I'm sure there are answers in books, magazines, even online for my questions but I've been searching for over a week, and got a bit tired. So for the sake of an accurate Tiger, I'll ask some of the questions that have been bugging me.
(Just a little introduction: I just got into armor modelling, and don't really know much about them. I have some Osprey books on different tanks, I search the net -so no coherent knowledge here.)

anyway, I have a couple of Tiger variants waiting to be built. (Dragon Tiger late, an Academy w/interior and a Tamiya Sturmtiger
After finishing the Osprey book on TigerI I still can't decide that what variant is the "late" Tiger and the "initial" (The later I guess is the very early production with the left and right sided tracks). I really would like to build an existing tank, but can't really choose until I know what "late" means.

Is that absolutely certain that there were no late variants w/out Zimmerit? I don't want to put the stuff on the tank.

Colors, interior colors: are the Academy Tiger w/ interior colors accurate? Can I use these colors? What is the best for the primer red in Testors/Tamiya/Gunze?
Are there interesting camo patterns avaliable online?

Are there any photos of the 3 Hungarian tigers avalable somewhere?

How did exactly vision blocks looked like and how can these be reproduced? (The sturmtiger doesn't have any and there should be some spares stored inside anyway...)

After buying the Eduard PE for the Sturmtiger did I realize there are resin interiors avaliable... and the missing transmission is very evident (I already cut a hole in the hull to show the inside better). Can someone please give me some advice how to fabricate the transmission?

... and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

The Tiger had a fairly long production life. From mid '42 to about Sept '44 (I think). There were some considerable production changes along the lines (and the tracks were one of the lesser ones)

Osprey did two Tiger I books. The one by T. Jentz: Tiger I Heavy Tank 1942-45 has a useful chart that cites all the major external production changes of the Tiger. A wise investment for $15.

A website that will keep you busy is this one

http://tiger1.info/



Late generally means, zimmerit, steel wheels, cast cupola.

Zimmerit was appplied to all production Tigers from Aug '43 until production's end.

Check the above site for info on interior colors.

Primer red? You can get the same result from auto primer. It was a chemical shade, not a premixed camo color (think red barns...) Testors/Tamiya/Gunze ... heck Plasticote from autozone. I wouldn't worry about the exact hue here.

Online camo patterns: google image Tiger tank

Don't know about the Hung Tigers.

Vision blocks: look at this product
http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=FIMMG23

The Sturmtiger had one commander's periscope. The driver's port had two.

Aftermarket transmissions are available in resin. For a comprehensive set get Royal Models, it includes other internal bits. The Tankworkshop one just has the transmission (www.tankworkshop.com)

hope this helps

Afraid there is no escape from zimmeriting your late Tiger, production ended before zimmeriting was abandoned. The Osprey New Vanguard on the Tiger 1 should list all the production changes over time and with a bit of studying, you should be able to work out which production batch your model is likely to represent. It helps (of course) if you can know when a specific unit received Tigers, as you can then work out which production features are likely. Terms like 'initial', 'early' and so on are randomly applied by modellers and weren't part of the official nomenclature.

If you haven't seen this site before there is plenty of Tiger fun inside!

http://tiger1.info/

If you Really don't want to make your own zimmerit, there are several companies producing applique zimmerit panels made to fit. Some are resin, some are PE brass.

Here's another useful Tiger 1 site

Tiger 1

HTH
Pete

Brilliant web site, some great photos!!

Thank you very much for the answers, you have been really helpful.

Right now I can't spend on extras -are there ways to fabricate the transmission and the vision blocks?
(And I find Zimmerit ugly I guess there's no escape though.)

Thanks,

A