Hi Guys!

I'm looking for your input.
I haven't been scale modelling for 10 years or more.
Not enough time, too messy etc.
But I still like models, that never goes away, so what I do every now and then is buy a good ready to go model.
Last December I saw a 1:18 scale panzer grey Tiger at Wal-Mart. I bought it and later found out that it was a 1944 late model. I immedialty knew it had to be dark yellow.
Then I found out, here on Armorama that it also HAD to have Zimmerit!
I couldn't stand it. I stripped the whole thing and rebuilt it.
It brought me right back to scale modelling full on. I bought all the necessities; airbrush, Dremel tool, compressor, paint and what have you!
Anyway, I am approaching the end of the project now, but still a few things might be done to improve or do better a next time. Can you please critisize?
Bear in mind I am rusty at my skills, never done Zimmerit before, so, don't do a "Simon Cowell" on me
Anyway, here are the pics!
Hope to hear from you !

Frans

Looks pretty good from here. You might want to paint the rolling surfaces of your wheel a steel color or rust if the tannks been sitting a couple days.

That looks nice mate!

You could make the end of the barrel (muzzle break?) a little black....also the turret still looks a bit glossy on the last pic! Maybe it's the pic, but check it out to be sure

I like your zim and camo, great job!

Martin

I thought about doing this too when I saw this in our WalMart store. Now I really want to!! Nice job!! I could be wrong but I believe I have seen a Sherman in this scale from these guys too. Doesn't someone make a 1/16 german markings decal sheet? I wonder if a 1/16 scale crew would look a tiny bit large. S&T makes some nice looking riders in resin. I have always wanted to do a large scale Tiger but didn't want to hand over the cash for it.

UPDATE: 21st Century site shows multiple shermans, a few M41's, a patton and a panther. Some are listed no longer available. Saw some really cheap on ebay in Motorworks packaging. Are they the same as 21st Century tanks?

Hi Guys!

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to look and give hints and tips! Great!
What more can I do? Pastels? Drybrushing?
What was inside the steel wheels? Rubber tires, or more steel?
Obviously I am not done yet, for the jack still needs to be attached, as well as all the tools and the MG-42 on the commanders cupola.

Martinnnnnnn, yes the muzzle brake needs to still be painted. I don't know if it was black, or just the dark yellow colour with cordite burns. Anyone?
And what about "kill rings"? How did that work in those days?
Yes, the hull is still glossy here and there. The wash did not take care of that. Hmm What is a good coat do make it dull again??

esc71:
My Tiger is indeed the "Motorworks" one. The 1st picture is the same tank, but I used someone else's picture online, because I didn't have a good pic of that phase.
Indeed it is the exact same tank as from 21st Century, the brand name is on the bottom of my tank, just sold under a different name.
And the latest addition from them is the Panzer IV.

A few years ago I got the 1:18 Panther G from 21st Century. I planned to make that my next project, but now I have seen how great 1:35 can be I'm not sure what to do. Mind you esc71, it is 1:18! Not 1:16!
And I DID buy a sheet with decals for my tiger online,
http://www.johns-stuff.com/pages/decals/division.html.
Mine is supposed to be the 101 SS Schwere Abteilung France 1944. Dragon recently came out with a 1/72nd scale Tiger and I simply copied the turret numbers and other decals (not to mention the type of camo)

Thanks again!!!!

Frans

Here's another pic of the latest state it is in. A frontal view

I'm aware of the scale. I was just thinking about putting a decent crew in it and wondering if the scale difference would be obvious. The 1/16 Tamiya figs look a bit smaller compared to some of the resin offerings in that scale. How far can this thing be dismantled? Completely? (without breaking parts)
The panther doesn't look as salvageable as the Tiger does. Keep us posted on progress.



Testors makes a spray dullcote available anywhere their small spray cans are sold. Any LHS should
have a few flat sprays too. As far as the muzzle goes, I just give it a shot of Humbrol gunmetal.

Nice job on the Tiger.

Can you describe you applied your zim?

SB

I found the Motorworks version of the Sherman on Ebay - at that price I'd rather buy a Dragon or Tamiya kit (albeit in a smaller size) and build the whole lot!

That Tiger looks awesome. Is that a plastic toy or a diecast metal toy you fixed up?

The scale was what interested me in this project. With a little scratchbuilding and some zimm and weathering you can have a decent looking large scale Tiger without have to pay hundreds of dollars for one. I have enough 1/35 kits needing built as it is. I don't know if I would try improving some of the other tanks offered by 21st Century but the Tiger can look nice. Just my opinion.

It seems the transmission housing lacks the prominent bolts that should be there (a err often made). Otherwise: looks great....

Hi Guys !

Thanks again for your input and interest on this topic.
To answer a few questions I saw in the thread, here goes:

esc71:
Most of this Tiger was easy to dismantle.
Some of it was not...when I was done, the engine compartment looked like a slaughterhouse on 1:18 scale. My blood from scraped fingers was all over.
At that time though, I did not have a Dremel tool that would have enabled me to easily cut certain parts.
The Panther seems similar, but I haven;t gotten that far yet. And as opposed to the Tiger, it is completely made out of plastic.

Salt 6:
I bought two component paste called "Zimm-it-rite"
from R&J Enterprises in Washington.
http://www.rjproducts.com/
I just smeared a thin layer over the appropriate places.
Here;s a picture of me working on it:

Sorry the text is in Dutch, but I customized a 99cent sculpt tool from Michaels.

Dave Cox:
I think you got a point there and I am contemplating the same. But I saw this tank and as you can read in my first message, I didn;t mean to do this at all initially.
But, if you want big scale, it is a cheaper way and they are relatively nicely detailed.

ShermiesRule:
The hull/deck of this Tiger is Die cast, the rest is all plastic.

Golikell:
Thanks man! I'll look more closely at Tiger pictures and will sure make an effort to correct that!


Thanks again guys !!!

Frans

Frans,
What did you use to strip the paint off of the metal deck?

Hi Esc71,

Removal of the paint on the metal was the easiest part.
I did it with "Paint stripper". Just like the tank, I bought it at Wal-Mart, but home depot and similar stores have it too, no doubt.
On my bottle it said "Metal stripper".
Should you come to use it, make absolutely sure that no plastic parts are touched with the stripper, cause it will eat it up!
Paint stripper is a gel-like substance and you apply it with a cheap brush.
Practically immediatly the paint starts to boil off. You can hear it bubble pop and crack!
Give it a few minutes and you can rinse the now completely bladdered and blistered paint right off with water.

Frans

Very cool, never saw one of those at WalMart before but then again I rarely go there. Do they still sell these and what's the price range, pretty awesome models!

It took me 5 Walmart stores to find one here. I have seen other forum posts on other sites that have mentioned seeing them on clearance but they are still full price here at $39.96. The last store I checked had 5 of them and a bunch of 1:18 M113's.

Thanks esc, will take a look at my local stores and see what they got. Might catch one on clearance.

There was a rubber insert between the wheel itself & the steel "tyre" which ran on the tracks. On a new vehicle you may have been able to see a black line running round inside the tyre, but on a vehicle that had seen any service at all, it was probably indistinguishable.
As far as the muzzle brake is concerned, should be painted same colour as the rest of the tank. Paint wore off in the bore, but note it should not be depicted as blackened unless the weapon is very worn or dirty, the passage of the shell left bright metal. This is a mistake I used to make.