COMPLETED! Tiger I Ausf E c/w Zim (15.12.12)

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

I'm going to be building this great looking kit for a GB called 'Steel Cats' over on FSM (I hope I'm allowed to say that) but I'll be blogging on here all the same.

I've worked through the parts and instructions and have narrowed down the options of markings and paint to two or three - either Normandy or Italy. The Polish option looks good too.

I'll be using Friuls and an RB Barrel but otherwise it's all OOB. The Zim is moulded perfectly. It's moulded to look realistic - like it's been applied a bit haphazard and isn't totally uniform and neat like other Zim I've seen on some Dragon kits.

I was going to start today but had to work from home at the last minute today so I'm starting tomorrow - I have monday on holiday too so I'll still get my 2 days building in this week.

Box art:



Nicely moulded but realistic 'irregular' Zim on the turret wall:



PE for the intakes, a 2 metre RB Brass Antennae and a selection of Brass RB Tiger shell cases and separate projectiles. You can make up whole rounds but I was going to have the port door at the back of the turret open and a few spent cases littering the deck behind the turret:



I have this kit from Lion Roar which allows you to make up proper tow-cables. I was going to use these in place of the plastic ones that go on the deck - this looks awesome:



Some of the options for markings and decals that I'm trying to decide on:







Now, these scare me! Below is a section of the instructions where you are asked to make 4 x padlocks plus clasps to go on the rear turret bin! God - I thought tool clasps were small and fiddly!



So, I'll be starting tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm going for a fairly crisp, clean and lightly weathered look. My last build was a dust bucket and the one before that was a real mud bucket so I'm going to try and hold back on this.

I need to decide which of the five marking/decal options I'm going for before I start the build as next to eack option is the recommended part for where you get one of the arrows pointing each way giving you options to choose from. You can see these recommendation things in the photos.

I'd love to hear any options you have re the choice I should make. There's 5 tanks to choose from - is one a 'special' that is worth building over the others? The choices are shown at the bottom of this link:

www.dragon-models.com/html/6383-reviews-frank.htm

Update tomorrow!

Cheers guys,

Ben

[spud]

sweet looking forward to seeing this ben

[Hinksy]

Cheers Spud!

By the way, this is one of my favourite sites

www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html

It's dedicated solely to the Tiger I and makes for great research or just plain old good reading.

The photos are excellent too!

Ben

[Hinksy]

Cheers Chris :-)

[robbo]

Them clasps look like they're gonna be fun The zimm looks right nice

[dupes]

Hinksy? I know that guy!

Looking forward to this one.

[bbd468]

OH MAN....SWEET!!!! I love that kit Ben! Ill be watchin' this for sure. Im SOOOOO jealous right now! ;D ;D
Gary

[TRM]

Looking forward to it Ben!!! Nice pile of goodies there!! Count me in!!

[wbill76]

Should be a fun project Ben, looking forward to this one!

[bigjohn]

I'll be watching, reminds me that I started one a while back......

[deafpanzer]

Count me in! Definitely a fun one to watch.

You really want to know which camo scheme I like? Third one... hard edged camo seen in Italy! LOL But it will require more work so its your build!!!

I know you and you can handle PE clasps. You don't have to follow the stupid instructions from Dragon. Here's what I would have done...

1. Glue MA22 to the storage box by itself. That's the easy part!
2. Glue MA26 to MA6. Allow it to dry.
3. Glue MA16 to MA6.
4. Now you can glue MA6 to the hook MA22 which is already glued to box.
5. Then glue the loop into MA6 if you don't want to use the lock. I probably won't use locks. If you want locks, then do them first then you glue the loop at the very end.

[406 Silverado]

very cool Ben. Yeah those bin locks are scarry mmate. I have to do some as well and don't look forward to it.
I like that Italy paint scheme, shows lots of the base yellow which is great for weathering.

[Hinksy]

Cheers fellas - this should be sweeet!

You lot HAVE to look at some of them LionRoar tow cables. You get a big length of scale cable (really soft metal material so it will sit down flat anywhere) and the end goes right through the tube and then it goues around the eye abd back down inside the tube. You push the tube up and add a dab of CA into place then push the tube up over the base of the eye making a very nice cable. Good eh? There's enough to make 2 cables so I'll use them on the top deck of the Tiger to replace the plastic offerings.

