Hi Phil. Nice to see 112 nearly done, its been a great ride. She looks "GREAT" as another tiger used to say. Like the way its been used but not abused, you can tell its not seen combat. One question, I notice the MG hasn't been included. Which MG did they use for AA the turret or hull MG? I'm thinking the turret but not 100%. Looking forward to the rest of the Ambush, keep up the hard work. Really appreciate the effort, Geraint

Spectacular!

Hello again everybody! Thanks for the compliments Dave, Geraint and Jon, she is starting to look the part now eh? This layered weathering gives it a 'nice' complexion, a bit like expensive cosmetics really!
Ahh! Now here's an old chestnut. Geraint this question of which MG was used for the AA ring mount on the commanders cupola! The official line was that the co-axial MG was to be used for this purpose... But I imagine that the continual threat of 'Jabo' attack in the Normandy theatre of operations meant almost constant use of an AA weapon to be in situ, when in transit or harbour/bivouac. The s.SS.Pz.-Abt.101 can be seen on their passage through Morgny on route to the front, in march order with all Tigers sporting an MG mounted on the cupola. Now in such transit situations, it would be probable to use the co-axial MG... But after reaching the frontal area of operations, I think it would be more probable for a AA MG, bow MG and co-axial mounted MG to be ready for any situation, rather than removing either from their mounting cradles within the Tank. Though when looking at images of Tigers in Normandy with an AA mounted MG the cooling jacket/sleeve doesn't appear to be the more ventilated Infantry type for sustained fire. Though these crews were well drilled and could probably whip, strip and refit in seconds... So unfortunately we can never be fully sure of the definitive either or! Maybe Herbert could chip in here?
Right onto some mud, yet again. With the amount of travelling these beasts did through the dusty, muddy highroads, lanes and fields of Normandy in the changeable conditions, of June 1944, I'm going for the many light layers effect.
Firstly a little rotational splatter of light thin puddle mud for the road-wheels. This was mixed with MIG pigments and white Conte pastel (ground very finely) mixed with Vallejo thinner and Vallejo satin varnish. This was applied in a 'splatter' method by airbrush and a 'slurry' loaded brush. A mask was fashioned from a piece of scrap PVC with a spare road-wheel for a template.


Right that's about it for the road-wheels, maybe the odd hub lubricant leak, and a light dusting of pigment when in situ on it's base.
Next a little attention to the exhaust shrouds, just to liven them up a bit, and make this often badly treated part of the Tiger 1 look more 'utilized'.
MIG productions range of rust pigments were lightly and randomly dotted on the battered areas of the sheet steel shroud (with the fresh rust sparingly being used on the freshest chips and gouges) all applied on a streaky wash of thinner, before being 'dragged' down with a wide water colour brush, dampened with thinner.

After this has dried, it can then be masked with 'Humbrol Maskol' liquid masking solution, and masking tape in a hap-hazard fashion, trying to imitate the dry band of mud and dirt midway up the shroud, where the muffler doesn't have the heat shielding effect of the armoured exhaust cover to deflect the immense heat of the overworked Maybach from the thin sheet plate of the shrouds.


Then when dry (you can dry it with a blast from the airbrush, this can actually add to the reverse 'splatter' effect we are aiming for) carefully aim your 'dry mud mix' at the area where the driest muck would be.


And when dry you can remove you mask, carefully!

Now I have paid a visit to the kind folks over on the MIG forums, thank you gents! And have been given a little bit more of an insight into fine tuning the weathering and environment detailing of this Tiger. So with that in mind a little wet puddle mud has been applied to the rear fenders and lower hull, to break the flat muddy monotony that it was threatening to become. MIG's Europe Dust was mixed with MIG's Acrylic Resin, and Vallejo satin varnish, then dabbed onto the edges of the fenders and profile of the lower hull, and splashed to suit with intermittent blasts from the airbrush once again.

Now we just need to glue the hull roof to the hull, after the bow MG is in place, wire up the Bosch headlight, weather up the turret spare track links a little more, some deposits of dust on the horizontal areas that would collect a fair deposit... And Rob's bootprints. And finally we can get onto another Tiger eh?
Okay back tomorow sometime, take care... Phil

Hi Phil,
You're pulling out all the stops on this one, well worth all the effort though. It's already looking brilliant.

