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Converting the 1/16 Tamiya RC Full Option Tiger I early to a Tiger I mid - production


ironman1945

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On 12/19/2022 at 8:27 AM, BiggTim said:

Not sure how I missed this earlier, but very cool! I loved your M-51 conversion. 

Thanks very much Tim. Am very hooked on the Tamiya 1/16 RC kits at the moment. Lots of fun when you flash them up! 

 

Vroom Vroom clank clank

 

Dave/Ironman1945

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, hope all had a great holiday. Managed to get a little time on the bench to continue this build.  I found out with my M 51 build that fine details on an RC model tend to break off, but on the other hand at 1/16 scale, there were some items I felt could do with refinement. Didn't go overboard though, used strip/rod styrene and copper wire. I know Aber makes an extensive PE set, and I did order their tow cables and related brackets (still waiting on them), but didnt want to spend a fortune for their complete set. So here is where its at.... alterations for mid prod Tiger 1 on the rear deck, and almost all the pioneer tools were re-located. Also, C shaped tow hook was made and located at the front. Turret hatches installed. 

 

So far so good.

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Cheers, and more to follow. Oh and Happy New Year everyone!

 

Dave/Ironman1945

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finally got to the point were the basic superstructure is  together and base color is on. She's a heavy beast, a lot heavier than my M-51! On to adding/painting the details (tow cables, pioneer tools, etc) then camo colors and weathering.

 

Did take her out for a spin on the front lawn. What a hoot driving her around! Loads of fun!

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Cheers and Go Bengals!

 

Dave/Ironman1945

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  • 4 months later...

Its been since end of Jan since I've posted any updates on this project.  Most of the time was spent waiting for a new spray booth, and parts ordered from Germany....spare track link brackets for the turret and a tow cable set.  Not sure why but the items from Germany could only be shipped via seaborne shipping container... took months to arrive. 

 

Anyway finally got the camo on... here are some pics. She's sitting on a wooden block under the chassis, just to save some wear on the suspension.

 

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Finally, shout out to PACE Enterprises for their amazing spray booth. Has the most powerful exhaust fan I've ever seen in a booth, works great! So glad I purchased it. Just big enough to fit this beast in it.

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On to fitting of pioneer tools, unit markings, weathering, etc etc. Having loads of fun with this build.'

 

Cheers!

 

Dave/Ironman1945

 

 

PS: Only 88 days until the start of the 2023 NFL season!

 

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Looking good!

BTW, anyone wanting to go the mid-production route, but afraid to scratch it, AFV Modeller just released a conversion set: 16116 1:16 Tiger 1 Mid Production Conversion Set – AFV modeller . Spendy, though, at 85GBP. And you have to do the Zimmerit yourself, they supply the roller.

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20 hours ago, Confusionreigns178 said:

The AFV Modeller 3-D set looks superb, but the price makes my eyes water. You pays your money and you makes your choice, I guess...

 

Cheers.

 

Chris. 

Roughly a Thousand dollars for the tank, depending on where you shop. So $107.21 for the set, not bad. There are so many "After market" parts for this scale it is insane. But when done...Oh my are they gorgeous.

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1 hour ago, CODY said:

Roughly a Thousand dollars for the tank, depending on where you shop. So $107.21 for the set, not bad. There are so many "After market" parts for this scale it is insane. But when done...Oh my are they gorgeous.

Yup, for the Tamiya full option kit, however for the Andy's Hobby HQ/Takom kit (which the AFV sets are designed for) it is only $150.00 which make the set pretty expensive.

Didn't stop me from getting it, though. :) And they mention you really need a later version of the tracks which is in the works from another company, which I bet is another $100...

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Most of us build 1/32 and those can be really expensive, I built the AHHQ Tiger and would prefer building that to the Border Lancaster or any 4 engine bomber in 1/32.  I would not hesitate to get the mid production upgrade but we need masks for markings as well.  I want to build a mid production big tiger but we need like noted above tracks, and really we need masks because decals are not great over Zimmerit.  

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Don't really need the masks to conform perfectly to the Zimmerit. Place them, then shoot your paint with the airbrush as close to 90% as possible from the surface. Paint with a pretty fine mist so you don't get a lot of over-spray or bleed. Remember, a lot of time the Germans used masks so they had the same problem and you can see over-spray on some vehicles. Archer Transfers even made sets of numbers with blurred edges to re-create this. 

 

For masks, you can start with Montex Masks. With those two sets, you can make a lot of different turret numbers, as well as crosses.

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2 hours ago, Confusionreigns178 said:

How are you going to make the masks conform to the Zimmerit? A genuine enquiry, by the way. I'd be very interested to know, as I've never done it myself. 

 

Cheers. 

 

Chris.  

Masks won't conform, however, decals don't really either.  At least with a mask, as long as you get your paint right, you can get in tight and not have decal film showing.  Decals in large scale are going to be really hard to get to look descent as odds are your decal will not conform perfectly to the surface.  A mask is going to be better than a decal in the end and in the large scale, pay attention to paint angles and you are going to have a tight line image with almost no softening.  Years ago on a 1/35 Tiger late with Zimmerit, I brush painted my markings with oil paint, that actually came out okay but was not really accurate as I am not talented enough to replicate the numbers as seen in the photos free hand.

Edited by cbk57
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Thanks for the reply, cbk57.

 

I've a couple of the Hobbyboss Tiger 1's sitting in my stash, which I've little doubt I will be building in 2187 (or close to it!). Yep, I know that by standards of later kits, the Hobbyboss are lacking lots of details.... but they were REALLY cheap! I've bought a couple of Voyager PE sets for them and I'm hopeful that these will "paper over the cracks" a lot. 

 

I would highly recommend the ATAK Tiger 1 Zimmerit set. The only thing I don't like too much is that the Zimm is very regular and uniform - definitely not like the real stuff, but I can live with that.  

 

Chris. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Confusionreigns178
Typo correction
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  • 3 weeks later...

Started the weathering process. Its always a brush up for me as my build rate is slow, and hence dont get to actually use weathering skills that often.

 

Also sorted the track sag issue. The tracks are stock from the Tamiya kit, and as such are really for the Tiger I early. Been thinking about replacing them with metal mid/late tracks, but ... cost being what it is, may just leave it for now. 

 

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Next up, some dirt/dried mud on the running gear, dust, maybe a few rust marks, and soot/exhaust build up on the engine deck. 

Its endless, but I'm enjoying it. 

 

Cheers!

 

Dave/Ironman1945

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