Andy - "you know I can make tool clasps" eh? Bloody hell I nearly started crying trying to glue them tool clasp handles onto the Tamiya tools for my Pz II! I've ordered an optivisor already as I get mega headaches if I spend too long building small stuff - eye strain obviously.

Hopefully first update later on but I probably won't take pictures of an unpainted hull with suspension arms in place - we all know what they look like but I'll bring you all up-to-date. I'm on holiday tomorrow (SWEEEEEEEEET) so have a proper build day all to myself!

I too was taken by that hard-edged Italian Cammo and it only has the small number 1 on the turret. The other decals are HUGE and bright red or green and imo will detract from the rest of the build. I think that's the one lads!

Cheers chaps,

Ben :-)

[spud]

Hey Ben that's an Epic site. i must Resist the Temptation to build another Tiger for now

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys - this is going to be a cracking build!

Spud - you are in my power build a Tiger ;D

The instructions are very good and I really like the options. You need to choose which of the 5 marking options you want to build before starting work as sometimes when you come to a part of the instruction that has two opposite pointing arrows giving a choice of items you look at the tank you want to build to see if one of the two listed parts to choose from are on there - it's helped me already select the right type of drive sprockets to build my choice.

I decided on s.Pz.Abt.508, Italy 1944. It has a nice scheme that leaves the bulk of the basecoat Dunkelgelb basecoat visible and asks for just hard-edged 'slithers' of Olivgrun and Rotbraun. The main decal is a simple hollow '1' with a white outline. Most of the other schemes have huge red or green numbers that will detract from the build imo. As Mr Scratchmod said the lack of cammo and very visible yellow basecoat will definately help with the weathering too.

My 'Italian Job' Option (note the recommended parts listing)



I was looking at 2./s Pz.Abt.101, Normandy 1944 but didn't like the huge turret numbers and I preffered the Italian paint scheme:



My first bit of work - suspension arms in place and Drives and Idlers assembled - I decided to fit these last when I fit the roadwheels:





Apart from fitting the roadwheels that's sections 1-4 sorted. Tomorrow I have the day off but a lot to do but will get section 5 done where the rear fenders and exhausts & guards get fitted.

Cheers for looking guys - update tomorrow:

Ben

[spud]

Off to a great start Dan it is tempting to build my Tiger and see how we both build them... I will finish the styer before i decide on my next build ;D

[danb.]

Nice update Ben i will be following this one closely as this kit is on my wanted list this is going to look very special indeed

Dan B

[Hinksy]

Cheers Dan,

These new Dragon Tigers are a veritable treat to assemble! I built the 6600(?) Dragon Initial Production Leningrad Tiger I over Christmas just gone and that was a cracking build. With the Friuls and RB barrel in place it's damn heavy too!

Three questions Re my build:

•This is something that I have not seen before. There is a supplied 'engine heater' that can be fitted on the rear flat plate or you can use a blanking plate to cover the hole. What's that abour? It's like a small, hand-held gas blow torch thingy?
•I've also looked into the steel wheels - I've never used them before. The rims look fine but did they have any rubber on them? I read that they did and the stel rim was wrapped around it, covering the rubber. Is this true? If so, when painting the wheels, is any rubber visible?
•Would this tiger have red primer used on it?

Many thanks,

Ben

[TRM]

Hey Ben!!

Check this site: www.fprado.com/armorsite/tiger1.htm

Steel rims should not have any rubber on them...as far I know. There is a bunch of pictures of this variant (from what is documented on the site). Most if not all have rubber on the road wheels. The 4th picture down on the page does have an off type wheel on it. I would say that there was rubber still on these as well. Looking at the first wheel, I can just about make out the rubber edging. With that this would put these Tiggy's pre 1944. Check here: www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html

There is plenty of technical pictures on this link as well as the supporting information on this beast. I borrowed this picture from the site ,yes, they were all steel.

For discussion purposes only




As for the primer, I would go with the red oxide primer. Supporting documentation is outlined here: byrden.com/panzers/Colours/

As for the "Blow torch thingy" You may want to post a picture of this as it may help understand what it is. From the first link I posted here is a great 3d cut-a-way of this big girl...not sure if it helps...but it is pretty sweet!!! www.alanhamby.com/cutaway.shtml

;D

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

That blowtorch thing is crazy!

Due to a particularly busy day today I only had an hour to get up to where I needed to be - a nice section to start building from this coming weekend.