Phil. When I 1st seen the exchaust shrouds I thought they looked a little one dimentional, how niave. Know looking at them and the rear mudguards, Wow! Also a nice use of masking on the wheels, I agree alittle grease leeking from the hubs would cream 112. Forwad the rest of this Tiger Fest. Thanks for all the little tips, been a great adventure in the land of the Tiger. Your Friend Geraint

That's one dirty kitty Phil. You make it look so easy, knowing me I would spatter the entire tank with mud. This Tiger is looking better and better each post. Keep up the awesome work dude I've enjoyed the SBS.

Rob

Hi ya Phil
Sorry I'm really really late on this one.
What an outstanding and informative piece of work.
I've just spent the afternoon going through from the begining and it was time well spent.
I'll definitely be reffering to this when I get round to doing a Tiger.

Jurgs.

Hello out there! Sorry for any visual inactivity (one thing and another you know!) I have been playing with the 'dusting' and filters along with all those final smaller parts, that can get lost or swamped when 'extreme' weathering! Rob knows what I mean... It really is difficult to stop dipping the brush in 'pigment slurry' and blasting it on with the airbrush eh?

I finally 'dug' up this aerial image of some big cats in Normandy (though I am quite sure that they are all Panthers! Though the original caption stated Tigers and Panthers) As you can plainly see these kitties caused havoc on the grazing pastures of Normandy, though in images from later in the campaign, the drier weather appears to soften the effects of all those hefty claw marks, and perhaps because the carnivorous cats were very near extinction in August eh? From this image the amount of terrain removed by the tracks is immense, probably due to the changeable conditions in the early part of June '44' you can tell it's going to rain on this shot... Because the dairy cattle in the bottom right-hand corner are lying down! And if you were a crewman of one of these big cats, you would surely be hoping the pilot/observser mistook you for an agricultural vehicle eh?

Hi Grant! It has been quite a lot of fun bringing this Tiger out of it's shell! Not sure what the comparison to the others will be, but I have give it a good go, with all the tips, techniques, advice and stuff everybody has contributed to this kitty!
Hi Geraint! thanks for the faith in me mate! I did sculpt quite a big chunk out of each of the shrouds, to depict a little bit of careless driving, but as the painting process went on these became a lot shallower than first realised... Ah well, we can move on to PE shrouds next, they really 'ding up' well!
And Welcome aboard Jurgs, you can stand on the engine deck anytime mate... Though I expect that you have a comfy bucket seat waiting in that beauty you have lurking in your garage eh! Thanks for dropping by, great to hear from you.
Right I'll go and see if those pigments and washes are dry...

Cheers Phil.

Hello again! Right then... The final filters and the last coat of pigments are dry, though putting the pigments very lightly to give the idea of many light washed layers is quite time consuming. I don't think it would look quite right if I just washed with a fixer and dumped some pigment into the recessed contours and crannies really! The turret spare track links look a bit flat... So a little more work on these, the now applied towing U-hooks/shackles need a bit of attention with some darker chipping and metallizing. The exhaust assemblies need some soot adding, and also those footprints and boot scrapes. Anything else?
Okay this is where we are up to tonight!




One little note of caution from fitting the parts omitted earlier, due to the failing torsion bars, is the armoured conduit for the Bosch headlight... Because of the increased depth of the glacis plate, it's a bit of a trickier fit than in the previous DML Tiger 1 Late Production offerings, so be careful people! I think the old fuse wire will be on hand for the next #6383.
Okay that's that for this evening, thanks for looking in... Phil.

as i stated many times before, simply stunning.

Wow, that is just beyond amazing. Stunning work.

Hello there folks! Well I have manged to find the workbench again! And have been able to give this kitty a few moments of my time.
I have used some of Gunze Sangyo's 'Soot' H343 heavily thinned to build up some deposits on the rear or the engine deck, and given the fume exit vents on the muzzle break a light touch of soot also.
A little more very feint scratch marks have been added to the 'crew used' areas on the hull roof and turret roof.
Then a fine dusting of Tamiya Buff XF-57 thinned 30-70 with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner X20-A around the hull roof's nooks and crannies and around the lower portion of the turret and mantlet.
A couple of roadwheels were chosen to be victim of a seal failure, and were treated to a thinned random 'dripping splatter' of Gunze Sangyo's 'Oil' H342. I didn't want to overly depict this, as this big cat was lost early on in the campaign.
The hull was then lightly dusted with a soft brush, with Mig Productions 'Pigment' Dry Mud P232, once again lightly applied into the darkest recesses.
The top of the muffler stack assembly was very lightly dappled with some Mig Productions Light Rust P024.
I think that brings us about, to the end of this Tigers current WIP/Blog's showcase slot? It will receive a little more attention in relation to settled dust from the displaced road surface of the N175... When this is done! I will SBS the RTV footprints, but I am not going to place them on the Tiger till they are close to basing.







