Matt182

Nice Work Roman, coming along nicely. Nice work on those wheels. One thing, I think the spare track links on the hull sides should be 3 columns of 2 or 3 links. I looks a little strange having 4 links as the top links are sitting above the track hangers. How is the kit to build? I've never built a 1/35 Revell kit so im quite curious. Did those individual track links come with the kit? Cheers Matt

Nice job. I like the weathering. Is that built OOB? looks like a nice kit

Nige, I'm not sure if I'm right but I get the feeling you may want a new tool Jeep? Seriously though, any new 1/16 kit is good news for us.

Hi all, Just seen listed on Hannants future releases, 3 new 1/16 kits from Trumpeter TU00915 - 1:16 SU-100 TU00916 - 1:16 German 15cm s.FH.18 field howitzer TU00917 - 1:16 M198 155mm Medium towed howitzer I know the SU-100 has been known about for some time but the other 2 are news to me. Anyone have any further information? The 15cm S.FH.18 sounds very interesting. Cheers Matt

Ah, I see. The problem with things like that is it's hard to put a value on it. From our perspective, we are well aware of superior kits at much cheaper prices, therefore most of us would probably agree it is overpriced. These sorts of things are only ever worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it, almost regardless of what was originally paid. I think the chap trying to sell it is aiming it at the wrong audiance. I think he would have better luck trying to sell it to a collector than any serious modeller. Cheers Matt

Looking real nice I particularly like the subtle changes you've made to the base colour, it really brings it to life. I think the weathering on the trailer is spot on, especially the chipping. As you say, it's easy to over do but I think you have it just right. Looking forward to seeing the finished article. Cheers Matt

Thats what I would do! The Trumpy KT isn't perfect by any means but I would say it's a far better deal. Just out of curiosity, is he offereing it as a built model or all the parts? If you do decide on the Trumpy KT, check out this forum. http://www.network54.com/Forum/637977/ It is dedicated entirely to the Trumpy KT. There is a wealth of information on corrections/scratch building, not to mention some truely fantastic builds. I'm hoping to start mine in a few months (2nd attempt!), once I finsh warspite. Cheers Matt

Hi Nige, depends on what you mean by 'whats it worth'? have you been offered one to buy? If I remember correctly it would have cost over £700 in total to complete. In my opinion, the model isn't very good at all. For example, the main gun from your hobbyboss kit is far superior to the trash Hattchet provided. I think the main problem is the use of metal parts for most the turret and hull exterior. Not only are the metal parts poorly detailed, they also had to be screwed together. This in turn compromised the interior. I gave up as soon as I got most of the turret parts. It became pretty clear then that it wasn't up to the standard I was expecting, especially for £700! So, whats it worth. Well if you are interested in accuracy and detail, not much in my opinion. If you just want something that looks impressive on the shelf it maybe worth considering, just at no where near the original cost! Honestly, I would avoid it, thats just my opinion though Cheers Matt

I think the Tiger is dark yellow with green camo. Take a look around the drivers visor, turret side and main gun / gune sleeve, certainly two different colours. I'm guessing green as I think brown/red brown would stand out more. They are in decent shape to say that the photo is Dec 43, pretty sure thats a May/June 43 build. Looks like the airfilters are missing though, along with the smoke dischargers on the turret. Cheers Matt

Nige, You are certainlly correct that the front plate is too thin but I'm not sure if there is any point correcting it. The joint will be covered by zimmerit, making the join invisible. Maybe something not really worth the extra work?

Nice work Nige, those new grilles have come out really well.

I think this one just went to the top of my to buy list. looks real nice. Looking forward to your review Mike. Is it really only 28cm long? thats less than half the length of a 1/16 King Tiger. Makes you realise just how small these tanks really were!

