discussion AFV Club Tiger I

[Mr Bowcat]

Evening all,

Pulled this out of the stash, I'm off on my holidays soon and fancied a quick and dirty build.

Got stuck straight in to the lower hull, torsion bar suspension on this kit and some rather strange springs on the rear rollers that allow them to pivot slightly under tension??

I built up the hull fairly quickly and then tackled the dreaded zimmerit. Now this is the first time I've ever done this by hand and I'm semi-happy with how it came out. I've got another two tigers in the stash so this one is a bit of a test bed.

I also tried adding some dents to the exhaust covers (another first for me). Not sure if I like the result, we'll see after paint and weathering.

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[Steven000]

Well, I like it very much so far :thumb2:
Cheers, Steven

 

[SimonT]

Hi Bob - those springs on the inside rear look like they allow the idler wheel mounts to pivot as per 1:1 so that you can adjust the track tension

Zimm doesn't look too bad apart from the strips maybe being a bit wide in places - will probably look better under paint

Exhaust shrouds - in my book, replacing with pewter/drink can/wine bottle foil will always give a better representation as the material dents much more realistically

 

[Guest]

Bob looks good .
Simon has a love of all things that are metal or alloys, pewter is one of his favorite things.
He of course is quite right about using it for fenders and exhausts, I truly believe he sleeps in a pewter framed bed :smiling:

 

[Si Benson]

Always up for a Tiger build:smiling4: I’m sure this will be another cracker in your capable hands:thumb2:

 

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
Looks good to me. What did you use for the zimm?
Jim

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.

Will look into getting some pewter to try on the next Tiger, thanks for the tip.

Jim, I used knifing putty but I found it went off very quickly so might try something else for the next build.

 

[Guest]

Nothing really wrong with that Zimmerit if you ask me. I’ve used much the same method on several models, and found the main trick is to work in small areas so it doesn’t dry out on the far side of a panel before you get to it.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Jakko.

Yeah, I learnt that trick fairly quickly and worked it small sections. I think I'm still going to try a different putty on the next one with a longer working life.

 

[scottie3158]

Bob,
All looks good to me. I agree with Simon the spring will be for track tension.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Paul.

Got a load more done today, starting with the gun. I'm building the kit with all the hatches closed but built the back end to act as a counter wait. It still wasn't enough to hold up the metal barrel so I added some appropriate weight.

Then I moved on to the turret, which had some really nice cast metal texture. Seemed a shame to cover it with zimmerit, but I did.

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[Steven000]

The zimmerit looks very good, nice progress :thumb2: Cheers, Steven

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Steven.

 

[Guest]

Agree with the others the Zimmerit looks fine.
I tried it on my Sturm , very fiddly but the result your getting is good. Considering how it was made and applied I don't think an even coating would be realistic.:thumb2:

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers John.

For a first attempt it will do. This really is a practice kit so not too worried how it turns out.

 

[Steve Jones]

Terrific first attempt at the Zim Bob. What are the tracks like??

 

[stillp]

Nice zimmerit!
Pete

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers gents.

Steve, rubber band tracks. They will do for this practice kit, when I build the Academy full interior late Tiger I will probably go Friul.

Got a bit done tonight. Started by chopping up the one piece fenders. I added some damage to one side and put the other side on a bit wonky (on purpose before anyone asks ).

I also got the tow cables done. The kit comes with metal rods for the barrel cleaning rod) so I decided to add metal tow cables as well. I used picture wire, once complete I got the cleats glued in position on the hull.

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[Guest]

You can hold the tracks on a Tiger down quite well with some strategically placed pins protruding from the hull side.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Jakko.

I had planned on CA gluing the tracks to the wheels, but will try pins if that doesn't work.