1/48 Skybow Tiger 1 (late) - D-Day GB crossover project - update 22/07/19 - In the Gallery

[PlaStix]

My Tiger 1 project is going to be part of a vignette that I'm going to build in the D-Day GB. I'm going to be using this rather lovely 1/48 kit from Skybow:

The plastic inside has also been re-packaged by AFV Club. I built the Skybow version a while back and it does build up rather nicely. I'm also going to use the Skybow individual track links and Hauler's grills :

Big thanks must go to @Ozzy and @Robert Stuart for agreeing to the idea of a crossover project with the D-Day GB.

Can't wait to get started next week!

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited July 22, 2019 by PlaStix

[Ozzy]

Nice looking project Stix, these Skybow kits do look nice. Looking forward to see your project develop. Welcome to the build Co-host, hopefully there will be a few more crossover builds.

[Robert Stuart]

Don't think I've heard of Skybow before @PlaStix, it'll be interesting to watch

[GREG DESTEC]

Looks like a great kit Stix 👍

 

I must confess this GB has sneaked up on me 😯 I thought it started after the D Day GB, which I am signed up for as well!!

 

Look forward to your progress.

 

Cheers Greg

[PlaStix]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

Nice looking project Stix, these Skybow kits do look nice. Looking forward to see your project develop. Welcome to the build Co-host, hopefully there will be a few more crossover builds.

Cheers Ozzy. Looking forward to co-hosting with your good self and yes it would be good to see some other crossover projects.

 

1 hour ago, Robert Stuart said:

Don't think I've heard of Skybow before @PlaStix, it'll be interesting to watch

Hi Robert. I hadn't heard of Skybow until I wanted to build a 1/48 Tiger 1 with Zimmerit without having to apply the Zimmerit myself. Just did a bit of searching on Scalemates to discover this kit - and it is a very well detailed kit. Unfortunately Skybow are no longer.

 

22 minutes ago, GREG DESTEC said:

Looks like a great kit Stix 👍

 

I must confess this GB has sneaked up on me 😯 I thought it started after the D Day GB, which I am signed up for as well!!

 

Look forward to your progress.

 

Cheers Greg

Hi Greg. It is a nice little kit and yeah, this GB does seem to have come round really quickly!!

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Hewy]

 Look forward to seeing the skybow bits stix, a rarity on the forums for sure

[modelling minion]

I have a feeling this is going to be another Stix classic, and also have a feeling it will be a bit extra special due to the D-Day element.

[SleeperService]

Skybow kits are now AFV Club. Apparently there were shenanigans when the moulds were completed. The replacement tracks are vital as the kit ones are too short in many boxes. Looks like you've been to see Nigel as well.

 

The kit is great but be VERY careful with the screws for the wheel mountings. Stripped or broken axles are very close indeed to being just tight enough.

[PlaStix]

On 12/05/2019 at 21:14, Hewy said:

 Look forward to seeing the skybow bits stix, a rarity on the forums for sure

Yeah there’s not many built on here.

 

On 13/05/2019 at 09:30, modelling minion said:

I have a feeling this is going to be another Stix classic, and also have a feeling it will be a bit extra special due to the D-Day element.

Thank you Craig - we'll have to wait and see.

 

On 15/05/2019 at 12:02, SleeperService said:

Skybow kits are now AFV Club. Apparently there were shenanigans when the moulds were completed. The replacement tracks are vital as the kit ones are too short in many boxes. Looks like you've been to see Nigel as well.

 

The kit is great but be VERY careful with the screws for the wheel mountings. Stripped or broken axles are very close indeed to being just tight enough.

Yes it's a shame Skybow disappeared and we didn’t get all their planned 1/48 AFV kits and yes Nigel's place is always a regular visit when we're over that way. Thanks for the heads up about about the screws.

 

Not made a start yet but I did get the sprues washed this morning so I took some photos - the kit box and extras:

 

Skybow used to make a nice bit of effort with their packaging:

 

 

The contents:

 

Some close-ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gun barrel is in one part and the seam is quite fine:

 

To secure the wheels:

 

The decals - note they are reversed:

 

The instructions - just 4 sides:

 

 

 

The camouflage schemes that I'm not using as I'm doing a Normandy Tiger:

 

These are the tracks provided that I'm not going to use:

 

I'm probably going to start work assembling the tracks first - maybe tomorrow.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited May 18, 2019 by PlaStix

[Ozzy]

Looks a very nice kit Stix.

[PlaStix]

On 18/05/2019 at 21:56, Ozzy said:

Looks a very nice kit Stix.

Yes it is and it's a real shame that Skybow decided not to carry on making such good kits.

 

So.....I have made a start on the track links. I have made up two sets of these track links before:

 

......so I know they can be tricky to assemble without the pins snapping.

