Hi Phil,
Another great camo job. Difficult to say which green infill I prefer until all the washes and weathering is done. As it stands at the moment, I think the darker green looks more pleasing to the eye.. It'll be interesting to see if that changes later.
Keep up the good Tiger work..

Grant.

hi phil,
i'm new here but i have followed your tiger 1 projects from the start. the tiger1 is also one of my favorites. just want to compliment you on the beautiful work that you
do with these big cats.

respectfuly yours

nick morgan

Hi Phil.I have a question for ya.I of course have the P.E. that came with the Dragon kit, and I finally recieved the Voyager P.E sets for the Tiger 1 as well. The Voyager set is great, except for the tool clamps.How in the world do you assemble these little buggers? They are much harder and more difficult than the other P.E from other manufacturers. Is there a trick to it? Some technique I have missed? I love the look of them but man are they difficult to get together, even with a high power magnifier! Especially the smaller size. Anyhow, on the Tiger "twins" I like the darker green. Thanks once again for any advice you have to offer up.Chris

Great work!
I like the comparisons of all the things, which can be seen on the first several pages.
Also it´s good, to see the "handmade"/applied Zimmerit-covering and the different tools.

greetings...
Soeren

Good evening everyone and all!

Hello Pawel, how are you and the family doing? These Tigers quite demanding little beggars, the hue of green for the fill is an interesting juxtapose eh? I'm wondering if it is intended to be a representation of a dilute 'olivgrun' over a solid white numeral, or 'a green fill with a white 'knock down'? Still it's a nice comparison of views.

Hi Grant! You are right about the luminescent qualities of that 'lime green'. I was a bit shocked at first with the lurid tone of the fill, but as you say, the filters and washes etc, should knock some of the fight out of them. After this '213' has got to have 'pink' numeral fills eh?

Welcome on-board Nick! Always glad to see another Tiger buddy along for this road march!

How are you doin' Chris? Sounds like your getting a bad case of 'clamp fever', the Voyager clamps are a bit fiddly (then all of the AM manufacturers offerings are! ) but a little easier than Dragons, on this build I have used Griffon's version of the late clamp, not much easier though. I tend to use a small pair of smooth jaw flat pliers and tweezers, a magnifying light, and copious amounts of tea! I'll try and do a comparative SBS on the various brands, they are all in the AM war chest. Also over on Model Armour, a fine modeller by the name of 'Jay Tillot' did an excellent SBS on the Lion Roar clamp assembly (not to dissimilar from voyagers). He makes it look so easy. I always make up a load of the pests and choose the neatest ones.

Hello and welcome, Soeren, thanks for your kind words of encouragement. This saga has mutated a bit over time eh? Though I do have a few more comparisons of materials, AM parts and techniques to add for the next Tigers up!


Right then before I forget... Balkenkreuz! After the trouble with the kit decals deforming slightly on the OOB #6383's deeply moulded hull zimmerit, I thought I would try a different angle with a waterslide decal, before moving onto a dry transfer and painted stencils on the next two kitties.

First I found a suitable donor set of decals with a larger Balkenkreuz, and cut it down a little. A touch was taken from the vertical bar top and bottom, with around a third cut off each horizontal arm.



Then the previously 'satin sealed' hull area for the decal was given a coat of MicroSet, and the butchered decal was applied, then given a liberal coating of MicroSol.



After a few minutes the softened decal was pushed,poked, teased and cajoled into the surface texture of the kits moulded zimmerit... Et voila!



It looks a darn site better than the last on eh?



Right then 'a filterin' we go!

Thanks once again for keeping tabs on me, back real soon. Phil.

Phil Sorry be out of action ,far to long. The RAF have been having far to much fun and body parts are littered all over the Vire-chanedolle area Nice to see the posse spruces Miniart are getting loads better. Alot to take in on the paint job? Colour modulation looks great, especially under the different lighting. Your Camo has come out picture perfect! Have to give the whole painting section on 121 much more of a look, to much to take in and its late, just done 8 12 hrs on a blast furnace. Tired but rich eyes Holding on to Route Natinale 158 by the skin of our teeth . Geraint out

What can I say Phil, another outstanding Tiger. You definitely have an eye for the details and it shows in your models. The camo scheme is killer, I'll have to try that type of scheme one of these days.
Looking forward to seeing the weathering.

Keep up the awesome work phil.

Rob

Morning folks! How are you all fairin' ?

Hello Geraint! Sounds like you have been having a 'blast', good to see you back, how are you maintaining or dismantling that thar furnace? The 'sub modulation' is still there but very subtle, if you look closely you can see the tonal variation on the basecoat areas, such as the barrel, rommelkiste, roof and deck areas... Definitely worth further meddling!

