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

[Hinksy]

Oct 6, 2012 14:39:02 GMT -5 spud said:

Very Nice Ben

Thanks Spud!

Have you received them decals yet btw? I posted them mid last week?

Ben

[spud]

Not yet maybe Monday or Tuesday. i just got done cleaning all the parts for the suspension, I taught German tanks were bad

[bbd468]

Looking great Ben! Makes my mouth water to build one!

Gary

[wbill76]

Barrel and shackles look the part Ben, nice progress!

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys!

Spud - I didn't know you were planning on building that Firefly straight away. The PE fenders build up beautifully! In the right hands they can be made to look stunning. In my case I had to have some assistance!

I have the postage receipt here so I hope they turn up tomorrow! They went first class.

Ben

[bigjohn]

Looks great so far Ben, I started this same kit with a build thread here on MSC, but I havn't gotten very far yet. Maybe your build will get me back in the mood to work on mine again.

[spud]

Haha Ben i couldn't resist it ;D

[406 Silverado]

Keep coming back to this and the one by Andy. Something about these gray colored Dragon kits...very addictive you know. Looks like we may both be ready for painting at the same time.

[modelfreak72]

Coming along very nicely Ben!

[johnt]

Hi Ben, got to love a Tiger! Good to hear that the kit is going together nicely, should be a beauty!

Cheers
JT

[wing_nut]

That's some Sierra Hotel stuff Ben. Gonna be a beauty.

[Hinksy]

Good evening folks,

I've been building all afternoon and have a stonking headache so I'll keep the update brief - it's nothing a good meal and a cup of Tea won't sort cure!

The basic build is now pretty much complete. I'll be thinking about wheels next weekend and getting them sorted and then onto paint. I'm going to post a few photos showing progress from today and then I have a question or two concerning the Tiger I in general and a couple re my build.

Today the turret has been completed (minus the PE padlocks for the Turret stowage bin lids). The Cupola is on along with the turret hatches - all exposed handles have been replaced with Brass rod of the same diameter. I think I'm going to make up the escape hatch at the back of the turret so it just sits slighty open showing the Ivory colour interior around the edges of the doors and door frame to add a little splash of colour.

I've fitted the little spiky things that the spare track links for the sides of the turret will sit on - I still have the top parts that hold the links from the top to fit. I need to mark out the area on the turret where the links will sit (5 links on the left side and 2 on the right) as I'm going to leave the two small areas free of cammo and have it painted with Dunky only. Looking at photos that seems to have been done where the crew have field applied cammo and obviously gone round the link covered area.







QUESTIONS:

Below: This was how I was going to have the final build looking. I was going to have two or three empty cases on the rear engine deck as if they'd been chucked out of the escape/reloading hatch. I was just going to add some black pigment to show they'd been fired, like a rifle cartridge.

Is this a realistic scenario - this could easily have happened I'm assuming?



Below: What is this MC1 item that the instructions would have me put on the front Glacis? I'm not sure what the heck this is? Have I got the right piece? Is it needed? As you can see I have placed it on the top corner of the bottom photo - it's like a grill thingy?





Question: The clear transparent plastic convoy light tube - most modellers shw it as being Blue but I've just seen a link showing details on these and it was actually GREEN? What colour to use?

I'll be using a Humbrol Clear Cote colour to paint it after the basecoat is on - what about the periscope lenses too? Blue?

Question: I might fit an MG to the Cupola. Should it be an MG34 or 42? I'm assuming it would have a round, side mount magazine fitted and not a bullet belt trailing from it?

Thanks guys - I hope you like her so far,

Have a good week,

Ben

[406 Silverado]

Looks good Ben.
As for question 1. Looks to be a filler piece of Zimerit that goes over the joint where the two plates meet. At least in what I can see of that piece.
Next questions. yes you can place the shells on the rear deck. These can often be seen on the deck and especially lying on the ground next to the tracks.
I'd go with the MG 34 not the 42. The 34 was a lighter mg and you most often see this on Panther, Tiger
and PZ IV tanks.
Going by that link here on MSC and the image, it looks to be a very dark green almost black. Tamiya has a dark green-grayish black, can't remember the exact color ad number. Simply mix green,gray and black to get a close match.

Hope this helps.

