CH (Dragon) Gruppe Fehrmann Tiger I

[wbill76]

Thanks Dierkand Leon!

Marc, always a satisfying milestone to clear for sure!

Andrew, very repetitive thing but if done in doses the time goes by quickly. The Tiger set is one of the more time intensive ones but worth it for the end result.

[dupes]

Ooooooof...those don't look like much fun. The result is great, but ouch!

[wbill76]

Jan 18, 2016 12:15:26 GMT -5 dupes said:

Ooooooof...those don't look like much fun. The result is great, but ouch!

Could be worse...they could be Sherman-types!

[Tojo72]

They remind me of my T-90 workable tracks.Worth the effort Bill.

So who do you like next week ?

Pats and Cards

[wbill76]

Jan 18, 2016 12:46:04 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

They remind me of my T-90 workable tracks.Worth the effort Bill.

So who do you like next week ?

Pats and Cards

Tough call but I think the Panthers have the home field advantage over Cards. I'm with you on the Pats though. They are healthy and playing in Denver isn't going to change much I think.

[SMJmodeler]

wbill76: Nice subject, I've always liked the Gruppe Fehrmann!  Osprey published one that caught my eye a while back and I've liked it ever since.  How long has it's been since you've built a Tiger I?  edit: I just read your thread a bit closer, it says 2013. I don't think I saw that one...how about posting a pic' of that one as a little teaser for us?

As usual, your text and photos are like putting on a robe & slippers and easing into a lay-z boy...time to get comfy and watch.

[wbill76]

Jan 19, 2016 9:33:43 GMT -5 SMJmodeler said:

wbill76: Nice subject, I've always liked the Gruppe Fehrmann!  Osprey published one that caught my eye a while back and I've liked it ever since.  How long has it's been since you've built a Tiger I?  edit: I just read your thread a bit closer, it says 2013. I don't think I saw that one...how about posting a pic' of that one as a little teaser for us?

As usual, your text and photos are like putting on a robe & slippers and easing into a lay-z boy...time to get comfy and watch.

Thanks Steve! Here's the last Tiger I did as a late Normandy vehicle:

[SMJmodeler]

wbill76:  Thanks for the teaser, nothing like creating a little buzz, huh?  Are you avoiding the rubber road wheels by going with the lates?...LOL.  I guess with 900+ parts for the tracks I doubt a few road wheels to paint would phase you a bit!

BTW: What gives with the cyber hobby kit problem discussed early on in your thread?  I just picked up a StuG III F1 (flamethrower version) for 1/2 price and now I worried it'll be a problem kit.

[wbill76]

Jan 19, 2016 16:40:07 GMT -5 SMJmodeler said:

wbill76:  Thanks for the teaser, nothing like creating a little buzz, huh?  Are you avoiding the rubber road wheels by going with the lates?...LOL.  I guess with 900+ parts for the tracks I doubt a few road wheels to paint would phase you a bit!

BTW: What gives with the cyber hobby kit problem discussed early on in your thread?  I just picked up a StuG III F1 (flamethrower version) for 1/2 price and now I worried it'll be a problem kit.

The Fehrmann Tigers are all odd-ball thrown together vehicles that were assigned to the driving schools before getting thrown back into combat but so far as I know, they all had steel wheel lower hulls/chassis. That's all that is provided in the CH kit at least!

As for the CH kit problem you're asking about, I assume you mean the hull warp? If so, that's an intentional design element by Dragon for the Tiger hulls and not something that should present any issue for you with your StuG III kit.

[SMJmodeler]

wbill76: Here's a pic' from a Gruppe Fehrmann that I saved for a future build:




I have an AFV Club Tiger I Late in the stash for the bottom and I'm hoping to score a Tamiya Early version for cheap so I can bash it for the turret.  SWEET camo' and weathering opportunity, huh?!!

