlyp290]

Painting of the base coat is now complete. As some of you may know, me and Vallejo have been on not-so-good terms as of late. However, by changing up my methods, we now get along grandly. I used the Vallejo Model Air Dunkelgelb. Went on with no problems at all. A kit of this size takes a lot of paint.



After I got the hull, turret, and small parts painted, I went to the wheels. Since I am not quite as steady as I used to be, I opted to avoid freehand painting of the rubber portion of the wheels. I thought about using a circle template used for drafting, but that would have taken forever. So, I decided to make my own masks. In the bottom of the photo below you can see a tannish, plastic device. This is a circle cutter. It is a Flex-i-File Super Cutting Compass. It is adjustable and has a titanium blade. I measured the outside diameter of the rim portion of the wheel, divided that in half and applied that measurement to the circle cutter. Then I laid out some strips of wide masking tape and cut my circles. After I had the appropriate amount of circles cut, I sprayed the wheels with the dunkelgelb. After that dried I carefully affixed the circles to the wheels.



Then I sprayed the rubber portion of the wheels. After the paint dried, I peeled the circles off, and Voila! spiffily painted Tiger wheels.



And here is the whole shootin' match, ready for camo.