TeaWeasel

Took a little break from this one while I worked on my 1/35 armour stash, but had a sudden boost of motivation the other night to get it done. The last bit remaining before I could close the fuselage was the dorsal turret. Overall was a very simple build, just the turret attaches to the bucket, the whole thing sandwiched between the fuselage halves. Would have been better if you could add it later on though. With that done we can close it up. She's already a monster, and barely (and I really mean by less than half an inch) fits in my display cabinet. I have to keep the front turret turned so it'll fit. One minor hiccup in that I seem to have lost one of the wing join parts. Pretty annoying but have emailed Italeri for a replacement, does anyone know how good they are with spare requests? Thanks all, Joe

One last update before I head off on holiday tomorrow... Added some extra gubbins to the turret, namely the snorkel, MG, searchlight and these extra clips at the back. Not sure what these are for either, looks like they were leather straps for some purpose. Despite the complexity of the instructions they were rather easy, threaded them through the buckles then a drop of VMS to hold them in place. Also had a look at the gun mount. The collar surrounding the fabric cover was very tricky to get right. This part, and the control arm for the searchlight means the gun had to be fixed in place. Getting the right angle was particularly difficult. The gun itself looks fine, tried to sort out the thickness of the end piece, sanded it down quite a bit. The only issue now is the barrel looks quite thin at the muzzle but that's something I can deal with later on. I also gave it a quick coat of grey primer to judge the final result, hence the spray in the precious pics. Fuel drums now attached. Instructions took a while to understand but were quite straightforward after several reads. And a final shot to see the progress so far. Just waiting on some link-length tracks to arrive. Was hoping they'd be here today so I could get some down using any down-time on holiday, will have to wait until I'm back. Thanks all, Joe

Thanks for the idea. The...collar I guess... for the turret has already covered it a fair bit so a bit of dust will definitely finish it off. Joe

Finished up the fuel lines tonight, still very tricky as the VMS glue was just giving me grief again. I've tried to sand down that area a bit to get rid of the excess gunk, might give it a light coat of Mr Surfacer if I can't get much off. For some reason the CA debonder I bought from VMS also isn't working that great as well. Joe

For a while I was convinced the first photo was the real thing, the detailing in the cable and wooden tools is great

Thanks very much

Thanks for the tip, popped into B&Q over the weekend and picked up a couple reels of the fuse wire, thought you had to go to a proper electronics specialist store to get the stuff. Had a first go at the fuel lines, it's not perfect in my eyes, but I'm happy with it given it's my first ever attempt at scratchbuilding using wire. Bit of superglue residue, the VMS was just refusing to stick so had to use a decent amount of regular CA. Once all the lines are attached I'll do some cleanup. Thanks for the tips.

It's really not as bad as you'd think.

Got the hang of zimmerit-ing so the last major sections are now complete. The side areas needed some thought beforehand as I needed a good straight edge where the skirts would attach, and to mark out any attachment points for clamps, etc. I decided to drill through the attachment points, that way I can redrill them back from the interior once the Milliput has hardened. I then used Tamiya tape to mark out the skirt border, luckily there is a very faint ridge as a guide. This section was by far the easiest, and with that I think all the major parts are done! Looks a bit messy at the moment; once it's properly hardened I'll clean up the edges. I've also glued one set of wheels, another to follow. Less progress on the Takom one, just attached some replacement tool clamps with the included photoetch. Now the biggest job is over I can get on with the full assembly. Thanks all, Joe

Thanks, I'm still undecided on the metal barrel though, judging from the socket the weight may just cause it to sag a bit. Replacement tracks are definitely next on the list however.

You definitely have more patience than me sir!

Thanks, I'm actually finding it quite therapeutic. I've seen videos of guys applying the putty and sculpting every single trough with a blade, that would just do my head in. These little tools from Trumpeter are a god-send. Bit more done on the turret. Was a bit worried that the cupola section doesn't line up with the rest of the turret but I assumed it wouldn't be as perfect when applied in the factory. You'll see I've also attached the gun mount and turret base, overall it's pretty solid. The torsion bars/wheel mounts are now all attached Was a lot easier on the Tamiya one, the Takom instructions could make it a lot clearer that the mounts do actually differ in length. I wouldn't be surprised if other modellers have mixed them up by accident. Plan is to glue the wheels together but leave them unglued to the chassis to make it easier to paint. Just one last quick shot, a comparison between the hulls: Given there's probably a 20-year gap between these toolings I'm again surprised at how well the Tamiya one has aged.

That's a shame, used them for a while now for other supplies In the meantime I started adding some detail to the turret. Grab rails were very flimsy and sat too high, the mounts needed drilling so they sunk down a bit further. More photoetch was then applied. No idea what these fiddly clamps are for; I assumed spare track links but the rails would get in the way. Still a bit more to go, mainly on the turret and rear plate. Have prepped the main fuel drums, although Eduard could have been a bit clearer in the instructions, they simply state "wire" for holding the clamps together, wouldn't have killed them to state which thickness is required.

