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SleeperService

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Everything posted by SleeperService

  1. That's adorable!! Assembly instructions HERE show the engine as a separate part so conversion would be simpler unless they are planning the HC-102 later. All things considered it was/is a remarkable achievement for the local aviation industry.
  2. So no pressure there then 🤣 but to you all. @IanC my photo composition leaves a bit to be desired but your comment made me chuckle. I'm rather relieved that my plan is acceptable to the Group although a tiny part of me was hoping I'd be forced to find something a little easier... @Mig Eater I'm sorry you have encountered issues as two approaches to the same subject would have been interesting however there's always Project Cancelled later. Thank You. 99% of the stuff the Web presented was either offensive, plain wrong, repeating old suppositions as facts, and a lot of circular sourcing and most of the links have a nugget of truth in them but, like panning for gold, there's a lot of tailings for a tiny result. Anyhow I need to get a Devastator mated with it's floats to clear the space to build this. I have a feeling time is going to fly by and I'm determined to actually complete a GB Project on time. To the Volga!! Err...to the 30th March!! I came over a bit peculiar for a moment.
  3. While we all know the VK45.02 (P) that begot the engineering abomination that was the Ferdinand/Elefant the story of the Henschel move from the boxy Tiger I to the sleek and malevolent Tiger II has been little studied, although there have been many discussions and electrons have suffered in their uncounted billions because of it. I have been researching this vehicle since this GB got scheduled and I've listed most of the better sites/pages to avoid unnecessary suffering among the BM Massive. You are welcome - this is my act of random kindness for today. So; Listing of Tank Museum articles - some are very good indeed and they all have decent and useful photographs. Those concerning the real story of Tiger 131 are most interesting. Withinamnesia summary and armour supposition - From 2016 a good summary of what was known at the time and a decent stab at the new armour layout which resembles the first, short lived, iteration of the design conceived on 15-16 April 1942. The hull mg position was to be a 'parallel' design to that of the Panther AusfD pending development of a better mount for the thicker plate used. Stunning Swiss Museum Restoration The photo coverage of the restoration alone makes this site worthwhile but there is much more there. An 'interesting' WoT discussion and Another one and a slightly better blog post Starts well but well.... WWII Forum post with info regarding upgunning the Tiger I Axis History Discussion on upgunning the Tiger I Warthunder Discussion on upgunning the Tiger I - if you think you know something a look through these may help you understand Finally a Mythological Blueprint emerges... nearly Andrew Hills (author of a very good book on the Tanks of TOG although I gave him a hard time about the drawing reproduction in it) sums up the current state of play. The linked video is worth a watch as well. So finally starting from (some of) this And guided by and the Tank Encyclopedia article linked above I'm going to aim at the VK 45.02(H) if the design had been frozen, well as near as any WW2 tank design was frozen, in October 1942 allowing deliveries to start April/May 1943 running the assembly line onto the new vehicle as Tiger I production was adjusted to allow the new vehicle to start ASAP. With the VK 45.03 design really starting around 12 October 1942 and first acceptance in January 1944 I feel this is reasonable. With the VK 45.02 design being less of a stretch it could have been with combat units far quicker than the six months the VK 45.03/ Tiger II took to master. As a new project when Speer became Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production on 8 February 1942 it is possible that production could have started a little sooner if he saw this as a reputation establishing project - I think he would certainly have done so. So I'll start with a Skybow Tiger I early and a Tamiya Tiger II turret but first I'll do a bit of digging to see who might have got them, with the VK 45.01(P) originally earmarked for Rommel in N. Africa I fancy doing the desert scheme as used in the southern front of Russia on other types. Your opinions, engagement and questions are always welcome so no need to be shy.
  4. Not me but @JOCKNEY may be able to advise - he seems to enjoy off-beat kits.
  5. Took 5 years to build this and then the bookshelves collapsed before I could photograph the completed model You may see what is left in my build thread...
  6. Spoken like a true Leicestershire Man! At that price you'd be bonkers to pass it by.
  7. I think you building a standard mainstream plastic kit is further from your comfort zone than a tank You may find the kit track a bit 'fragile' but there are alternatives out there, looks OK until you try to bend it, or paint it. If the paint doesn't adhere give them a coat of PVA glue diluted with water, once dry paint sticks like sticky stuff to a blanket.....mind out of the gutter I'm talking about peanut better 🤣
  8. As it happens I've just been looking into this so: Dark Yellow: David Bryden has 1 x H41 & 1x H71, Mike Starmer suggests H83, H72, H94 or H72 with a touch of H110 The brown and green offer flexibility as they varied according to application alternatives to Marklo's suggestions are H160 for red brown and 117 for the green. For both these colours I add some light blue/grey to avoid the colour looking too stark anything up to 20% sometimes. Not a Tiger but my Kugelblitz has about 10% blue/grey added to the green and blue. Photo in natural light and unweathered.
  9. I made a comment earlier that agrees with your sentiment pretty closely. I hope this doesn't kill PR as they are producing stuff I really like, yeah there may be detail errors but overall they're pretty good. The year Airfix released their 1/72 kit I, along with many others, was led to believe a 1/48 would follow. It's not happened to date and I keep buying their stuff despite their staff taking the p*** because they make subjects I'm interested in. Hopefully others will take the same view and PR will get through this. The killer on the T.11 is the lower edge of the canopy if that is right it is very hard to get the fuselage shape wrong. The kit seems to be a round edged box like the Meteor rather than a circular section flattening to the front slightly. Drawings are great but it's always best to check against the real thing or decent photos to avoid errors.
