ironman1945

Gents A quick update. Progress has been slow with the zimmerit. Its a tedious process, but satisfying with each small bit of work. Here is a pic of the 1st side I've been working on. I've only been doing 2 or 4 rows a session. Slowly but surely I'll get there! Cheers, and only 48 days till the start of the NFL 2022 regular season... Wahoo! Dave/Ironman1945

Hi Ray, sorry for the delayed response. Been away from the bench, busy with work and coaching football. No, I decided against the Aber set... nice, but since this is going to be an running RC tank, I'm thinking all that photoetch will be too fragile... found that out with my earlier 1/16 Israeli M51 Super Sherman. Some of the work I put into the Sherman broke off the first time I ran it outside. Must be robust! Dave/Ironman1945

Gerhard. There is hope. While in Toronto you MUST go to Wheels and Wings. 1880 Danforth Ave, phone number (416) 752-0071. Easily accessible by subway. Their website is currently being rebuilt, but it is the ultimate plastic model hobby shop. No RC. No trains. Just 2 floors of plastic kits, bottom/basement floor is full of collections they buy and resell. Tons and tons of plastic kits. Give it a visit, you will not be disappointed. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945

While a lot of places are losing their hobby shops to lagging sales, here in Victoria BC our local shop has done so well its expanding. Great store, nice staff, and a great place to meet like minded hobbyists. And these two beauties' are now hanging at the front entrance. RC, but great looking nonetheless! I think they are 1/12 scale.

Just got this in the mail whoot whoot! Dave/Ironman1945

Hey Ray Thanks for the recommendation. Yes, I have looked there, and the only item I ordered was a replacement cupola. Other items are very nice but as you said, kind of pricey! Cheers Dave/Ironman1945

Hey Nick. Those look fantastic. I've already sourced a cast cupola... you've got me really thinking about that hub though, looks sharp! Not sure if its appropriate for ref pics I am going off of, will have to check. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945

Awfully kind of you. Replied to your PM. And please let me know what the cost is, so I can pay you for them. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945

Hey Juggernaut Already been scoping out the differences over the last 2 months. Cast cupola, gun travel lock on the rear deck, new arrangement for the track cable on the left side, turret pistol port differences, omission of the air filters, air filter cover plate, relocation of tools on the rear to name a few. What I have found really helpful is the MMiR special volume on building the Tiger I. Goes into detail, with diagrams, of all the changes for each time frame. Originally I wanted to make a Tiger I late production, but that would have involved so many more changes, I settled on the mid-production version as being an easier build.

Hey everyone. Happy Father's day! Having really enjoyed building and converting Tamiya's 1/16 M-51 Sherman (you can see it in the link at the end if your interested ) I decided to jump in right away with converting the Tiger I early to a mid-production version. Here's where I currently sit with it. Lower hull running gear assembled and painted. Got to spend the day starting with the addition of zimmerit So far so good. Here is a photo of the mid-production Tiger I I am looking at marking this kit as, 331, timeframe of May-June 1944 in Normandy. Cheers, have a great day! Dave/Ironman1945

A very sad day and as has been said, a great loss. Dave/Ironman1945

I was excited to see this deal... until I found out what the shipping cost would be. Sadly, a game changer. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945

Been awhile, but finally have her finished. Well, still need to add stowage and a figure in the turret, and some other touch ups and a bit more weathering. Have not posted updates because, once I got her up and running, I spent just as much time running her around outside as I did finishing the build. I really really enjoyed building her.... its been a one of the best modelling experiences I can remember. Liked it so much I bought some other Tamiya 1/16 RC kits. Great fun. The resin aftermarket hull I used to convert the Tamiya M4A3 based hull was a great product, easy to use and was not to too hard to modify to the existing Tamiya parts. She's a heavy beast, 3.5 kg/just under 8 pounds. Its like "scale" weight..... lots of fun to watch the track action over uneven ground. Finally an idea of the size of this beast, a photo taken beside a Tamiya spray can and a bottle of Vallejo paint. Will update with more photos once stowage and commander figure are completed. In the meantime... I have a 1/32 Fly Hurricane to finish up.... but... I keep looking at the 1/16 Tamiya RC Tiger I Early Production sitting in my hobby room.... and I think " I bet I could convert that to a Tiger I Mid Production" Cheers and have a great day ! Dave/Ironman1945

Thanks for the comments. BTW great website, lots of great Sherman info! Been working slowly on all the various hull fittings. Have not been working very fast, but to paint this beast I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can get it outside anyway. Here are some various pics. First up, tow cable constructed of wire strands and plastic ends and fittings on the hull such as barbed wire holder and siren cover. The Tamiya kit headlight guards are pretty thick but I couldnt bring myself to build new ones.... As I said at the start, its a runner so trying not to get all "rivet counter"... but sometimes we cant help ourselves. Rear of the hull with the new gun travel lock (3D printed ordered off of Shapeways) rear headlight guards and hull lifting hooks. Round disks are spare bogie wheel carriers, just waiting for wheels to be fitted. This time also showing the rear stowage rack. Some of the pioneer tools fitted, as well as the fender braces. I'd thought about doing more detail work with the tools... and about smoothing the hull down more as I think the cast effect is a bit exaggerated, but in the end decided against it. Cheers and stay safe everyone! Dave/Ironman1945