Thanks for the info on the CH StuG III.  The part count is HUGE but it has two PE sheets, magic tracks, and some other nice stuff.  I thought it was a pretty good price at $35 INCLUDING a gift certificate for $25 on World of Tanks.

OK, time to recline...back to "The Bill Show"

[TRM]

Seems like a perfect Tiggy building season for you Bill! Bang out sets of tracks...watch some games....all good!! Looking as good as I expected things to look my friend!! Keep it going!

[wbill76]

Jan 19, 2016 17:25:04 GMT -5 TRM said:

Seems like a perfect Tiggy building season for you Bill! Bang out sets of tracks...watch some games....all good!! Looking as good as I expected things to look my friend!! Keep it going!

Thanks Todd! Good timing all around so far. Hope it holds! Can't forget about Andy's scheme for March and a return to the shipyard.

[wbill76]

Jan 19, 2016 17:21:44 GMT -5 SMJmodeler said:

wbill76

I have an AFV Club Tiger I Late in the stash for the bottom and I'm hoping to score a Tamiya Early version for cheap so I can bash it for the turret.  SWEET camo' and weathering opportunity, huh?!!

Thanks for the info on the CH StuG III.  The part count is HUGE but it has two PE sheets, magic tracks, and some other nice stuff.  I thought it was a pretty good price at $35 INCLUDING a gift certificate for $25 on World of Tanks.

OK, time to recline...back to "The Bill Show"

Should be a fun one Steve! As for the parts count on the StuG, many will be destined for the spares bin as you might expect from a Dragon kit!

[wbill76]

Haven't had a ton of time to work on things but still managed to make enough progress to be update-worthy. I started work on the hull proper by adding in the rear plate as called for in Step 4 but held off adding all of its details just yet. The hull side panels are called out in Step 7 and those were added at the same time to make sure they lined up with the rear plate correctly. Some small copper smooth-jaw clamps helped as the inner sides of the hull kept wanting to bow out slightly.



Next up I needed to address the slight hull warp that exists at the glacis area. Dragon deliberately designed the hull this way with the intent of helping ensure a tight fit but it just makes life harder, not easier, so a short length of sprue was cut to length and used as a spreader. After getting the right tension, I used some liquid glue at the ends to help lock it in place.



A quick test-fit with the hull roof, the front plate, and the glacis shows that things are working okay together if not quite perfectly. There's a small gap present with the hull roof and sides but that can be closed up when the hull roof is attached later using some rubber bands, finger pressure, and patience.



Once the spreader is set, I can go about getting the rest of the hull components together before starting in adding the zim panels.

[deafpanzer]

Glad you got that figured out... it looks lovely once glued.

[wbill76]

Thanks Andy! Takes a little wrestling but it will all come together in the end.

[Leon]

Good to see you have things playing nicely Bill!

[adt70hk]

Looking great so far Bill and I love the idea of using the sprue to spread the hull!

It's amazing what uses I've found for bits of sprue since coming back to the hobby.

[wing_nut]

Jan 25, 2016 17:55:53 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Haven't had a ton of time... You and me both brotha

And thanks for that pic. Reminded me that I discovered 1 last Radio Shack open not far from me (maybe they never got the memo ) so I can stock up on the clips.

[SMJmodeler]

wbill76:  I'm fully reclined and sipping on the tea now...looks like things are coming together nicely.

[wbill76]

Thanks Leon and Steve!

Andrew, sprue comes in handy in different ways all the time!

Marc, Radio Shack is still around but on a much reduced level. We still have one here and their website is also still active although stuff like those clips can't be ordered online. Too small I guess and/or they've reduced their warehouse inventory levels to only special stuff.

[DeafStuG]

Nice progress, Bill.

[wbill76]

Thanks Jeremy! Glad to see you stop by my friend.

[armorguy]

That Normandy Tiger you did in the past looks killer Bill !

[wbill76]

Jan 27, 2016 5:04:10 GMT -5 armorguy said:

That Normandy Tiger you did in the past looks killer Bill !