So 98.5% there then? Thanks to 'Alfa' and Jon for your kind words of appreciation, it really does drive me onwards... So the next question I hear you ask... Is what's up next?
Well I suppose that it should be the 'modded' #6383, so we will return to the original focus of this comparison blog eh? Right I'll just nip into the Tiger Factory and get the bit's we need then... See you on the 'morrow.

Thanks for stopping by. Phil.

Herr appleyard
Very well done on tiger No 1, how many are there left to go now i've lost count.
Tiger mania eh....................
neil.

Excellent finish Phil. It all looks great but the rear end is especially outstanding.
Can't wait to see it on the dusty road with the rest of the 'Ambush'..

magnificent job Phil, it was a pleasure following this build from start to finish. I agree with vanhall, the rear looks the best, has to be the dirt and mud. You also conquered the dreaded zimmerit weathering.
One thing left to do Phil...turn it into a wreck now.

OK what's up next, how about a mid production Tiger !!!That's my favorite Tiger one version by the way. What ever your building will look great and I'll be watching buddy.

Rob

Hi Phil,

It surely was a great build; I learned a lot from your expert handling of this kit. I hope mine Tiger will look half as good as this one does. I will certainly keep track of your work as long as you are willing to share it with us. Again....great work

Greetings,

Martin

Looking good so far!
So I followed your advice and bought the #6406 kit.Now what do you recommend:
AFV/Lion roar or tamiya zimmerit applicator?
And what tracks?

I know that you don't like milliput but I started to really enjoy it as I'm having no difficulties in shaping it.

You really gave me a push back in the WW2 AFV world...

Hi everybody, thank you Neil,Grant, and Rob
[quote/] I agree with vanhall, the rear looks the best, has to be the dirt and mud. You also conquered the dreaded zimmerit weathering.
One thing left to do Phil...turn it into a wreck now.

OK what's up next, how about a mid production Tiger !!!That's my favorite Tiger one version by the way. What ever your building will look great and I'll be watching buddy.

Rob
[/quote]
Yeah the mud effects were very rewarding and forgiving! Using the Airbrush and mixing the shades allows an amazing effect, also manipulating the levels of dry mud with matt mediums and wet with gloss and satin gives it all a realistic depth, definately worth investigating further... The Ostfront would be perfect, Vanhall's range of alliterative pigments springs to mind!
As to wrecking this one, I'll leave it as it is... But you certainely have stirred my imagination Rob, along with Dragon releasing the Pz.IV Ausf H, a more detailed version of '112' would sit really well next to a wrecked Panzer Lehr mkIV eh? Though I'd have to brush up on my Pz.IV knowledge!
Those new DML M3 half tracks look like they would benefit from an 88mm refit also!
Hi Martin, thanks for your interest in this, really appreciated, the next one should hit the blog tonight sometime.
Hello Paul! How are you? I'm glad to see you enjoying Milliput, in reality it does have a few more benefits than the Tamiya Epoxy, being water soluble... It's just that I'm really messy with it! For applicators I'd go for the Lion Roar offering, as it has more options for the Doe's available, giving you a wider range of patterns you can simulate, plus the supply some in 1/48!
Tracks... Well Grant put me onto the resin MasterClub ones, these are fully working with less work needed than the Friulmodel's excellent white metal ones, though the weight of these does give something 'extra'! Both really nice track sets, I have not fully explored AFV club's sets yet... But will soon!
Well here's something that came to my attention! A set of decals from the excellent Bison Decals, for the s.SS.Pz.-Abt.101 in Normandy, these are amazing. and also relate back to a little tree shaking over the unit's Tactical Markings and Turret Numeral colour option for the Tigers in the campaign.



Wow eh? (I like the pink numerals! Hehe)These will be used on the next Tiger up on the list '121' the #6383 modded, I am putting together the build componants now, and am approaching it is as... Well there is room in the box with the AM/style parts not included, but with a mind back to #6253 that everybody fell in love with(the box art did it for me before even opening it up! ) and what DML could do to appease the growing tension and excitement due to the last few dissapointments at the Early Tiger 1 not being included in the releases but being given camio's in the 2008 and 2009 catalouges
Right I'll go and get busy, with the boxes and photographical stuff!