 

They are very nicely produced - with only two attachment points and no ejector pin marks:

 

They are very small though:

 

But these are the only instructions - and the picture is very difficult to see clearly:

 

These are the first 10 links I produced:

 

 

Before long I had 30 together;

 

 

Now I have actually finished the tracks - as of yesterday evening - and I broke only 10 of the pins - which is far better than I have done before! I found a way of clipping them together which seemed more reliable so I thought I would demonstrate what I did this time round - to help anyone who may be having a go at Skybow's or AFV Club's 1/48 Tiger tracks.

 

First thing to do is to insert the section with pin furthest away from the pair of guide horns into place like so:

This is,, from what I can tell, what the diagram in the instructions shows.

 

To try and make it a bit clearer (ie without my fingers in the way) I took a photo with the tracks flat on my cutting mat:

 

At the other end the pin needs to sit in this position on top of the link it's being attached to:

 

Same as the last photo but with the links shown on my cutting mat - so my fingers are not in the way:

 

Finally I press very firmly with my thumb nail on the block right next to the pin that needs to go into place:

You have to press very smartly - not slowly. If you do it slowly I find they do tend to shear off.

 

.......and together!:

 

If you haven't got enough thumb nail you can do this process flat on a cutting mat and use something like the end of a small flat screwdriver to press down on the same point with. The only problem with this is that I found it harder to keep the pieces in the correct alignment at the same time as pressing down smartly.

 

In a few places, where the pins did break, after a few links had been assembled - I used a micro drill and some thin wire to fix the problem.

 

Anyway - I hope that the above may be of some use and, as I mentioned above, both sets of tracks are now complete:

 

Tomorrow, D-Day, I will make a start on the tank itself.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited June 5, 2019 by PlaStix

[Hewy]

Those tracks actually look top notch for styrene ones, especially with no glue

[Ozzy]

One of the hardest bits done.

[Yetifan]

If they can do this in 1/48 scale how is it beyond the capability of Tamiya to do it in 1/35. I see the sense of track links if you get a flexible track at the end. Not having sink marks is the added bonus. I’m sure they still take a bit of effort and care to assemble but you end with a realistic track that you can paint and weather before fitting to the vehicle.

 

Still a bit grumpy about the tracks on my build 🙂 

[PlaStix]

On 05/06/2019 at 16:28, Hewy said:

Those tracks actually look top notch for styrene ones, especially with no glue

They are very good Glynn - just a bit fiddly due to their size.

 

On 05/06/2019 at 19:12, Ozzy said:

One of the hardest bits done.

Very true!! 

 

On 05/06/2019 at 19:34, Yetifan said:

If they can do this in 1/48 scale how is it beyond the capability of Tamiya to do it in 1/35. I see the sense of track links if you get a flexible track at the end. Not having sink marks is the added bonus. I’m sure they still take a bit of effort and care to assemble but you end with a realistic track that you can paint and weather before fitting to the vehicle.

 

Still a bit grumpy about the tracks on my build 🙂 

Very true - it does make you wonder!!

 

So over this past weekend I have been very busy on this project - so there are lots of photos. I was intending to post some on Saturday and Sunday but didn't get time.

 

I wanted to get on quickly and paint the wheels but, on closer inspection, I noticed the seam around each. They are quite fine - but they had to go. Before:

 

After some filing and wet'n'drying:

 

Then I got the paint on. Revell's Aqua Ochre Brown - thinned with water and applied with a medium flat brush:

 

 

 

Then, once dry, everything was given a wash of very, very thinned Revell's Aqua Gunship Grey:

 

 

This tones the colour down a bit and creates a nice dusty effect.

 

Then I applied some very, very thinned Revell's Aqua Anthracite with a fine pointed brush in and around the detail:

 

 

 

Finally, for now, on the running gear I dry-brushed them with a lighter version of the base colour:

 

 

 

I also started some assembly work on the upper hull and lower hull while waiting for the paint stages to dry. The detail is very nice in 1/48:

 

 

I have also started to damage the Zimmerit on the lower hull - using my scalpel blade:

 

 

 

Then it was time to apply the paint to the lower hull - thinned Ochre brown again applied with a wider flat brush:

 

The detail and damage looks okay under the paint:

 

 

 

 

 

A wash of Gunship Grey was applied next:

 

 

Followed by a targetted wash of Anthracite;

 

 

Then I did the overall dry-brushing of a lightened version of the base coat:

 

 

 

 

 

More work on the wheels next.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by PlaStix

[Ozzy]

Nice progress Stix, looking at your chipped zimmerit makes me think mine should be deeper.