Good call Nige, I think it will certainly look better with the extra detail. As for those bolt plates, I really wouldn't worry about it. There will likely be some variances in the hull shape between the two kits (although I would put my money on Tamiya considering the origins of this kit). I would concentrate on getting the leading edge looking like the picture AngloSaxon posted of the Bovington Tiger. Where the plates meet the hull armor will be be hidden by the zimmerit anyway. Cheers Matt

Hi Nige, The side skirt mounting block were present on all but the earliest Tigers, nothing to do with zimmerit. It would certainly look more realistic if you did remove the skirts and add the mounting blocks, especially if you intend to leave some of the segments off. Then again, If you are going to have the full fender attached you could just add the zimmerit above and below the fenders. Depends on how much extra work you fancy doing! Oh yeah, regarding those final drive bolt plates. On second thoughs I think you are right, the tamiya parts are better. Not that it will really matter once the mud goes on! Cheers Matt

Hi Nige, I would still go with with aftermarket items, they are still more accurate than the Tamiya parts. Maybe just file down the bolts so there is less thread showing? Cheers Matt

Good work there Nige, Its going to look much better with those bulges removed. Also, perfect solution casting those parts yourself, gives you some extra beer money too. Win win!

Hi Nige, Spot on regarding the missing detail on the inner faces. All tigers, early to late had those bolts. They are there to secure the lower part of the final drive housing on the real thing. I think you way need to remove those screws though. It looks like they sit proud of the plastic, right where you would be adding the extra bolt detail. As for the overall shape, i'm not sure. From your pictures I think the the extensions are ok, if a little 'chunky'. It may be that the frontal armor isn't quite right. The degree of slope in the upper plate looks a little too much to me. Do you have any other tiger kits you can compare it to? Cheers Matt

Hi Nigel, I've borrowed one of your pictures and circled the bulges. They should be quite straight forward to remove. I imagine you will need to fill the gap with plastic card once they are removed though. Hope that helps. Cheers Matt

Coming along nicely Nigel, looks like a nice straight forward build out of the box. I like what they have done with the movable suspension and the seperate tyres. How much extra work are you prepared to do on this kit? I have a couple of points to add regarding the kit's accuracy. Firstly, the track pulling cable mounted on the left side of the tank is incorrect. Hobbyboss has provided the early style cable when it should be the mid/late style. I'm not sure how you can correct this without going down the PE/scratch building route. Secondly, those buldges on the front lower hull shouldn't be there. I think they are there to make room for the gear boxes in the motorized version. I shouldn't think they would be too difficult to remove. As for where this model actually came from, I'm pretty certain it is the WSN/Trumpeter ready to run R/C Tiger. The details look identical and it would make sense considering Hobbyboss's link with Trumpeter. Oh yeah, I feel your pain about the ejector marks. I have the Trumpeter 1/16 Kingtiger and half the links have 8 marks each! Keep up the good work Cheers Matt

Hi Joseph, It's the same scheme as seen in the second photo on this website. Would that be similar colours? http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/battleships/warspite/hms_warspite_page_4.htm I think the kit scheme is from 1942. Thanks Matt

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can give me some guidance on which Tamiya acrylics I should use to paint HMS Warspite. I've recently started Academy's 1/350 kit and I am at the stage of painting the hull. I'm looking to do the later paint scheme, as she appeared during the Normandy landings. I will use Hull red for the lower hull and flat black at the water line but I'm unsure of which colours to use for the 2 greys. The Academy painting guide has no list of Tamiya alternatives (and depicts the earlier scheme anyway). Any help would be greatly appreciated Cheers Matt

Great build, weathering looks spot on.

Cheers guys Overall I would say this is the best I've built so far. The kit is excellent (though pricey now) and i'm glad the effort put into the tracks paid off. Just need to get a display case for it now and maybe do some ground work and figures. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for my next build though. I think it's a three way tie between Bronco's 1/35 Comet with all the AM goodies, Academy's 1/350 Warspite premium edtion or Trumpeters 1/16 King Tiger. Hmmm, Decisions

Hi all, This one is now complete. The model was given a coat of vallejo matt varish with a dusting of pigments. The tracks were painted tamiya red brown and then plastered in pigments. To get the shine on the contact points I just sanded the tracks. Cheers Matt

Thanks for the positive comments guys