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Tamiya Tiger 1 Early Production - 1/35 scale


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I'm back from holidays and I guess it's time to get my can in gear and to get back to work on this project that has been stalled for at least five years, if not longer.  As the title says, this is my 35th scale Tamiya Tiger 1.  This is the third Tiger I've built in this scale.  The first two were straightforward and OOB builds, one dark grey and the other desert sand.  This one took on a life of its own.  Friends of mine who are armour modelers tried to convert me to the dark side.  I build aircraft, not targets.  They suggested that I should try my hand at metal tracks as they bring an added realism to the finished model.  I know that is true.  Building the kit itself was pretty simple.  I just stalled when it came to doing the  Fruilmodel white metal tracks.  Anyway, here's where I stand:

 

Chassis and turret complete

 

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Road wheels and drive sprockets complete

 

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Fruilmodel tracks have been filed, drilled washed and are air drying

 

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Blackening solution

 

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Paint scheme and Tamiya acrylic colours

 

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I'm not sure what I'm going to do next.  Will I assemble the individual links into tracks or will I blacken the individual links and then assemble the tracks?  I think I might make the tracks and then blacken.  That seems like it might be the easier way to do things and should limit the exposure to the blackening agent.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Mike

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From time to time I get the urge to buy an armor model because I like all the weathering, dirt, grime etc. that I cannot play with as much with aircraft.  Then I think about the individual track links and quickly run away.  I am glad to see that you are brave enough to take it on.

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Thanks guys.  I got the tracks assembled yesterday afternoon and evening.  It wasn't as difficult, just time consuming.  It took about four hours all told.  I assembled ten runs of ten links for 100 links per side.  After completing the runs, I assembled them and this was the result:

 

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I have not yet applied any CA glue to the openings to hold the wire in place.  The cut wires sit a bit proud so some Dremel work is in order to make things flush.  I have learned that real Tiger 1's had 96 links per track.  I'll keep it at 100 links per side and after I get the road wheels painted and mounted, I'll do some test fitting to determine the proper sag.  I'll do the sanding and CA work after I determine the correct length.

 

spejic - I agree.  Painting road wheels is a pain in the caboose.  With the Tiger having so many, it's even more of a pain!

 

Els - I have much admiration for the guys who do all kinds of weathering and dirtying up of their armour models, or any model for that matter.  I, on the other hand, am the kind of guy who finishes their models as if they just came out of the factory or repair depot or the paint shop.  Most say that armour models deserve the grimy look but as a personal preference I just like the look of 'factory fresh'.  Here's my first Tiger, painted rubber tracks and all.  Pardon the quality of the photo as I was using a Kodak DC3400 that doubled as a brick:

 

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Thanks for looking.

 

Mike

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On 3/1/2018 at 7:55 AM, AX 365 said:

I have much admiration for the guys who do all kinds of weathering and dirtying up of their armour models, or any model for that matter.  I, on the other hand, am the kind of guy who finishes their models as if they just came out of the factory or repair depot or the paint shop.  Most say that armour models deserve the grimy look but as a personal preference I just like the look of 'factory fresh'. 

 

I like making mine a little dusty (which is easy, just grind up some dry pastels and brush it on the model). But despite the obvious skill in making a rust bucket I don't think it's actually accurate from what I read. Tanks undergo frequent maintenance and WWII ones had a short life on the front so they never got a chance to look like extras from Mad Max.

 

Every tank or airplane is clean at least once, so you are never inaccurate making one pristine.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Hi guys.  This isn't going to get done before deadline.  As a matter of fact, I haven't touched it since I completed the track links.  My interest in building has gone completely down the toilet in the last few months.  One day...

 

Mike

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