here is my tiger 1 the first armour model i have ever created and it was a good one at that. i would like some constructional criticism on this so that i can get better at my skills. sorry for the horrible pics im an amature.

tiger 1

sorry i am having techinical difficulty. im also new to this kinda thing.

Now, it looks like a good clean build. I do notice that the S Mine throwers appear to be upside down. But I think pretty good for your first kit. Go back and paint the tools, cables, MG's, etc. Then you just need to do a little weathering. Do a search, and look for washes and drybrushing. All the answers you need are here on this site. Good luck.

Patrick

Are the white areas in the camouflage scheme meant to be something slapped on by the crew in the field? If not, you need to touch it up a bit, coz the base colour's showing through in places. Weathering & washing will be a good idea too as the cam pattern hides the tank's lines a bit too well!

Graeme,

Please take the following 'criticism' as constructive, to help you improve your models.

It looks like you did not paint the model in a base color, but painted the white camouflage straight over the plastic. You really have to paint your whole model in a base color, in case of the early prod. Tiger that would likely be Dark Grey (Panzergrau). Then you should add the camouflage on top of that.
The wheels on the right side are not in line, some are lifted right of the tracks. This would be fine if you put it on some rough ground work, to show the suspension following the terrain, but in the photo's it looks like they were not lined up properly.
Partrick is right, the smoke dischargers (at the front of the turret) are facing downwards, but they must face angeled up.
The decals are not positioned straight, especialy the cross on the hullside.

On a positive note, your white camouflage is on the right track. It shows very well the sometimes quickly improvised way in which the crews would apply their camo.

Please don't take this the wrong way, your first tank looks better than my first attempt, which I have been trying to forget about for many years.. . I I remember right, it was painted in a bright gloss blue colour, as that was they only colour I had at the time.. :-) .

Use this as a learning curve, start the painting again or start your next model and use everything you learn/find out to improve your next model. We all learn something new each time we build a new kit, that's part of the hobby. And remember that here on Armora all critique is meant in a positive way to help.

Cheers
Henk

Well we have all been there,building are first model.
Graeme am sure theres alot of people on armorama that would be willing to help you improve your modeling skills,am no expert my self but if you need any help what so ever ill be willing to give you any advice to take you to the next level.
Well done and i hope you keep building models,as its a dam good hobbie.
cheers karl

Graeme,

In general, it looks like you had a good build for your first AFV. I particularly like what you did with the barrel. I myself am just new back into modeling since last year. I can tell you that you will learn new things quickly with each kit you build and the more you look around on Armorama or magazines like Fine Scale Modeler. Good luck and nice job for your first shot!

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=ka12219

May I suggest you obtain this book? I think the info contained within is a good primer for beginning model builders.

I'm guessing you are about the same age as I was when I started building models.....and I didn't even look at the instructions! You can guess what mine looked like! :-)
Send me your address in a PM Graeme, and I'll send you a copy of 'Military Vehicle Modelling' by Phil Greenwood, It will help you improve your skills quickly along with the friendly advice from this site.

Vinnie

well thx everybody i am happy to have this critisism and am happy some thaught this to be a good first build! well the paint was a horrible job and it was just slapped on for some looks i have since painted the hole tank in new colours and also put zimmeret but have just learned in horror that early prods. didn't have it but it was still a new thing. and i have beeen building more models i have a king tiger on teh table and have a small vignette to be posted in the ner future. so thanks alot and vinnie my email is [email protected] and i will also send it in a pm if you dont get this