Available References Akin to Panzer Tracts 6

Back in the day, when accuracy wasn't a big issue and some adjustments were made to models to account for motorization and moving parts, there were volumes of material gathered so your intermediate modeler could "up his game" and accurize these dinosaurs into the masterpieces that advanced modelers created.

Most of those old kits are more collector's items now. Newer kits are nearly miniaturized versions of some actual museum vehicle. Your average modeler can build a highly accurate model straight out of the box and as long as the basic building skills are done (seams, gaps, alignment, etc.), most kits are judged on the skills of the paint job.

Even today, when a new kit is released, there is a rush to review the kit and point out inaccuracies. Most build reviews involve some sort of adjustment that the builder finds necessary. It's almost like the new philosophy is "no one builds out-of-box anymore."

While I'm only passingly familiar with Panzer Tracts, I have found the Achtung Panzer series helpful, though it'll be of limited utility if one can't read Japanese. Depending on what Tiger you'd like to model, books by George Forty may be helpful (there are quite a few). If you've got a Tiger II, David Parker's "Superking" has lots of great info on how to bring a kit up to spec (and I believe has recently been reprinted). Waldemar Trojka also produced a fantastically detailed time on the Tiger II but fair warning, it set me back over $200 and that was the best deal I could find through the publisher in Poland. 

The Tigerfibel (there's a translated version) may also prove enlightening, if for nothing else than learning what training Tiger crews were given.

Rob Gronovius

Back in the day, when accuracy wasn't a big issue and some adjustments were made to models to account for motorization and moving parts, there were volumes of material gathered so your intermediate modeler could "up his game" and accurize these dinosaurs into the masterpieces that advanced modelers created.

Most of those old kits are more collector's items now. Newer kits are nearly miniaturized versions of some actual museum vehicle. Your average modeler can build a highly accurate model straight out of the box and as long as the basic building skills are done (seams, gaps, alignment, etc.), most kits are judged on the skills of the paint job.

Even today, when a new kit is released, there is a rush to review the kit and point out inaccuracies. Most build reviews involve some sort of adjustment that the builder finds necessary. It's almost like the new philosophy is "no one builds out-of-box anymore."

 

 

Modern manufacturing and such really have been a great thing. Even retooled kits are usually night and day from their old variants. I still like the idea of personalizing the model to some extent though, whether it just be modeling an uncommon tank or throwing some aftermarket stuff onto it. Especially when you buy the same kit over... how many Tiger 131's can you have on your shelf...

Coffeepoweredprof

While I'm only passingly familiar with Panzer Tracts, I have found the Achtung Panzer series helpful, though it'll be of limited utility if one can't read Japanese. Depending on what Tiger you'd like to model, books by George Forty may be helpful (there are quite a few). If you've got a Tiger II, David Parker's "Superking" has lots of great info on how to bring a kit up to spec (and I believe has recently been reprinted). Waldemar Trojka also produced a fantastically detailed time on the Tiger II but fair warning, it set me back over $200 and that was the best deal I could find through the publisher in Poland. 

The Tigerfibel (there's a translated version) may also prove enlightening, if for nothing else than learning what training Tiger crews were given.

 

Thank you. Just out of curiosity, do you speak/read Japanese? Since I do not... would the Achtung Panzer only be a good pictoral reference or does it have other charts or diagrams that I can still get the gyst of?

Corrected an error here... the Tanks in Detail series looks like it is  by Jonathan Forty (not sure if there is a relation). Lots of the George Forty titles still look interesting... I am a pretty big history buff so I can easily see myself buying a variety of the titles.

I can speak and read some Japanese, but the Achtung Panzer books will still be useful if you don't! Most of the illustrations and pictures have captions in English and even though most of the photos are of museum tanks, it still does an excellent job of showing the differences between tank versions, eg: design changes, differences in tools, etc.

I'd go so far as to say the Achtung Panzer series has been one of the most useful for my modeling purposes. Unfortunately, they're long out of print and some volumes can be pretty pricey on eBay.

Panzernoob

Modern manufacturing and such really have been a great thing. Even retooled kits are usually night and day from their old variants. I still like the idea of personalizing the model to some extent though, whether it just be modeling an uncommon tank or throwing some aftermarket stuff onto it. Especially when you buy the same kit over... how many Tiger 131's can you have on your shelf...

I fully enjoy trying to bring life into old kits from my youth. Sometimes I build them like I did when I was 12. Other times, I try to bring them up to more modern standards. There is still joy to be found in these old kits, but I'd never really try to create a "contest winner", just build to enjoy the journey for myself.

Panzernoob

do you speak/read Japanese? Since I do not..

Check out the features available on your phone.

If nothing else ring up Google Translate on your phone, as it can translate (sometimes) a number of foreign languages written out.

Now, the grammar and diction will be awful, and you may have to read things 4 or 5 times for them to make sense, and there wil lbe a number of words that simply be rednered incorrectly (specialist technical grammar is especially prone to this).

https://tiger1.info/kits.html

The above site is indespensible, as it takes pretty much every Tiger kit out there and explains individually what needs to be done to improve and make more accurate.

regards,

Jack

CapnMac  - That's sounds like its definitely worth pursuing. I will have to see if I can find a reasonably priced copy. Probably a few good apps out there that will work for this project.

jgeratic

https://tiger1.info/kits.html

The above site is indespensible, as it takes pretty much every Tiger kit out there and explains individually what needs to be done to improve and make more accurate.

 

regards,

Jack

 

That is a great site. I can't imagine the amount of time invested to put all that together. Anyone know if David is still on FSM? I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure out if Tiger 222 of the 503rd will match any of the kits. I had purchased some aftermarket decals for early Tigers, but looking at his site I think I will have to get other items before I can build any of them accurately... or the decals might be off altogether. Or both.

At what time period are you looking at, Eastern Front or Western Front at Normandy?

There is this:  http://www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html

I prefer the late war "big cats," but admittedly I have a soft spot for the Panzer IV and Stug regardless of time period. I find myself modeling most of my stuff off of Eastern Front units and photos, but I am certainly not beyond good references for any theater. The Eastern and African campaigns are certainly more in line with traditional tank on tank combat with their large swathes of wide open terrain so this is probably why I gravitate to these areas, but clearly there were plenty of engagements in the west as well.