Thanks for the extensive info, although it does look a bit worrying having all those exposed fuel tanks... I've never scratchbuilt much in the past, let along anything using wire. I do need to get a few lengths of various thickness, can you recommend a supplier? Only ones I've found online only do "buy several 2' lengths of the same thickness for £10", whereas I could do with a variety pack. Joe

Thanks, wasn't aware of the fuel line issue, do you have more info on what I'd need to do?

Picked this up at a show a little while ago. Got the Tamiya Tiger 2 for £20 and saw the T-62 for £10, so thought "why not?". As Tamiya kits go, this one is definitely starting to show it's age a bit more compared to other, more modern brand. Apparently the tooling is from 1979, definitely what I'd call vintage. However, after a while I've come to the conclusion that it's actually a brilliant little kit. It's cheap, it's simple to build yet you can definitely improve on it. If you're looking to get into 1/35, or just want something to test new techniques on it's well worth looking at this. I quickly bought the Eduard upgrade, some nice parts there although in some areas Eduard has gone a little overboard with the detail. I also got some VMS Black which has completely changed how I feel about the whole photoetch-process, so I got a bit swept up in building this thing, didn't take any photos until now. Here she is at the moment. I added some texture to the cast turret using Tamiya glue and stippling with an old drybrush. Some parts of the PE I've left off for various reasons. In other areas the instructions were very lacking, particularly on the stowage clamps so I've only attached the ones that'll actually be visible. Had to apply a layer of Mr Surfacer to smooth out where the spade was moulded to the hull, this is to be replaced with photoetch. Tracks are just rubber-bands, will be replaced with link ones to recreate the proper sag. The entire running gear is visible so this'll really add to the detail. Have also considered a metal gun barrel; have tried to get the plastic one as seamless as possible but it's getting rather thin now. Just the turret and rear detail to attach now, as well as the MG and commander figure then off to the painting. Thanks all, comments appreciated. Joe

Thanks, had a bit of time last night for more zimmeritting. Was a lot easier this time due to the flat surface. Game it a light sanding afterwards, looks better in person I assure you.

Thanks, I've definitely fallen down the 1/35 rabbit-hole.

Despite having numerous aircraft models on the go, and a 1/35 Chieftain and T-62 also on the workbench, I did another bit of impulse-buying when I saw the Tamiya King Tiger on sale...and another impulse when I saw the Takom version discounted at a local store. These are my first WWII-era and first German vehicles so I thought it'd be interesting to work on them simultaneously. Also surprising that the Takom version is intended to represent the factory-fresh prototype T2, but let's have a look at the contents. The Tamiya one has surprisingly aged well for a kit from the early-90's. I've heard a lot of criticism about their older tank range but I honestly think they're still very decent. Overall detail is really crisp, with a tiny bit of texture in the panels themselves but with nice distinct weld-lines. I decided to get an Eduard upgrade set however; I've gone rather all-out with PE on the T-62, since I bought some VMS Black it's much more enjoyable. Decals are a little sparse however, but not sure what else the tank would have. The Takom kit does seem better quality in areas, although the parts feel a little flimsy in places. The upper/lower hull connection feels a bit tinny, whereas the Tamiya feels like a much more solid subassembly. 4 sprues of track links...this'll be fun. The Tamiya one came with rubber-band tracks which I plan on replacing. Keeping on the topic of 4, there are 4 options to choose from, the only difference I can see being the exhaust configuration. I think I might go for No. 3 however. So, first step was working out the zimmerit. Never worked with zimmerit before, so took a while to decide whether to go for the decal/brass option or make my own. To keep in budget I decided to use Milliput and Trumpeter's tools. Tried it out on the turret front to begin with and here's the result: I mean for a first attempt it's not too bad. From what I've heard the real thing wasn't a precision job, and once a bit of primer was applied as a test I was a bit happier with it. I'm just wondering if Green Stuff may be a more suitable material? And while that was drying I attached half of the torsion bars to the Takom: The torsion rods themselves are just hanging loose in the hull, not sure why I bothered with that bit... At the moment I'm still trying to find out about the zimmerit, mainly would the various tool clamps and accessories be applied on top of it, or will I have to remove areas of the Milliput to attach them? If anyone also has some more detailed info on the Porsche T2s that would be helpful; all the info I've found focusses strongly on the Henshel ones. Thanks all, Joe

Very impressive so far.

Interesting build, looking forward to updates.

Looks awesome, the flag is a particularly nice contrast to the rest of the model.

Honestly, if you hadn't said so, I wouldn't have guessed there's anything wrong. You've done a good job. 👍

Looking at the low-loader pics, there does look like a bit of shade variation within the wheels. Could be a trick of the light but could mean they were camo-ed in the field?

Looks good so far 👍