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1/35 Dragon Tiger 1, Normandy, June 1944. Finished 29/3.


DaveJL

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Hello all,

Here is my entry for this GB; Dragon's wonderful looking Tiger 1 late with Zimmerit.


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Everything I need is in the box, etch, metal so on and so forth. But i'll be adding some spent 88mm cases and some odds and sods:

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I'll be making this the focal point of a small diorama, with the addition of this:

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Will be based in the June/July 1944 timeline.

Look forward to getting started.

Dave

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This will be a great contrast illustrating how far gun calibers had increased in five years of war.

I think for June, only Tigers from Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101 were in the combat area. In July two more units joined, Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 102 and the Heer unit Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503. There was also a small number of mixed Tiger I & II attached to Lehr as Schwere Panzer Abteilung (Funklenk) 316 - though not sure if they saw combat.

regards,

Jack

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Cheers. Plan is to have a small forward Wehrmacht team with the Pak 35 while the Tiger is on it's way to the front.

Don't suppose you know what colour the Pak would have been at this stage of the war? Think there's one in an episode of 'Band Of Brothers' and it was dark yellow.

Dave

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Production of the Pak 3.7cm ended sometime in 1942, so leaving the factory all would of been panzer grey. Very probable that units that still had them in 1944, would of had time, especially on the western front, to repaint them. Take your pick, dark yellow, or even a two or three colour camou scheme would be plausible.

regards,

Jack

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This will be a great contrast illustrating how far gun calibers had increased in five years of war.

I think for June, only Tigers from Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101 were in the combat area. In July two more units joined, Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 102 and the Heer unit Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503. There was also a small number of mixed Tiger I & II attached to Lehr as Schwere Panzer Abteilung (Funklenk) 316 - though not sure if they saw combat.

regards,

Jack

If I recall correctly the Lehr Tigers were in action in the opening days of the Normandy campaign somewhere around Cristot, north of Tilly-sur-Seulles, but that needs checking out and I can´t even remember where to look for the information! Happy modelling for Dave anyway! V-P

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This looks like it will be an interesting project to follow. :popcorn:

Also good to see another Late Production Tiger being built - I'm doing the Skybow version in 1/48 so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

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Yes, Lehr had a special unit attached titled Flk 316, and it contained a mixture of vehicles that included Tiger I and II. I wasn't sure if the kit Dave had chosen would match as the Tiger I's were delivered in 1943. Plus these Tigers were designed to radio control demoliton charged vehicles, so it would require more research on their physical appearance.

regards,

Jack

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Thanks chaps, haven't built German AFV in years, so hope I can do it justice.

Looking forward to this one, i have one in the stash so it will be good to see yours come together.

Are you using the kit tracks or going for aftermarket?

Nick

Will be using the kit tracks Nick.

Started today by building up the wheels and drive sprockets:

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Then i added all the linkages. I like the way Dragon have done this. Also added the sections at the back, which I assume are fuel tanks.

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Rear mud guards, front Zimmerit and rear Zimmerit also added. Not much progress, but there's about 2 hours work there :lol:

Will get a bit more done tomorrow hopefully.

Dave

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More done today. Added the exhausts and the side panels of Zimmerit to the hull:

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Built up the brilliantly detailed MG42 (or is it 34?) Not too sure what was used in the tanks.

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Moved on and started the top of the hull by adding the front Zimmerit panel, complete with drivers window, MG and lamp, along with the rear grilles and some other brackets etc:

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Again doesn't look like much but there's 2 hours worth there :lol:

I've decided I don't like the rigid plastic side skirts that come with the kit so I've ordered a set of Aber Etched 'side fenders' which will allow a bit of detail (dents, bends, missing panels etc) to be added here.

Really enjoying this so far! Next up is to paint the fuel tank area before adding the top section to the hull.

More soon.

Dave

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Dave, solid looking construction there.

Yes, it should be the MG34 for armoured vehicles. The MG42 had a voracious appetite for ammo due to a very high rate of fire, and this in turn required quite regular changing of the barrel as it would overheat quite rapidly.

regards,

Jack

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More done today. Attached the two parts of the hull together, added the metal cable for the front lamp, along with the etched parts for the rear grilles and a few other pieces:

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Made a brief start on the turret:

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And built up the brilliantly detailed 88:

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Few extra bits arrived:

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Will crack on with the turret tomorrow.

Dave

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