[wbill76]

Ben,

MC1 is a piece of zim to cover the join between the hull nose and the glacis plate. Since the kit has zim molded on but those two parts are separate...DML provides the PE piece to cover this join area since on the real vehicle it would've been covered by zim. As for the rear convoy light, I'd use something like Tamiya Clear Green. Periscope lenses should be left in clear...they are standard prism-type periscopes and so didn't have any special color or tint to them. If you add a touch of silver to the back side of the periscope before painting, it will provide the hint of a reflective look to the periscope face. For the MG fitted to the cupola, an extra MG was not provided for that purpose and one of the existing MG34s (either the hull gun or the coaxial turret gun) would be mounted there...so go for an MG34 and not a 42. It used the same "gurtsacke" ammo container as the internal MGs and not a drum or belt. I think you're fine with the empty shell cases on the rear deck idea. HTH and nice progress!

[Hinksy]

Cheers Bill,

That makes sense now as I couldn't work out it's odd shape but I'm thinking a bit of Milliput would do the job better? What do you think buddy? Would you use the PE item? Are you supposed to just stick it on and paint over it?

Cheers buddy,

Ben :-)

[406 Silverado]

LOL we both answered at the same time. Bill was a bit more detailed in the answers than I was, that's why we have him here.

[danb.]

Wow ben the tiger is really looking good keep it up buddy

Dan B

[Hinksy]

Oct 7, 2012 13:57:10 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Looks good Ben.
As for question 1. Looks to be a filler piece of Zimerit that goes over the joint where the two plates meet. At least in what I can see of that piece.
Next questions. yes you can place the shells on the rear deck. These can often be seen on the deck and especially lying on the ground next to the tracks.
I'd go with the MG 34 not the 42. The 34 was a lighter mg and you most often see this on Panther, Tiger
and PZ IV tanks.
Going by that link here on MSC and the image, it looks to be a very dark green almost black. Tamiya has a dark green-grayish black, can't remember the exact color ad number. Simply mix green,gray and black to get a close match.

Hope this helps.

Hi Rob,

Sorry buddy I didn't see your reply - I thought Bill's was the first and that went onto a new page.

Thanks for the comments and feedback chaps!

Should I paint the shell casings a Brass colour or use them as they are? I mean, the scale cases I have are made of Brass anyway!

Also, what about the other shells - I've seen some that have a Parkerised/gun metal coloured shell case?

Cheers guys,

Ben

Ben

[deafpanzer]

Holy cow! Tiger is looking real good and it is almost ready to be painted next!

[bbrowniii]

Hey Ben-sky

First, let me apologize for screwing up your name for so long. I should have noticed. Mea culpa.

Second, let me echo the comments - this build of yours is looking sharp! Keep it up!

[Hinksy]

Oct 7, 2012 20:31:13 GMT -5 bbrowniii said:

Hey Ben-sky

First, let me apologize for screwing up your name for so long. I should have noticed. Mea culpa.

Second, let me echo the comments - this build of yours is looking sharp! Keep it up!

Hey Brownii,

It matters not my friend! I was only jesting - it happens on any forum I visit! Thanks for the comments on my build - talk about a quick assembly!

I'm now thinking about paint - and the shed load of wheels to clean up too

Cheers fellas,

Hinsky

[406 Silverado]

Boyd your not the only one bro, I always said it that way myself...sorry Ben.

I leave them the brass color and will maybe dull coat them to tone the shine down. yes I think some casings were a steel or aluminum color, different type of round used. I am sure others will chime in who know better.

[wbill76]

Ben,

Totally up to you as to wheter to use the PE piece or make your own bit of zim...I guess it would boil down to time and effort vs. how well the PE piece matches up with the molded-on zim of the existing pieces as to which way I would go personally. As to your question on the shell casings, leaving them in their natural brass is the simplest solution...just be careful to avoid finger prints on them when you place them on the finished model...nothing says "hand of god" like a giant out-of-scale fingerprint! ;D

As a frame of reference, later war casings were usually parkerized steel and not brass but the brass just looks cooler IMHO and I usually just leave them in brass out of artistic/personal tastes. Some casings such as those used on the Nashorn and KT have also surfaced that showed a grass-green lacquer finish over the parkerized steel so there's lots of options when going that route. HTH!

[bbd468]

Lookin' forward to paint Ben...great build my man!!!

Gary

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

Update for yesterday (Saturday 13th October 2012):

I've been in the office for a lot of the day today and with the second Saturday of the month group meeting to go to shortly I've not managed to do much - but I've made progress all the same!