Hi Rob! Is that house finished yet! Manual labour is keeping me busy at the moment as the career mutates further! You should see the state of my hands! How are the 'T' twins coming along? Thanks for keeping tabs, I need a prod every now and again. The weathering... Well funny you should ask!

The filters for the zimmerit areas have been applied, using a straight 'Sin' filter from Mig Productions: P242 Tan for Tritonal Camo, then before the dot filters on the un-pasted armour plates and sheet metal parts, a pin wash to accentuate some of the recessed details and textures was applied in stages, this was done with a light pre wash of Mig thinners for washes, before a heavily thinned mix of '502 Abteilung' oil colours Abt090 Industrial earth, Abt092 German Ochre, and a little Humbrol Flat Black. This being run into the desired area with a fine detail brush.






As you can see the 'lime green' fill on the turrets numerals is not 'shouting' as much with the filter over it, yet it has not been swamped and killed with a muddy film.

Okay I guess a little 'Dot filtering' is called for now, for all those delicious streaks and stains!

Back real soon... Phil.

Hi Phil. The psychadelic green on 121 looks great, to be honest I much prefer it to the darker green on 112 looking forward to PINK. After studying the Mod paint job a bit more I love it The Rotbrun and Olivergrun has come out great, good old Tamiya! I've just started Overlord by Mr Hastings, so I'm hope'n to find out a little more about II nd company 1st SS Been Rebuilding the Blast at Port Talbort so lets hope the future is bright ( Glowing to speak) Nice one, really do like what you've done with the camo on 121 much more striking than 112 (not taking nothing from 112 mind you) LOL Geraint

PHIL
your tiger is realey looking awesome. the way you build and weather is true art in
balanceing your models. can't wait to see the finnished tiger. i would also like to
complement all the modelers on armorama on their work and help to others, i'm
44 years old, and always learning somthing from this site. a real class act.

respectfuly yours
NICK MORGAN

Hi, I rebuilded may old Tamiya Tiger. This site inspirated me for zimmerit.
I send here fotos, i waited your comments.
Tihis my first zimmerit, next Time i think better.





And with my home made tool for zimmerit


Thx and sorry my poor english

Hello you patient folks! One thing and another has kept me away from the workbench, but I have managed to schedule a bit of time for the next few weeks!

Hi Geraint! Hows tricks? A little question? Did you get the books you were after? Give us a shout and I'll see what I can do... The paler green fill on the Bison decals is growing on me as the weathering starts to tone down the effect of is lurid hue! On the images of the 1st Kompanie vehicles, often the fill appears quite light in tone, but that could just be an effect of the fill colour being painted over white perhaps, as is the case of 131 whilst stopped in Morgny.

Hello again Nick! Thanks for the kind words, I think the thing with modelling is that each project brings forward new challenges and a thirst for trying out new techniques. On this site and other, I am constantly amazed by the wealth and quality of the talent out there. I often feel a bit out of my depth when surrounded by such artisans, every blog holds a plethora of tips, tricks and knowledge, that match most modelling manuals. Wetworks? Is the username taken from that excellent comic book of a few years ago?

Szervusztok és üdvözli to this mania Norbert! You are more than welcome, and believe me, your English is fine, I applaud anyone who writes and speaks in another language... My knowledge of Hungarian is minimal, so your writing this message in Hungarian would be a nigh impossible feat for me.
Thanks for sharing your zimmerited Tamiya Tiger, here also Norbert, that depiction of the pattern will look great with a coat of paint and a camo job, keep us all updated on the progress. Any particular 2nd Kompanie Tiger in mind?

Right just a brief update on the weathering for '121' I have given the road wheels, drive sprockets and idlers a pin wash of Humbrol Matt Black 33, and Dark rust Abteilung oil colour, thinned with Mig thinner for washes, this has really brought out the surface detail, and accentuated the different primer colours behind the base coat.


Next up is the random dot filters, this is done with a multitude of oil colours, basically whatever fit the bill in regards to tone and shade, that will warm or cool the look of the Tiger.
I tend to apply the dots of oil colour within their tonal range on the tri-tonal camo, rather than totally randomly, greens on green, yellows on yellow etc.



These are applied onto the area, that has been previously 'primed' with alight dampening of thinner, before being blended in with a clean thinner dampened brush.
Downward strokes for the angled or vertical planes, and dabbing motions for the horizontal plates.




