Tiger II

[johnt]

Hi fellas

Can I show you my current build? After dabling with other subjects I came back to my first true love, that is armour. Namely the mighty Tiger!! How fearsome were these things in their day.





The tank I'm building is not so late, it will be a Sept 44 model with the common two piece tracks. The kit is pretty good but I had to change some things..can't help myself.

The weld around the commanders cupola was incorrect so I sanded it off:




I made lifting lugs for the exhaust guards by pressing stretched sprue against a heated metal object.




More photos to follow, see you again soon.

Cheers
JT

[bbd468]

Great start JT! By all means - show away!!! Luv the tip on the lug.

Gary

[johnt]

Here's some more photos.

The Griffon PE set is really good and comprehensive, but I'm only using it when neccessary.

The rear fenders for example are just the plastic ones thinned down at the edges:


I made some texture on the rolled steel plate using my rotary tool thingy:


I sanded off the burrs of plastic:


Then liquid glue was used to melt away any remaining rough bits.


The gun mantlet was given cast steel texture by softening it with liquid glue, then dabbing it with a stiff cut off brush. The seam on the side is stretched sprue, melted with more liquid glue and flattened down. Lots a lquid glue!


That's it for now, thanks for having a look!

Cheers
JT

[johnt]

Hi Gary, thanks for following!

Cheers
JT

[bigjohn]

Hey JT, Nice to see you posting your work here again!! Man I love King Tigers, so I'm all over this one.

Great start and very nice work with the details, I love the stretched sprue weld bead detail!!!! ;D

[spud]

Great start JT, this should be epic.

[wbill76]

Nice to see you back posting again JT and nice work so far on the KT! JT's KT...has a nice ring to it.

[406 Silverado]

ah the KT. Very nice work so far John. Been wanting to get a KT, been a few years since I last built one. How is this baby going together ? Usual Dragon Kit !!

[tobias5555]

That will become a great looking Kingtiger.

[danb.]

Nice start on the Tiger JT i like the different approach on the cast texture i use putty and liquid glue your way seems easier and faster i will be following this one closely as the KT is my favourite ww2 subject keep it coming buddy

Dan B

[johnt]

BJ, Spud, Bill, Rob, Tobias, Okaz, and Dan, thanks very much guys for you feedback! ;D

Hi Rob, it going together pretty sweetly, reminds me of the Dragon Jagdtiger in fact. Not a gazillion parts like some Dragon kits but the basics are good, the things I'm adding are really quite minor.

Thanks again guys!

Cheers
JT

[TRM]

Somehow I missed this one JT!!! Royal Tiggy Now we are talking !!!! You are moving along very nicely there!! Love the texture work...spot on!!! Getting my comfy chair and hanging out for a bit on this one!!!

[wing_nut]

Nice, real nice. Can't wait to try that texturing technique.

[Deleted]

Hiya JT,
Great progress, the King Tiger is a great AFV so it's no wonder its pulled you back to armour

[johnt]

Hi T, Wingnut, Steve and Nemo, great to have you along guys!

Here is another update. I've been making tool clamps, using Passion Models Jenny's Clamps for the first time. These are designed by Jenny Ryan an aussie friend of mine, I don't want to seem biased because of that but they are really good!



The clamps are different in that the pins are extra long, to make it easier to thread them through the lever holes.

This is how I made them, if you're interested:
1. Thread the top flap pins through the holes in the lever.

2. Glue the base of the tool clamp onto the model.

3. Thread the pins of the base through the other holes in the lever.



4. Use tweezers to close up the lever arms.

5. Cut back the pins. I left them a little long and bent them down.

6. Crikey I actually made a working tool clamp!! I should add that these are really small and still very fiddly to make, especially for a geriatric with poor eyesight like me

But I have made 8 so far and they are all workable.




More PE to do. Not my favourite job but it's almost done.

Cheers
JT

[spud]

Very cool jt

[406 Silverado]

Farkin sweet. Man this is looking fab John.

oh man I have to get some of those clasps. That is much easier than doing the ABer ones. Might have to order a couple of packs. Jenny came up with those...cool.

[TRM]

Looks like Jenny did well on those!! This is looking fantastic JT!!!

[bigjohn]

Nice clamps John,

I'm gonna have to pick up several sets my self!

The KT is looking sweet by the way!

[deafpanzer]

Your KT is really looking GOOD! I have to try those clasps one day. Have same kit in my stash so I am going to follow your build very closely.

[406 Silverado]

hm, now that you mention it John, it does have a lot in common with the JT. Just the right amount of parts without the 100-200 parts for the spares bin, construction is straight forward as well. One of those kits that will just fall together. A bit of tweaking here and there and you have a great looking model.
I'm waiting to see what you do with the painting.

[wbill76]

Nice work with the PE JT, looking good!

[wouter]

very neat update JT! Looks very good!

And I love that SBS on the clamps, they seem much easier to do than the Aber, Griffon Models, Voyager Models, etc. ones to assemble. Want to give them a try ^^

Cheers

[armorguy]

The tool clamps look superb ! And the how to (make a clamp) was very useful !

[johnt]

Many thanks fellas for your feedback!

I should add that usually I don't bother making tool clamps workable, I just glue them up closed with the tool inside, and paint the tool in place; much easier to make them that way. But this time I thought I would try painting the tools seperate, if I could get the clamps to work.

Hi Rob, yes the plastic went together quickly! It's the PE that slows me down. My least favourite part of this kit is the tracks, they're not workable and not as detailed as fruils, so I replaced them.

Cheers
JT

[AndyArgent.]

Nice one mate,you have two fine little diorama,s there to be proud of. The second one makes me feel cold just lookin at it.

[danb.]

I saw these new pics on FB earlier JT its looking freakin awesome i want another Kt now the bling is looking hot i dont think it needs paint looks good as it is!!!!!! lol

Dan B

[bbd468]

Man, the KT is lookin' sweet! Great SBS on the tool clamps - they are my arch nemesis.... ;D

Gary

[johnt]

Hi fellas, thanks for checking in. The assembly is complete (except the tracks), the photos:




And primer is on. I really like how a model looks in that first coat of paint, so neat and clean.




Righto soon the fun begins, provided... I don't screw it all up ;D

Cheers
JT

[martyncrowther.]

Hi John great build so far, I particularly like the surface texture you have achieved on the sides of the king tiger, roll on paint

Martyn