David,

After looking at the images I have, I believe you are right!

Anyways Steve, I will post some images from Trojca and 1 from PANZERWRECKS 6 (last image). I don't know if you have seen these, or have seen these many times, but maybe there is one you can use.

Some people don't really care for the Trojca books, and I have found some identification error's, but if you can sift through them, they have a good wealth of photos. As always, the PANZERWRECKS series is really good too!

Most of those interior photos show the Bovington Museum Tiger and they were taken during the British investigation of it. They're available from the Tank Museum and in numerous books.

The Tiger in the last photo is probably one of the V-series prototypes, and is being shot to bits in 1945 as you can watch on Youtube.

David

Thanks for the clarification David!

It seems late war interior images are harder to come by than expected.

Looking at the features of the tank, the chassis has to be either "V1" or 250001.
I notice it has the unexplained vertical slots in the side armour panels at front and rear. A Japanese magazine once suggested they were signs of an internal structure. We can see here that there's nothing inside them.

David

Good to know David, thought that last one looked odd for any of the 'Tigers'. VK series is much more believable.

Great progress Steven. Loving the build so far.

Hello Everyone,

Its been a little time since my last post, I became burnt out on the Tiger for a few weeks and decided to take a break. Well I am back and I have been working on the radio equipment.

The radio set is from Aber set AB35A79 which consists of the Fu-5 and two Fu-2 radio sets as well as the rig to secure it within the tank. It is a great set but should only be undertaken by someone with lots of experience with soldering as there are some really small parts.

Most of what you are looking at has been soldered, however I did glue several small components. The problem is that soldering one component into a structure held together by solder risks the whole thing falling apart.



Here is the frame for the radios. you can also see a morse key and a intercom switch box.



And the radio sets within that frame. The front of the radios are not secured in place as they will need significant additions.







These are images of the general construction of the radio sets. It took two weeks to get this far and was not an easy build. Next I will have to prime everything and then install the radios in the frame before final painting.

Oh one last thing, the frame does not fit into the tiger by about 5mm. This is a massive fail. I will have to substantially modify the top of the hull and the gearbox.

Thanks for looking

S

Hello Steven,

Great update man! Just brilliant work from you again.

I will admit, if i were a wealthy man, i would fly to your location a pay you a small fortune for you to teach me your method, tips and tricks on soldering....your a genius at it Steven...no doubt!

Gary

P.S. What would you Charge?

Hello Gary,

Thanks for the comment, I am suprisingly inexpensive as the wife often comments!

This post is to let you know that I am back working on the Tiger, over Christmas I decided to complete a number of other projects that have been unfinished for years including a T-62 (I actually copied Gary's excellent build log and paint scheme )

I have fixed the radio issue and will post more regular updates as soon as I can !

Thanks

Steven

Good to see this one back on track again Steven .... thats some serious soldering for the radios and rack. Top notch.

Agreed, really impressive Steven. Glad you're back at it.

LOL ......well you set a price and ill quadruple the amount...now common winning lottery ticket!!!!!

Gary

Hello Everyone,

I have been working on completing the gearbox and while there is still much to go I thought I would show you an update of my progress.

I have installed the Radio's into the rack and glued it to the top of the gearbox. In the real Tiger it would have been attached to the roof rather than the gearbox, but it would have been rather problematic in my build.

The ABER radio is a little oversized, it is a few millimeters too wide, this is a real shame. Note the orientation of the radio rack, it is not straight, this is to allow the airflow from the top of the tank from the air ventilator placed between the drivers and radio operators hatches.

















The last image is of the front of the hull in place, thankfully the gearbox now fits into the hull.

On one last pic of the T-62 that I completed.



Thanks for looking

Steven

The T-62 looks great Steven.

Steven,
They both look Great!

Cheers Rob.

Steven,

You are in pretty deep! What fuel is this going to run on when you are done?


Amazing work. Have you thought about how you will display the model. It might be kind of neat to have a large display of the exploded sub assemblies with everything clearly visible.

I must admit that I love these workshops I sit comfortably in first place and I support.

Astounding!...I don't think that anything could beat the complicity of this build other than building the actual 1:1 beast.It just absolutely boggles the senses at the detail and attention to detail that you are showing.....I have this one bookmarked for sure.Keep it going and keep up the fantastic work.

Mike

Looks very convincing and complete. The interior is spot on. Should be drivable when done. Maybe you can get an Umpa Loompa to drive?
J

Dude,your interiors are just fantastic,I remember the Panzer II,cant wait to see this one done.

Steven, just finished reading through your build thread. Outstanding craftsmanship and attention to detail that few modelers I've seen here, on other sites, and in person can come close to your skill level. Your radio rack is a perfect example
of what I've alluded to.

Your T-62 looks like a real winner.

Joel

Hello Everyone,

Thanks first of all for the kind comments!

Mark, I am planning on making the top of the hull and turret removable, so I will be able to see 95% of the model when it is completed. Exploded sub-assemblies would compromise the model.

Jerry, I have a young driver training programme:



I have been working on components in the front of the hull but first a hull fit check





Everything seems fine.











I have added the drivers chair rest as the Verlinden kit one was laughable. I have put in place the break, accelerator and clutch. The brass plate over the torion bars was added to prevent the drivers hob-nailed boots damaging the bar.

The handbreak was made from styrine and brass rod and I added a protective cover protecting the radio operators foot from the moving shock absorber.

Thanks for looking

Steven

That looks much better than the oob interior. You really nailed the reinforcements.

Keeps getting better and better. I always wanted to do this with a PanzerIV and in fact,started it as an exploaded version. Kind of got lost in the shuffle though.
Your driver in training looks like he can handle a challenge. Maybe by the tim he is old enough this fine model will be finished?
J

Thanks for the comments Matt, Jerry.

Jerry, I hope that the Tiger will be completed by the summer, I have lots still to do but the lower hull is almost there. My little driver will be 1 by then.

Then I will begin a new project, probably a Tamyia T-55A with CMK Engine and Interior, metal tracks and a whole load of PE Replacements and upgrades from ABER. That will be my first Non-German WW2 build log.

I have added the steering arms to the model which I will show in the next update, but as I look at the Drivers chair it seems a little short, and is not quite right so I will be removing it and rebuilding it. Its a shame but needs to be redone.

S