  10. This has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Check the dashboard as the P/1046 66 car was different to the 67 car this kit is also sold as. I hope the resin fits as the 1/24 to 1/25 difference is very obvious. I think my DVD of the film is getting rather tired... I'm told THIS BOOK is quite good.
  11. Most German armour in WW2 was hardened by heat treating which means a good finish but also makes the armour crack easily unless great care is taken. There are other methods such as rolling the plate which gives an uneven surface much like the turret is showing. There was/is a very good reason why only a few companies can do armour plate against the many others who do general stuff. Get into special steels for anything and you're back to a handful of suppliers.
  12. Life Regrets No.17358 - Today I searched Short Shetland and Seamew and know the images will stay with me for ever. One is simply wrong the second looks like it belongs on the opening credits of Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines but not in a good way I feel obliged to come up with something equally visually distressing in the AFV world.
  13. I can rant without alcohol and am a mere beginner compared to some so I think you'll fit right in, that last sentence is fighting talk but forgiven as I like your honesty about the Border kit. The only things I'm sure of is it'll be 1/48 and NOT Tiger 133 as displayed on Horseguards Parade to the great and good - there's too much BS out there about the markings it carried on the day. That's a bucket list build for another time. I'm warming to the VK 45.02 (H) as it has the potential to annoy a lot of JMNs at shows which is always a good thing. (Joyless Modelling Nazties/Wheraboos). @Retired Bob Jentz and Doyle have the single link track driven by a 18 tooth sprocket starting in March 1945 Kgs 73/800/152 however there is a Normandy photo showing a single example, possibly a trial fit, and one of the Porsche suspension JTs has a similar fit but I don't know when the photo was taken. Further to earlier comments the Krupp drawing Hin-E151 showing the 10,5cm KwK L/68 is dated 25/11/44, it was slapped down by Wa Pruef 6 on 20/01/45 on the not unreasonable basis that the gun had been cancelled....
  14. Certainly a What If scheme not least because the 105mm gun was a Krupp vapourware upgrade, one of several projects on an unsolicited proposal presented to the military. The turret seems to have the standard front roof profile with the rangefinder this wasn't what was planned according to Jentz and Doyle in their Tiger Trilogy of books from Schiffer. There were also changes to be made to the engine deck which were more advanced than the rangefinder project. TBH I think there are better options for a late KT than this dogs dinner. Additionally the Germans had reformulated their main gun propellant which resolved the barrel erosion issues and were back to a monobloc barrel by the end saving time and effort on the 2-part barrel. I'm not certain but olive green as a base colour would have predated the hull MG being replaced by the assault rifle and the co-axial turret MG34 being replaced by the MG42. The final thing I can think of is the periscopic main gun sight fitted to the front turret roof. Despite the above I agree with @Retired Bob and build what you want to if the mods are happy with it, at least you know what you will be adding to the build as opposed to fitting upgrades that were at an advanced stage of development.
  15. Simple answer is buy the Airfix kit to check shapes. As for information then @John Aero would be a good place to start. I'm saddened by this so far, probably more users than any other Vampire mark, and it may be the downfall of a small company like Pilot Replicas who haven't got the range to carry a perceived dud
  16. Latest progress report: I have got most of the interior rebuilt and am now waiting for Dana Bell's new Devastator book and lead wire to add the details before closing this up and carrying on. Latest challenge or opportunity is finding something to replace the float struts as the kit items seem extremely fragile and keep bending, naturally they then break again when straightened even after a soak in warm water. Anybody got any ideas? I have restarted a Mountain of Doom project while this is paused more to follow on that later.
  17. That is down to poor mould design. Even with the ullage tab there is now wat for the plastic to flow cleanly through the cavity, that area of flash on the near rear corner is another indication of an unhappy mould. Far better to have a through flow on transparencies precisely because any flaw is quite visible. Pre-cut vacformed parts would be a better choice if your moulding technology isn't up to the job - it works for Special Hobby and many others as long as the correct material is specified. I think that a flaw such as this will be very annoying once spotted and sub-contracting out to someone like Eduard who know their stuff would be a better business decision. That said these kits are a pretty good first attempt in a new niche and bode well for the future.
  18. If such an agreement was made and then broken it shows an incredible lack of foresight and planning. While an Arma plane makes no money for Eduard and the same in reverse in a niche market (scale model kits are tiny in the wider world) it is better for all to allocate resources into a different subject than others in order to recoup costs more quickly. Time really is money. In the past such arrangements have worked very well Rolls-Royce and Leyland Motors swopping jet engine development for Meteor tank engines is a perfect example. Such arrangements are usually time limited with the other party being free to compete after an agreed period. Free marketeers hate this sort of thing despite their own companies benefiting from similar arrangements historically and even currently. Which pretty much proves my point. Arma have given us a good Hurricane while Eduard covered the Tempest. Win/win I think.
  19. I may just have gone a little green with envy at this. They were very helpful when I contacted them about the floats on one of their aircraft. I hope this kit emerges but his day job is in the Ukrainian forces so that could be slowing things down. IIRC his wife is doing all the packing and shipping most of the time so they are doing their best I'm sure.
  20. Excellent work from both of you. I found the Quickboost engines to be an issue as well but it looks OK if used on other aircraft, as you say it is very visible on the P-47 family. My 1/35 tank builder friends tell me that Miniart can be a pain for them too so I shall be very careful.
  21. Incredible you produced them before I knew I wanted them. Thank You.
  22. I hope so. I still haven't finished my entry from the last Sabre GB waiting for this sheet.
  23. Among my notes I have the same comment almost verbatim from a guy who was there about the 6pdr, he reckoned it the equal of the 17pdr at normal battle range. I'll add the 31st Armoured Brigade to my file listing and see if there is anything there, it would be good to find out.
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