Tamiya Tiger 1 Mid Production

[Fronkey]

Pretty much an oob build, zimmerit done with tamiya tool and humbrol filler, titanium wire used for antenna after many attemts to stretch sprue, bandage and pva used for the camo net. I used Micro sol and set for the first time, and i think the set has reacted with one of my tamiya clear coats (white stain around decals). All damage was done with a lighter and fear! I used tamiya weathering kit for rust and soot and pastels for dust, which doesnt show up too well in the photos.

I thought the model looked good untill i saw the photos. I may revist this at a later date to improve the weathering, i think i got a bit burned out with the tracks and the zimmerit!

[PlaStix]

Great result from the old kit and impressive work on the Zimmerit! Never made any Zimmerit myself so well done! I've a couple of kits that will require some as there's no aftermarket available - I shall have to have a go at some point. Very well done. 

Kind regards,

Stix

 

[Bullbasket]

Nice job on the Tiger. Accurate Armour does a set of fibre glass aerials, but as I know SFA about German tanks, I don't know if they would be thick enough. Eileen's Emporium does sets of nickel silver wire in various thicknesses, so maybe that would suffice.

 

John.

[Ozzy]

Nice build Fonkey, the weathering looks fine. Nice job on the zimmermit

[Badder]

Nice job on the Zimmerit.

 

My first model upon my return was the 'Mid'. I melted the zimmerit into the tank with a pyrograph and had to take many breaks because of the fumes.   I have Tamiya's 'Late' waiting in the stash. I have their 'decal' zimmerit' but if it's rubbish I will have to do the same as you. I'm not particularly looking forward to that, or the PE! I've never 'PE'd' a tank before.

 

The Tiger is lacking very slightly on the weathering front. But I wouldn't go mad. Just a few more washes here and there.

 

BTW, If you know any fresh water coarse fishermen, ask them  if they have any old or damaged pole floats. The stems are made from carbon fibre and are absolutely perfect for aerials.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

[Fronkey]

 

5 hours ago, Badder said:

Nice job on the Zimmerit.

 

My first model upon my return was the 'Mid'. I melted the zimmerit into the tank with a pyrograph and had to take many breaks because of the fumes.   I have Tamiya's 'Late' waiting in the stash. I have their 'decal' zimmerit' but if it's rubbish I will have to do the same as you. I'm not particularly looking forward to that, or the PE! I've never 'PE'd' a tank before.

 

The Tiger is lacking very slightly on the weathering front. But I wouldn't go mad. Just a few more washes here and there.

 

BTW, If you know any fresh water coarse fishermen, ask them  if they have any old or damaged pole floats. The stems are made from carbon fibre and are absolutely perfect for aerials.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

Firstly, excuse my ignorance. What do you mean by PE ? From my research the ready made zim is quite good. I was being thrifty and knew I'd get lots of tigers for the price of one decal set. I tried no more nails which was very translucent, used the humbrol because i had some, found thinning it with tamiya cement works well. Hmm lots of antenna comments, so i guess i got that wrong. Ironically i work for a fishing wholesaler, that's where the titanium wire came from, and the wire on my fury... We don't sell coarse gear lol

Thanks for the input

 

Steve

[AgentG]

The green is a bit bright for my taste, but that's just me. I like what you have done with this. 

 

There are several Photo Etch zimmerit sets available. I used one on a Tamiya King Tiger a few years ago. Not bad, but I do prefer Tamiya's own sticker zimm set. I used that on a Tamiya Mid Tiger I. 

 

The antenna was two meter hollow tube with a distinct taper. It was mounted to a short steel rod within the hard rubber base. Yes, in real life that small fluted base is hard rubber

 

There are quite a few after market affairs available.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2017 by AgentG

[Badder]

21 hours ago, Fronkey said:

What do you mean by PE ?

 

Hi Steve,

AgentG has already answered in the post above, but just to reiterate PE stands for Photo-Etch. You'll see a tiny sprue of PE in the bottom left of the first photo in the post above, containing the parts for clamping the aerials. Usually the sprues are much larger and cam contain dozens upon dozens of parts. Various companies produce these brass parts for super-detailing models. For instance, with the Tiger you'd be able to replace the side skirts and fenders with thinner more realistic ones, there'd be mesh engine covers which are completely absent in the plastic kit, and all the kit's solid tool clamps could be replaced with more realistic ones. PE is expensive though and notoriously fiddly, requiring great dexterity, a steady hand, patience and often a magnifying glass!

I've only attempted PE once, and it was a bit of a disaster, but if you can master it, it can make a massive difference in the realism of your model.

 

Oh, and the BIGGEST challenge of using PE is filing, cutting and scraping away all those parts on the plastic kit that are about to be replaced with PE! I think it's best to 'make' the PE part first before attacking your kit. Then if you mess up the PE it's not the end of the world.

 

Hope that helps.

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Badder

[Martin Ford]

Well I'm very impressed. Lovely looking build of my favourite tank. Really like the netting, looks so realistic.

All the best, Martin