Today I've sorted out the wheels, test-fitted them and took photos then put them on sticks for airbrushing next weekend. I'll also be basecoating the main build next week as the weekend is all mine!

I haven't fitted the side track guards yet. Annoyingly, Dragon have moulded them in one very neat length with detail showing the four parts that make up the entire length.

I can't find my super fine razor saw so I'm taking this kit and the box with me tonight to our group meeting (MAFVA Leicester Modellers) to get the view of the lads and some guidance on the best way to sort these track guards. I thought about using a razor saw butIn the end we ended up slicing the panel lines with a fresh scalpel blade then shaving the edges very thin and then used pliers to gently add bends at the corners.

Todays Update (Sunday 14th October 2012):

I did the left side last night (under Alan's watchful gaze) and I did the right side this afternoon. The right side we said to leave looking intact and pretty unblemished but decided to take a chunk out of the middle of the left side as if it had taken a good dink. I might show some Zim damage around that area too - either way I'm VERY happy with the outcome.

After that all I had left to do was sort these Track Guards and then sort the tiny PE padlock clasps for the turret bin. The guards are now done and I'll be hoping to get the PE sorted today and if it takes ages I'll finish them off next Saturday. I want to get one made and fitted and learn from that first one then hopefully rattle off the remainder in quick time!

Photos:







Ready for painting:



Track Guards as they came:



Track Guards after chopping, bending and fitting:









I hope you like it so far guys - as you can see it really makes a MASSIVE difference just doing little thing like this to track guards. 30 minutes work and a huge improvement!

Hopefully my next update will be showing some assembled PE padlock clasps!

Cheers guys,

Ben

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

Following on from my earlier post showing the track guards now they have been fitted I'm going to make a post showing the final build 'naked' as I'll be starting painting next week.

I seriously attempted the PE clasps but they were beyond me but I did my best - I had to leave off the padlocks as I was getting in a mess!

The PE Zim strip up-front is also in place - I've just realised I should have actually thought about lining up the Zim lines but hey ho!

Photos:

I tried my best but REALLY found these hard. They aren't the best and the padlocks were so small my eyes hurt but once painted up I think they'll look just fine





This stuff is great for PE work with tiny objects. It's a CA based glue for sticking on false nails - just make sure you buy one with a brush and not a dropper bottle. It takes longer to set than usual CA allowing fine adjustment of PE parts:



Cheers guys,

Paint starts next weekend!

Ben

[spud]

very cool ben nice to see your at paint

[bbd468]

Great build Ben and nice tip on the glue!

Gary

[Hinksy]

Hello lads,

I've had a really long and busy week at work and couldn't wait to get cracking with my Tiggy this afternoon!

All that remained prior to painting was to get the turret track link mounts fitted to the turret exterior. The whole build has been primed and in another attempt to get the pre-shade method to work I pre-shaded some panel lines in a very random fashion. On the one occasion I managed to get it to work I'd laid down solid well defined lines and they looked 'unnatural' so I'm trying some thicker lines to see how it looks.

I've tried this technique on nearly every one of my last few builds without success - I always hit it just that bit too hard with one stroke of the ab too many but I'm getting the hang of it.

You'll probably notice the lines doing down the turret roof sloping from the top down to the mantlet - I know there's no panel lines there but I read a great article the other day where a Tiger I was painted like this with shading down the sloping roof section and the effect was brilliant! Subtle but brilliant!

The wheels have all been primed and are ready for paint too.

I'm going to use my usual Tamiya 50/50 mix of Dark Yellow and Deck Tan for the Dunkelgelb basecoat.

I'm really getting into my Vallejo paints at the minute and their Model Air range is superb. I've bought several shades including their own shades of 'Rotbraun and 'Olivgrun' called Tank Brown and German Panzer Green (or something similar) respectively. It is far more easily sprayed, doesn't clog or spatter and will lend itself to the required cammo scheme very well. I'd like to find out a good Model Air Dunky Combo? It's too greenish on it's own but I don't know what other shade to add to it to lighten it up? A Deck-Tan type light shade obviously but Model Air!

I now have my Friuls (Tiger I Late Version) so after painting the basecoat tomorrow I'm going to make up the Lion Roar tow-cables then start on the Friuls. Cammo starts next weekend!











Hopefully I'll have a Tiger with a perfect Dunky Basecoat to show you tomorrow!

Take care guys,

Ben

[TRM]

Clean work there Ben!! Nice job on the pre-shading!!! Waiting to see some paint fly!!! ;D