Thanks Guy! It was a fun challenge particularly with the camo scheme.

[armorguy]

Jan 27, 2016 11:11:10 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Jan 27, 2016 5:04:10 GMT -5 armorguy said:

That Normandy Tiger you did in the past looks killer Bill !

Thanks Guy! It was a fun challenge particularly with the camo scheme.

It's the camo scheme I like so much, it's perfectly executed.


T

[wbill76]

One of the inevitable conditions of a 'thrown-together' kit like these Cyberhobby combinations vs. a 'purpose designed' kit is that while all of the necessary elements are there, they weren't all designed to work together as a whole kit. This introduces some little discrepancies along the way but nothing that isn't insurmountable...but you do have to watch out for them. A couple of them popped up today while I was working on getting the hull together. More on that below.

First order of business was getting the glacis and front plate ready to go. The instructions would have you install the glacis plate first and then add the hull top with the front plate already attached to it in Step 13. That not only produces an inaccurate layout, it's impossible to do as the glacis rests on top of a shelf at the base of the front plate and not the other way around. After looking at the reference pics, I decided to remove the left side front fender but left the right one in place since I can't be sure if it was or wasn't attached. I also added the Atak zim panels using a combination of Gator Grip Thin Blend glue and liquid glue run around the edges after the panels were in place to lock everything down. Squadron white putty helped fill in some small gaps and I removed a small section on the front plate with some curved scissors to simulate some chipping damage to the zim. F13 is pretty beat-up in the photos and while I won't be showing it as a knocked out vehicle, some of the wear and tear it's sporting will be included. The PE parts for the ball MG cover are mislabelled as M4 when they are actually M40 on the fret.



While that set, I added the engine bay details for the hull interior. The radiator tops and hoses can't be installed without interfering with the hull top, so they were left off. I will also be posing the rear deck hatches closed so I didn't bother with the PE details there either. There just needs to be something there through the grating as once the PE screens are added and it's all painted, visibility into the interior is near zero.



The hull nose plates received their zim panels as well and the glacis and front plate were installed permanently into position. I didn't apply glue to the sides of the front plate where they mate up with the hull sides just yet as they needed to be able to flex a bit to match up with the hull roof.



Speaking of that, the roof was added next. I started at the front and worked my way back to the rear. Liquid glue was run into the seams and a combination of finger pressure and light use of compression clamps got it together. I had to be careful at the front as too much pressure from the clamps would cause the roof to bulge upward, not a good thing!



One the roof was set, the clamps came off and I had to fix a couple of spots on either side with some Squadron White putty. The alignment of the cleaning rod holders on the roof plate doesn't match up with the notches on the hull because these come from two different kits.



That will get a chance to set solid overnight and tomorrow I'll work on the rear hull plate and possibly also the side panels if time permits.

[dierk]

Nice progress! I can sort of understand fit problems on some of the older Russian kits where you get a mix and match of sprues, but wouldn't expect it from Dragon/Cyberhobby which are not what I would call cheap. Doing a good job with it though!

[Leon]

Nice work on the zim panels and seeing this buttoned up Bill!

[wbill76]

Jan 28, 2016 18:42:23 GMT -5 dierk said:

Nice progress! I can sort of understand fit problems on some of the older Russian kits where you get a mix and match of sprues, but wouldn't expect it from Dragon/Cyberhobby which are not what I would call cheap. Doing a good job with it though!

Cyberhobby white-box kits were always marketed as 'OEM' kits with some added parts or features to create a 'special' vehicle/kit etc. as opposed to a fully designed kit like you would see with the Dragon regular releases, so that's a factor. Ordinarily when Dragon uses or reuses similar sprues across a family of kits it's not a big deal, but with the white-box there's more chance of slight misfits or things not being quite designed to work together 100%. Nothing catastrophic or show-stopping by any stretch!

Leon, thanks as always my fried!