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Airfix 1/76 Tiger I (yeah that old one) upgraded......a bit... Finished! Photos in the RFI section


PlaStix

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Thank you Courtney. In among the tanks I'm going to build for the APGB I'm going to try and get some display bases made up for this and the Cromwell.

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  • 1 month later...

This is pretty much a repeat post of one I've made in the Achtung Panzer GB in my WIP for Dragon's 1/72 Tiger 1 - Henschel Turret - w/Zimmerit + Tiger Aces kit. The WIP for it can be found here if anyone is interested: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234977692-dragon-172-tiger-1-late-production-wzimmerit-tiger-aces-update-130315/

In the thread BerndM suggested the following:

A compare picture with your Airfix 1/76 would be very interesting, comparing the seize of both kits, i am thinking about to add some 1/76 kits in my 1/72 collection.

I thought it sounded like a good idea so - Dragon 1/72 on the left and Airfix 1/76 on the right:

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I have to say the size difference was slightly more than I expected. Having said that, comparing the two, I was still quite pleased with the results of my efforts to upgrade the Airfix version.

Hope that's of some interest.

I still intend to make a base for this and get it in the RFI section at some point.

Kind regards,

Stix

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Thank you for sharing these compare pictures, i am surprised about the difference in size as well. Much more than i thought, i think i will stay straight with 1/72 kits.

There are sill a lot in the stash or to buy.

You can be very proud and satisfied with your Airfix Tiger, its a great looking build, equal with builds from newer molds.

Fantastic work !

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Bernd and Steve. Thanks for the comments - and sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this project.

A couple of weekends ago we went to the East Midlands Models Show at Hinkley where I was able to pick up this:

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If you have followed this thread at all you'll probably know that I've been struggling to work out what would give a reasonable impression of sand in this scale. There were a variety of excellent suggestions from the kind folk here on BM but often for stuff I wasn't able to get hold of. Anyway when I saw this product I figured it may give a reasonable version of sand.

This evening I've got as far as this with the base:

17136934311_30d72221af_c.jpg

It's basically a square of 6mm thick MDF onto which I've glued, on a slightly angled slope, a 3mm thick piece of MDF. This has been surrounded by a base layer of filler up to the edge of the 3mm piece - it was still wet when I took these photos. When it's had chance to set for a couple of days I will sand it all down and then apply a thin layer of filler to represent the top layer into which I will do an impression of the tracks and some other details I want to include.

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Then I've got to experiment with the best glue to attach the sand and rocks with. If anyone has used this sand product before I would be grateful for any advice offered.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Kind regards,

Stix

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Good man Stix, you know it makes sense! I would suggest PVA, but not knowing what that sand is like, perhaps a small experiment on the corner first,

or a bit of scrap mdf and filler

Sean

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Sean. Thank you for the advice - I tried thinned PVA wood glue and it seemed to do the trick.

First I added a couple of layers of 'sand' (not actually sure what this stuff is but it seems okay):

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Then some trees added:

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And finally, so far, some greenery added in the form of some left over tufts from previous projects:

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I've got some German troops in the paint shop at the moment which I hope to have finished soon.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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That is AMAZING!! I think i last build this one when i was 10, and it ended up getting chucked cos the dreaded tracks would not stay on. A big well done in making an old relic look this good! The dio looks great by the way. You using Airfix Afrika Korps troops?? :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Great little dio Stix, the bits of grass and small stones make a hell of a difference. I especially like those tress, where did you get them?,

I've been looking for a couple myself.

Regards,

Sean

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Great little dio Stix, the bits of grass and small stones make a hell of a difference. I especially like those tress, where did you get them?,

I've been looking for a couple myself.

Regards,

Sean

Matchbox used to do quite good palm trees. I don't know where you'd get any other than in their kits that came with a little diorama. I remember my dad got me one and it was a brilliant kit - a few people AND a little base. This was the one I had - incidentally, this site is also fantastic for finding info on the matchbox kits: http://www.matchboxkits.org/product_info.php?products_id=340

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amazing Stix, great little dio, lovely done :)

Hi Wolwe. Thank you for your kind comments

Done good there Stix.

Airfix have had a knack of re-boxing old kits...

Mind you, reading this thread, it shows that you can make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

:goodjob::goodjob::goodjob:

Simon.

Hi Simon. Thank you too for your kind comments. You are quite right - I was taken a little aback when I actually saw the contents in the box! But, having said that, it made for a thoroughly enjoyable project.

That is AMAZING!! I think i last build this one when i was 10, and it ended up getting chucked cos the dreaded tracks would not stay on. A big well done in making an old relic look this good! The dio looks great by the way. You using Airfix Afrika Korps troops?? :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thank you Greg - you are very kind. Yep I didn't want to spend a lot on the troops so I picked up a box of them from a market stall. They are 1/72 and the Tiger is 1/76 so I had a cunning plan (well not really cunning but you'll see below!) and the tracks are still very horrible!

Great little dio Stix, the bits of grass and small stones make a hell of a difference. I especially like those tress, where did you get them?,

I've been looking for a couple myself.

Regards,

Sean

Hi Sean. Thank you too for your kind comments. The palm trees are Woodlands Scenics and I got them from the Ian Allen bookshop in Brum. The tops are a bit of a bright colour out of the packet so I painted them a darker colour and then dry-brushed them slightly lighter. I also sprayed them all over with matt varnish as they are a bit plastic looking. The trunks aren't great and have a big seam but they were going to take too long to sort out so I decided just to manage with them.

Wow looks fab, great work.

All the best

Chris

Hi Chris. Thank you very much for your kind comments.

Well I've managed to get the Airfix figures painted and attached to the base. I tried to keep them away from the tank itself as they are 1/72 whereas the tank is 1/76. I don't think the scale difference looks too bad. I've taken some more photos which Can be found in the RFI section here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234981733-airfixs-old-176-tiger-1-upgraded-a-bit-and-in-a-desert-vignette/?p=1984659

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This has been a really fun project during which I've learnt a range of new things. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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Hi Foxy. Thank you for your kind comments! As I mentioned above; the rest of the photos are now in the RFI section.

Kind regards,

Stix

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Hi Sean. Thank you too for your kind comments. The palm trees are Woodlands Scenics and I got them from the Ian Allen bookshop in Brum. The tops are a bit of a bright colour out of the packet so I painted them a darker colour and then dry-brushed them slightly lighter. I also sprayed them all over with matt varnish as they are a bit plastic looking. The trunks aren't great and have a big seam but they were going to take too long to sort out so I decided just to manage with them.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix, I see what you mean about the seam, bit of a shame really as the whole ensemble looks really good.

Any chance a sharp blade and some sandpaper could improve the trees?

Kind regards,

Sean

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Stix, you have worked magic on that old Tiger kit. My lad built one a while ago so i know just how bad the thing is, but you would never know looking at your build. Another cracker!

Nick

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Thanks Stix, I see what you mean about the seam, bit of a shame really as the whole ensemble looks really good.

Any chance a sharp blade and some sandpaper could improve the trees?

Kind regards,

Sean

At some point I'll either get around to fixing them or replacing them........at the moment I've got a fair few project on the go, so it may be a while!

Stix, you have worked magic on that old Tiger kit. My lad built one a while ago so i know just how bad the thing is, but you would never know looking at your build. Another cracker!

Nick

Thank you Nick - you are very kind. It did take some serious upgrading to get it to look like it does but I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Kind regards,

Stix

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you Courtney. They are nicely sculpted figures - like you say - apart from the odd pose and the terrible rubbery plastic they're made from!

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