[Hewy]

Beautifully done, iooks great that

[MarkSH]

Looking really nice, the damaged Zimmerit really works well and as usual the paint finish is immaculate.

[PlaStix]

On 10/06/2019 at 18:21, Ozzy said:

Nice progress Stix, looking at your chipped zimmerit makes me think mine should be deeper.

Thank you Ozzy - I wouldn't change it too much - I thought yours looked very good!

 

On 10/06/2019 at 20:07, Hewy said:

Beautifully done, iooks great that

Thank you Glynn.

 

On 13/06/2019 at 09:04, MarkSH said:

Looking really nice, the damaged Zimmerit really works well and as usual the paint finish is immaculate.

Thank you Mark but you are too kind.

 

Well the past weekend has been all about the wheels and running gear!! First job was to get the camo on all the outer wheels and the rims painted with thinned Revell's Aqua Anthracite followed by some thinned Acrylic Humbrol Gunmetal:

 

 

 

The camo paints were applied with a small, roughly trimmed, stippling brush. Once both colours were on and dry I dry-brushed over them with the lightened version of the Ochre Brown.

 

Then I got the two inner rows attached plus the inner sprocket and two parts of the idler - you can perhaps see which bits are attached with screws:

 

 

Third row glued in place and then some weathering added to the central areas of each of these wheels - where it will visible plus the outer half of the sprocket glued on:

 

 

 

 

Outer set screwed in place:

 

 

And finally, for now, the hub caps glued in place:

 

 

 

 

Next job will be to add the weathering to the outer wheels. I did test the tracks and they fitted well but I had to add a link to each to make them fit properly.

 

Comments and suggestions.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited June 17, 2019 by PlaStix

[Hewy]

Your painting and construction is like a well oiled machine, great job stix, "screws for the wheels eh" nice

[modelling minion]

Excellent work on the wheels and the lower hull Stix.

I really like the effect you have got on the green and brown, you would never know they weren't airbrushed and the dry brushing over the top of the wheels really blends everything in.

[Robert Stuart]

These look good Stix.  IMO, getting the wheels done is a major stage in a Tiger build.

[Badder]

Beautiful work Stix. Love the camo on the wheels.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[PlaStix]

On 17/06/2019 at 17:33, Hewy said:

Your painting and construction is like a well oiled machine, great job stix, "screws for the wheels eh" nice

Hi Glynn....someyimes it's well oiled sometimes it's.........well ......... I'll just say sometimes the best laid plans go sideways!

I'm not sure the screws idea from Skybow is a sure fire winner. They do hold the wheels in place very firmly but you have to be really certain not to over-tighten them. Also I found that, on a couple of the wheels, the screws didn't go in exactly straight and I had a bit of a job getting the wheel to sit level.

 

On 17/06/2019 at 20:32, modelling minion said:

Excellent work on the wheels and the lower hull Stix.

I really like the effect you have got on the green and brown, you would never know they weren't airbrushed and the dry brushing over the top of the wheels really blends everything in.

Hi Craig and thank you very much for your comments. Stippling very thinned paint on does give quite a good finish on these camo areas.

 

On 18/06/2019 at 19:59, Robert Stuart said:

These look good Stix.  IMO, getting the wheels done is a major stage in a Tiger build.

 Hi Robert - thank you and you are quite correct! Once the tracks are assembled and the wheels painted and in place - everything is a bit more straight forward.

 

On 20/06/2019 at 00:35, Badder said:

Beautiful work Stix. Love the camo on the wheels.

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder and thank you, most kind.

 

Well I have to report that modelling time over the weekend was vastly reduced due to gardening duties and other household bits and pieces. As I knew I wasn't going to get much time from the off, I decided to do something not related to wheels or tracks. I decided instead to add the side skirt sections that I wanted to. In a couple of photos of the Tiger I'm building, some of the sections are missing and some are damaged to some extent. It is a bit difficult to tell which and how much though. So I picked some to leave off and some to damage more than the others. I also wanted to represent the remains of the fixings where the panels were missing. Checking over several photos seems to give a variety of different results of the skirt sections being removed or ripped off. I've opted to have the remains of, what I assume, are bolts sticking out from the hulls sides. Once the glue is fully set in the holes I drilled, I will bend and damage the thin plastic rod to some extent. I may add the remains of part of the top edge of the skirt in some places too. I will wait and see. I also filled in the holes where the side skirts should have been attached. To do the damage on the skirts I used some pliers. I also did some more work damaging the Zimmerit.

 

You can see where I got to in the photos below: 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

[modelling minion]

I do like those damaged fenders, very nice indeed and the missing ones with just the attachment bolts are a really nice touch. Add to these some more missing zimmerit and this is looking fantastic, and that's before it gets the patented Stix brilliant brush painting job.