Hi guys, I just recived my DML late tiger and am wondering what version I should build.

I was thinking the Final...

What do you think?

Anthony, why build one? Get another two and build all 3! On a serious note, whichever version you choose, and I really don't have a preference, zimmerit needs to be added to make it accurate, which is a bit of a pain, so I haven't decided which way I'm going to build mine yet either. I think I'm waiting for somebody to come out with an AF zimmerit sheet!

Vinnie

I just got that kit too..There is something about that crows foot antenae that makes me think I'll be building it as a command tank ...

Rick

well to start did you pay for your model?i guess you did,so its up to you to make that decision.
i have not seen the 3 versions you can do,so i would go for the one that you can find the most infomation about.so if you have any Tiger reference books get going on your research or do a google and try and find all 3 Tigers and what battalions they come from.
if you find more info on one Tiger that has more pictures and more reference than the other 2 options try and stick to that.
i dont know if your going to use some sort of putty to do your zimmerit or like vinnie said wait till another zim sheet becomes available which might be some time,
but do look at the cavalier zimmerit.i used it on the AFV Tiger and it fits a treat.

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/cavalier/cavalier0130.htm

anyway what ever you decide have fun.


cheers karl

Well, I decided to do mine as the Command version - and I'm using the extra hull rear and all those extra mantlets (what's that kit got, 4 or 5?) to learn how to zim. So far I've been using a DAP spackle, and it's not a bit of fun trying to keep it sticking. I'll try putty next.

Lee, one thing you might want to try, (if you haven't already) give the parts you are "zimming" a light sanding just to rough them up a little bit. This gives the putty, spackle, or whatever you're using a little something to "grab" onto, and normally makes it stick much better.

Anthony, pick the one you like the most and build it.

Cheers,
Mike

Anthony, I know exactly what you mean mate.

My tiger late turned up on friday just as I was setting out for my girlfriends house - where I've been decorating all week!

I brought the kit with me so I could study things before building and get an idea of what goes where......and I was totally

So many parts with so many options. It's such a wonderful kit for the price. I found myself quite amazed by the bucket - which sounds odd now I've written it. :-)

One question for everyone so far - I'm a little stumped about not WHERE to put Zimmerit but WHEN !! Do I put it all the way round before or after everything's in place ? This applies especially at the rear, as surely If I zimmerit the back plate I will lose all location holes for the jack etc. plus the exhaust shields won't sit flush.

It's all too much for my brummy mind. I'm gonna carry on decorating before anyone gets hurt. :-)

I'm waiting for the Cavalier Zim sheet for this one, the pieces are form fitted, so on something like the rear plate the holes would be marked so you could use a pin and punch them out. Me, I'm going with the final version and mark it with the kit plans as this is one of Wittman's tigers.

ATAK zimmerit should be out soon. I lent my Tiger Late kit to them last week and they should be working on making the zimmerit now, as I expect to get the kit back next week (with zimmerit set sample added ).

Pawel

That sounds mighty good,are they also redoing the gun mantlet so that the metal barrel can fit properly ?

thanks for the info.

Did anybody else notice how incredibly heavy the box was with all of the goodies inside it? I have about zero room to try and get started on mine right now, but I will be doing the Final version. Anthony, I'd say flip a coin to start. Pick two, flip to eliminate one, then add the other to the mix and flip again. Just a thought. "Q"

I have just bought this kit too and would love to have a zim kit to finish it off.
Any news yet? Manufacturer and price?
Thanks.
Tony

I may be completely wrong here, Tigers are not really my cup of tea, but would the final Tiger have had zimmerit? Application of Zimmerit was stopped late in 1944, but I don't know when the last Tigers came off the line.

Just throwing my (unsure) spanner in the works

Cheers
Henk

Hi Henk,

True late production Tigers would have Zimmerit, as the practice wasn't discontinued until after production had stopped.

You will find all sorts of references to late-war era Tigers without zimmerit, but those were factory refurbished hulls and turrets, in most cases, early to mid-production components. It's not unusual to see a drum cupola Tiger with steel wheels and no zimmerit, but I've yet to find a true late production Tiger without it. That means 40mm roof, steel wheels, turret ring guard, and cast cupola with drain slits.

You'll notice they provided two rear idlers in the late production kit. I've heard people say that you should toss out the larger 700mm idler and not use it. Not always the case, as some of the first Tigers in the late-production batches had the larger 700mm idler. I know of two (tank 300 of PzAbt 505 (chassis number 250829) in April of '44, and tank 15 of PzAbt 503 in April of '44) Also it's a known fact that at least one of Wittman's late-Tiger's (007 if I remember correctly) had all the components of a late production Tiger with a large idler. This was a command tank though, so I'm not sure if they were mish-moshed from components or altered right on the production line. I tend to lean towards the former.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, how are you?
Thanks for clearing that one up, when I first read this post I thought it was refering to the late or command Jagdpanther... . Not that I know much more about those either.. :-) . Tried to find some decent reference when I build mine, but not much about.


Oh, I finished the Panzerwerfer I bought of you earlier in the year. Very nice kit, but the upper hull didn't match all to well with the bottom one. I take it that that is an Azimut treat, as the 250/9 which I recently bought has the same problem, terrible fit and the upperhull seems to be some 4-5 mm to short . But I enjoyed building it, have a look in my gallery if you like.
Did you get that ship you wanted in the end?

Cheers
Henk

Hi Henk, yes, I did actually. It was a 1/32nd scale S-100 class Schnellboot...I'm still building it actually, it's one of those on-again-off-again models.

That AFV Azimut kit was a very early one...that batch of kits that I Ebayed last year were all early to mid 1980s. Glad to see it came out well, it looks great!

All the best,

Jeff

According to German assembly-line procedures, newer stocks of parts were dumped on top of, or in front of, older parts instead of rotating the stock (probably to save time and manpower). When the current stock was used up they went back to using the previous batch of parts. That's one reason you occasionally see a later model vehicle with some earlier parts.

If you want to do yuor own Zimmerit then Tamiya do there own applicators http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/35mm/kit35005.htm kit number 35187