The exhaust stacks are on and were pretty simple but the 5 posts that make up the top of the exhaust were fiddly as hell.

This part of the instuctions call for the Jack, a 'C' hook and the rear cylinder convoy tube light to be fitted now but the as most of you know I like to paint and fit my tools later and the convoy cylinder is currently a transparent plastic piece that will go on at the end after being painted with transparent green.

The exhaust covers are on and now it's down to business!

The VERY fiddly towers atop the exhaust stacks:





Section 6 is what I got done today - section 7 switches onto the internal fan detail:



Thanks for looking guys,

Update at the weekend!

Ben

[wbill76]

Off and rolling Ben! The steel wheels had rubber inside the wheels but none exposed...so all metal to the eye as a result.

The blow-torch thingy is a cold-weather starter method for warming up the engine oil before cranking over the engine...it got awfully cold on the Eastern front and that was one way to ensure the engine didn't seize up from the cold.

[wouter]

Sept 23, 2012 18:39:42 GMT -5 TRM said:

Hey Ben!!

Steel rims should not have any rubber on them...as far I know.

well partially correct T ;D

On the outside there was no rubber visible indeed, but the steel wheels still had rubber: on the inside!...it was to save rubber which became scarce in the later stages of war. Since Germans liked long names the name for these wheels would be something like "Rubber Saving Steel Road Wheels" in the English version ;D

Cheers

[Hinksy]

Thats exactly why I asked if there would be any visible rubber - I'd read about the steel rims being put OVER the rubber and it was a question that had to be asked.

Cheers Bill & Wouter!

Ben

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

As you can see from my previous posts on this thread I have currently chosen the Italian Tiger #1 for my build but have NO idea how to EFFECTIVELY lay down that rather tricky hard edged cammo scheme. My cammo skills with anairbrush are getting better but these hard-edged schemes I find VERY difficult.

So far I have not used any parts that are unique to the Italian Tiger and if I cannot find a way to effectively lay down this scheme I fear I may have to move to a freehand cammo - the like seen on the Polish Tiger but I'd want to build one with Normandy markings. I'm not going to stick 100% to the painting layout but use it as more of a 'rough guide'

What suggestions can you put my way? Also, I have no idea what the top of the deck will look like. I can't find decent colour drawings from a 'birds-eye' view.

Thanks guys,

Ben

[406 Silverado]

Nice start Ben. I like the molded on Zin, beats doing your self.

[deafpanzer]

It is your build so you decide which scheme you want to paint. Like I stated earlier hard edged camo will require more work and I don't think I can achieve it by freehand only. I would use either silly putty or film tape... other schemes can be achieved by freehandedly with your skill.

Looking good... looks like I am not far behind you as I will be working on the mufflers and the rear tonight.

[bbd468]

Ben, your comin' right along on the build. The rubber/steel wheel info is new to me, thats great to know those details. OH those dreaded tool clamps!!! Ive been modeling 6 years now and have yet to successfully complete a single one. Ive had to fudge it for quite some time now....

Gary

[spud]

tool clamps are a pain in the ass for sure but im sure you will manage them,

[wbill76]

Ben,

FWIW, the camo pattern on the Tiger Is were all soft-edge, not hard-edge, so that gives you a little bit of leeway even with the complexity of the scheme.

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

It's good to know that it hasn't got to be mega hard-edged Bill so I reckon a bit of thought and perhaps a drawing of all 5 views (all the sides and top view) done by me prior to commmencing the painting will mean I can take it slowly and carefully.

You do have to admit though that the instructions would have you think the stipes were VERY hard edged!

I reckon the usual Blu-Tack and/or the Silly Putty that Andy sent to me will be fine.

I was thinking about picking up the new Lifecolour 'Late War German Cammo' paint set which looks damn good. Either that or the suitable Vallejo Model Air shades as that Model Air was great stuff to use on my recent Pz II. Not that I'll be painting for a while yet as there is a LONG way to go on this build before paint can even be considered!

Anyway, with this knowledge in hand I'll carry on with this scheme and the simple Italian Tiger I markings.

One VERY handy thing to have would be a top 'birds-eye view' of this sort of paint scheme. I've looked but without much look?

Can anyone assist?

I'll be posting an update tomorrow - I have the weekend to myself so I hope to get a good few hours build time in!

Cheers lads,

Ben