And there we go gents, randomish dot filter! Here is where we are with '121' before the next stage of weathering.





Okay it's bedtime here, so thanks for keeping tabs, see you all soon. Phil.

Hey Phil.
Hows things? I am making some progress and have actually closed up the hull of 007 and working feverishly on the rear end detail, fenders and such and will soon move to upper hull details, tool clips and the like.And then finish up all that through the hatches detail for the turrett.I have taken some pics and hope to post some when all done.Hope all is well.I have a question. I noticed on the 2nd from last pic above on the rear end, you have your starter plate upside down from the way I have mine attached.I am now wondering have I attached mine wrong, or does it matter? I am guessing that it could be attached either way.Not being picky mind you, just wondering if I have made a mistake on this part.Well hope to see more soon, until then, Chris F.

Hello again one and all!
Right back to the bench! Quiet summer who was I kidding!

Hi Chris! It shouldn't really matter as to which way the starter adapter plate is mounted on it's stowage pillars, it was probably more of an issue as to it's orientation when being used. I'll fish out a few images of the plate, stowed in both fashions.
Sounds like you are really putting a lot of yourself into your Tigers Chris, I can't wait to see them, those Verlinden interiors are excellent hole fillers eh?

Some more subtle filters and pin washes have been applied, I am gradually building up the tones, and trying not to over darken any of the lightened areas. I really am not a fan of swamping the zimmerit with dark washes, and prefer it to be accentuated by highlights rather than deep recessed shadow.



Okay, the exhaust shrouds have been attached now, with a little 'minor' denting. These were undercoated in red oxide auto primer, then an application of hairspray was applied into and around the edges, creases and dents. After the base coat of Dunkelgelb, and the camo layers of Rotbraun, and Olivgrun. They were ran under the tap and treated to a bit of abuse with a stiffish brush... And tadah! Stressed flaking paint effect.




As mentioned a while ago, I was looking at comparing different AM, on the builds. For the tracks on this particular Tiger, I have chosen the excellent Masterclub offering, I was introduced to these by my good friend Grant Hall, and have invested in a few sets now for future builds, beyond these Tigers. They are fully workable, very crisply cast, have minimal clean up, no flash, and go together relatively quickly considering each track has two short pins that after a little drilling secure the links together. Not dissimilar to Friulmodels method, and not as painful!



Well that's it for this post, back real soon, with the next stages. Thanks for looking in on this thread.

Phil.

Looking good Phil..
How many links per side did you need? I can't remember the exact number from the last time I used them, but do remember it was quite close to the referenced 99.
I'm really looking forward to the final dust and dirt weathering, especially to see what the contrast is between the two paint makers tones.
Cheers, Grant.

Hi Phil, me too looking forward to seeing 121 dusted up and comparing the two. With different paint types I'm wondering how different it will look to 112. Those Resin tracks look great How much better do you think they will sit compared to the DS offerings on 112 Later geraint

It doesn't matter how you stow that plate.

For more superdetailing fun, read this.

David,
good to talk to ya again.I had e-mailed you about 007,some time ago.Thanks for helping out so much. I think that I speak for all of us Tiger fans, when I say it would be most difficult to build an accurate Tiger with out you.I really appreciate it.Thanks again.

Phil, yeah I would say I am putting alot of myself into building this Tiger. Blood , sweat and tears.Mostly blood.(darn x-actos)Anyhow, I am at least finally starting to make some good progress.Talk to ya real soon, Chris

Phil,

Great looking build and looking forward to the finish.

Now that you're at the point of building and painting the tracks I was wondering if you could do us all a favor. Could you take some shots with the DS Styrene tracks on the model and give us a bit of info about them. I would like to hear a different opinion on how they lay for dead tracks and how to attach them for realistic sag. Also would like some comparitive pictures between the DS tracks and the individual links.

Thanks!

As a newbie on this forum, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the time and effort you are taking to do this WIP. I've learned so much from this thread and I know that all of the photographs and descriptions, not to mention the replies to all of the questions, take a great deal of time -- time that could be spent modeling. So ... thank you so much. Oh yeah ... your Tiger rocks!

JB

Please NEVER EVER delete the pictures in this thread!

Thomas

Hello out there!

How are you doing Grant? Thanks for the compliments, more so thank you again for the excellent MasterClub tracks, they are the business mate! I have got 95 links in each track at the moment, as I have not yet fixed the idlers, and was just going to see what was needed to complete the track with the idler at mid point.
On the paint front, it is very interesting to see the subtle variations in tone for the Dunkelgelb, Olivgrun and Rotbraun, between Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya, the Gunze Dunkelgelb has a slightly 'blue' cast to it wheras the Tamiya is moreto the 'red' end of the pallete, so to speak. It's a choice between Lifecolour and Vallejo for the next Tiger! I'm going to need a little advice with the Lifecolour set, as I have never used this paint system before, and have seen a few horror stories posted recently!

