Well, here goes my first blog. This is something that I've wanted to do for some time now.
I decided to goe with Tamiyas Tiger 1 Kit #35216. It comes with an Aber turned aluminum barrel and an Aber PE detail sheet.
I also picked up a set of Fruilmodel tracks and a Verlinden figure set to man the turret.



For reference I am using Osprey's Vanguard Series: Tiger I Heavy Tank 1942-45, Steve Zaloga's The Eastern Front Armour Camouflage and Markings, the rather old History of World Wars: German Tanks 1939-45, Various web sites, and of course the vast knowledge I will find here at armorama.com. I also just recieved in the mail a copy of Tiger Tank Owner's Workshop Manual by David Fletcher, David Wiley, and Mike Hayton.



Tomorrow I will being posting photos of the build so far which includes the lower hull, road wheels, and some rolled steel texturing.

Thanks for lookign!,

Dan

Hey Dan, Thank you for your service.

Now, quick! ... Copy the image addresses from your full-size gallery images and not from the thumbnails. HTH.

If you have questions about the configuration of the Tiger that you're modelling, I may be able to provide inconvenient answers.

David

Mike,
thanks for the tip. I'll give it a go right now.





David,
I most certainly will! Thank you.

There we go! Finally !

Dan, there is a little tv screen bellow the URL code, click on that and copy and paste the resulting HTML code where you want your pics to show, hope that helps sir

Had some delays but, here we go.

Construction of the upper hull started. Filled in most of the locator holes and added some steel texturing with a small cutter bit in a Dremel tool. Does anyone have any recommendations for a turned metal MG34 barrel? After braking the MG34 barrel that came with the kit along with a Dragon one from the spares box, trying to open the end, I've decided to just go with a turned metal one.
Here are some pics. The steel texturing is hard to see but will be more evident with some paint and a wash.

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8497.JPG

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8495.JPG

Turret construction started. Basically at the same point as the upper hull. The texturing still hard to see.

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8490.JPG

Lower hull and suspension. Talk about a lot of road wheels! I've never built a Tiger 1 before and this quite a shock. Assembly was pretty straight forward. I applied a base coat of XF63 German Grey on the hull tub road wheels, lightening the paint with Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan only on the outer most road wheels. The rubber was painted with craft store acrylic flat black. This stuff’s bad. It covered beautifully and left no brush strokes. Just add a little water and add some Vallejo slo-dry. When dry, it actually looks more like a dark grey. Then came a filter of Cobalt blue and another of raw umber 24 hours later, then sealed with Vallejo satin varnish. Next came a pin wash of raw umber mixed with a little black. I started the weathering by applying MMP, Mig, and AK pigments dry and stumping them with a wide brush dampened with Turpinoid. I usually add pigments towards the end but was working on this at my job and forgot my airbrush tools and cleaning kit. So, out of boredom, I experimented a little. My next step is weathering with AK Interactive enamel products, something new for me.

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8486.JPG

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8485.JPG

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8484.JPG

Well, that's it for now. I know it's not much yet but please let me know what you think.

Dan

I made weld seams on the hull periscope guards by stretching sprue over a candle until very thin, gluing it with liquid cement, and texturing with the tip of a hobby knife. I really like the way these turned out.

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8498.JPG

Dan

Nice but you may want to back off on the "texturing." These are rolled-armor plates and seem to have pretty smooth surfaces. I did a quick google image search to double check myself before posting and it seems to bare out my belief. Try this link:
http://militarymodels.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Tiger-I-53.jpg

Also for spare mg, Aber makes a good armor-jacketed MG for the hull spot. Adlers Nest also makes good MG barrels but may be hard to find. Go to the Perth Military Modeling site for a review of MG34 barrels.
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/mg34/mg34.htm

That review is only for the regular mg barrels but will at least give you an idea of the companies making them. I believe Aber also makes the short version of the barrel tip for the coax gun in the mantlet.

Dominic,
I see what you mean about rolled steel. I've been looking at some close up pics and think I need to fill a little back in.
Thanks for the PMM link, it definitely set me in the right direction.

Dan

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/500/IMG_8498.JPG
Here's thepick of the periscope guard weld seams.

Here is a site you may find useful

http://tiger1.info/models/products-page/TAM35216

Thanks, Josh. Very good stuff.

Dan