Cheers for following this stuff! Phil.

Good morrow folks!
Right here is the compiled DML and AM components for the build of '121' #6383 DML Tiger 1 Late Production Mit Zimmerit.

The majority of the PE and the turned barrel comes from DML's #6253 Tiger 1 Late Production 3-1 Kit
With the rear fenders coming from the Voyager range of Tiger 1 DML detail sets, The turned brass barrel cleaning rods, track pulling cable and heavy towing cables are from Voyager also.
Paints... Good old Tamiya: Dark Yellow XF-60, Red Brown XF-64 and Olive Green XF-58, it should be interesting to compare the finished tones against the '112' #6383's Gunze Sangyo's shades! It look like the other two Tigers can fight it out for which paint will adorn their hides, Vallejo or Lifecolour.
Righto then away to my shadowy corner, out with the sharp things, and hello Tamiya extra thin! It's back to building time! Yaaaay!

Back later... Phil.

Looking at the Bison decals "paint guide" I wouldn't put too much faith in that, seeing as how from one to the other, the only differences are that the Oliv Grun and Rot Braun colors are switched, but the camo'd areas are the same.

Anyhoo, this will I guess for a while stand as one of THE best and informative Zimmerit application threads.

That's a dazzling über-Tiger-packet you've put together there Phil...
What tracks is '121' going to wearing? Metal, resin or styrene?

Outstanding! Those rose colored numerals will look marvy

Hello out there! Not much going on this end, a little 'rot oxiding' and cleaning up, and the 'eldests' 18Th extravaganza!
Hi Herbert! Are you all settled in the Kastle Ackerman's now? I know what you mean about the generic camo pattern, on some of the plates, still it's a good guide for the feel of a scheme... Though '131's looks a very tasty pattern to replicate eh? Now if only we had a DML mid Tiger to play with! And thank you for your interest and liking of this madness, makes me feel a 'bit' more sane!
Hi Grant! That's probably why Dragon would go bust, if I had any input into filling the Tigers boxes! You'd probably have to find a carton the size your Trumpeter 1/16 KT's came in.
Hi again Steven! Glad your still enjoying this saga!
Well bask to the fray... And back again real soon. Phil.

Hi again! It's me
Well lets try something a little different with this one on the priming front, in relation to manipulating the basecoat, in order to represent the differing materials used, and to depict the shadowed regions, in a starker manner! This could be fun? Don't fret, I have experimented with it already, and it's just a take on pre-shading... The idea is to give highlighted and shadowed contrasts from the out set of painting rather than adding major shading and pre-shading prior to the following paint coats.

Pre-shading prior to the red oxide primer and ivory interior colours.

A lick of white for the turret interior, maybe some chipping, washes and filters to follow?


SKA Two-Tone roadwheels, the black primer on the previous Tiger #6383 OOB was a bit of a pain to lighten without giving it white saturated coats of Dark Yellow. So I have primered the outer roadwheels, sprockets, and idlers in white, to make it a bit easier this time.

The turret roof has been primered white also, as this would really catch the afternoon Normandy summer sun.

One of a few things that I forgot to make a point of last time on the #6383 OOB, is that the mounting posts for the starter guide plate on the rear hull plate, need to be shortened by 1mm in order to correctly depict the adapter plate stowed.

David Byrden gives an extensive detail and correction tweak/fix list on his excellent.
http://tiger1.info/models/products/DR6253.html
I have also primered the turned barrel black, and the mantlet sleeve and muzzle brake white... Just for the hell of it! In reality I was thinking of an unpainted barrel perhaps?.. It's all the rage you know!
Looks like a bit more building is in order... So it's back to the cutting mat!

Cheers for dropping by! Phil

Hi Phil.
Super excellent work on these Tigers! I too have decided to dive into the fray. I am hoping to model #221 as well. I have seen the zimm pattern for 221 and understand it is the larger one(window blind gear).I am however having trouble with a couple of areas.Would you happen to have any reference showing the front and rear markings placement? I am wondering if the markings are placed like on #112, with the zimm cleared off or otherwise? I certainly don't mean to hi jack the thread , but thought this would be the best place to find ya! Can you please help me? Pretty please with a Tiger on it! I am moving along with this build and following along with you but I am stuck on the areas I mentioned. Thanks so much for starting this thread. I have already learned much. Chris