Hi Geraint! What are you up to fella? Hello Joe and welcome onboard! On the DS 'V's' separate track links front, it does all depend on 'sag' really doesn't it? Whilst the DS tracks stand miles apart from any other band/belt type track in terms of detail and glue-ability, they just don't have the same look when on as workable single links do. Even if you glue the track onto the 3rd/4th roadwheel after the drive sprocket the sag effect is never quite right, one way around this would be to use an old 'Shep Paine' trick and use 'beheaded' dress-making pins inserted into the hull side that push the track down a little more into a more defined sag... Perhaps will have to demonstrate this!

Hello there David, thank you for finding the time to drop by and keep me 'honest', I have not yet fitted the wingnuts on the front and rear fenders or the barrel cleaning rod/cable clamps yet as I tend to 'overhandle' when painting and weathering. The shape of the wingnuts on your drawings, really show up the limitations of PE ones eh? Perhaps resin or Injecton moulded replacements with a conical base would look better maybe? I have been returning to 'Hummel '411' on and off, nearly got the partial interior in, then it should not be too far from painting. I'll update you on my progress soon.

Hi Chris! You sound mouth wateringly close to paint now mate! Really looking forward to seeing them. Did you manage-to get the 'look' you were after on the Turret zimmerit?

Hello and welcome JB! Nice to have you along! If it's anything to do with Tigers then it's a pleasure, if it helps anyone, then that's fantastic. I am a bit overwhelmed really at the amount of interest that my frustration and subsequent 'educational' journey has generated as it slowly rolls on. Tanks to you all for the support!

Hi there Thomas! Glad to have you on board! Don't worry about the images, I have only used 1% of my allocated storage on Photobucket so far, and will endeavour to fill up the rest. I will have to organise a viewable folder/album link to my collection soon! Much in the Vein of Dennis Trowbridge's excellent collections.

Right then back to the styrene! Whilst '121' gets some rough treatment, with some minor 'scratching and scuffing, and letting the oils dry thoroughly... I think that this could be the time to move into the full build phase of '213' (or perhaps this Tiger should be '233' or '234'! More on that later in the thread)
Below you are the components that make up this Tiger:



As you can see there is a touch of 'brass overkill' on this beastie, some very kind folk out there, have enabled me to put together some mouthwatering AM additions for this classy big cat.
The main body of the PE is ABER, sets #35 A10(Front and back fenders) #35 A12(Side fenders, and exhaust shroud) #35 A20 (German clamps and clasps, no excuse not to do an SBS on these now eh Chris?) and #35 L-63 Tank MG 34 machine guns as well as #35 A02 (2m antennae) We also have some delicious looking 'Adlers Nest' Track pins (10pcs) #ANM-35012, these really have to be seen to be believed! Then we have got a set of Friulmodel Tiger 1 late tracks #ATL-06, and to compliment the acknowledged leader in the AM track market... The apparently best Towing cables for the Tiger 'Karaya'. So there you have it, lets see how it all goes together then!

Once again thanks for the support and kind words, see you all real soon... Phil

hi phil,

your tigers are looking awsome. you asked about wetworks, it's a name used by
the cia or mi5 or 6 to describe a certain skill. sometimes they're called mechanics,
fixers,or just plain assasins.sorry i could not get back to you sooner but hunting season is starting here in idaho, and big game hunting is my other love besides armor modeling. glue on tiger wizard !

respectfuly yours nick morgan

Ever get tired of building tigers?

HiPhil.
You have done an outstanding job on your Tigers.I think when you finally get 'em all done you should load this thread on a cd and sell it!I know I would buy a copy.Anyhow yes I am getting closer to paint.I am have having a slow go putting on the tools and tiny clamps,but making progress.I did get the zimm on the turret looking good to my eye.I used a slightly smaller gear from the same blind I got the larger one.To me this is somewhere in between the pattern you depicted and a tad smaller pattern.To my eye it just looked better to me.Don't know what you might think about it ,but it is the same criss cross, slightly mashed type just not quite as far apart on the spacing.I also got a set of the Fruil tracks for this one.Love 'em!Well, can't wait to see the next one in your series get going.Looks like you will be adding a bunch of PE. Will the torsion bars hold the weight of all that brass?
Chris F.