warshipguy

I have one question concerning the finish on your Tiger II.  Given that she is one of the early Tiger IIs with the so-called Porsche turret, she should have a coat of zimmerit.  However, the photos show none.  Does the model have this feature?

Bill

Hi Bill,

Zimmerit was not an included feature/option with this particular kit.  The photos are of the tank with everything it came with (minus the decals I forgot to place).

I have one question concerning the finish on your Tiger II.  Given that she is one of the early Tiger IIs with the so-called Porsche turret, she should have a coat of zimmerit.  However, the photos show none.  Does the model have this feature?

Bill

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions on where to look for a next kit. 

I perused some of the Tamiya models and was pleasantly surprised by the number of affordable kits in 1/35 scale.  The Sherman has me intrigued...

PhoenixG,

My first AFV kit was the Airfix HO scale Panther, followed by the Airfix HO Assault Gun (I was 6 at the time).  I thought they were great!  It wasn't until years later that I learned that they were horribly undetailed.  Decades later (I'm turning 68 in a few days), I suppose that Airfix has stepped up their game.  I know that their ships have gotten better.

Anyway, keep up  the good work!

Bill

Welcome to your first foray into armor nice technique with your gentle weathering and overall job.Yes the heavier German tanks got,the more interleaved road wheels.1/72 is tough sometimes being so small, look into a 1/35 Tamiya King Tiger it's a bigger canvas,not too expensive or overly complicated.

Looks awesome to me Phoenix!  

Hope you build more armour! The Tamiya kits are great! The vintage ones are fun and the new ones are expensive but top notch quality. 

Thanks Bill!  I've done a couple of Airfix's 1/72 WWII fighter planes and thought they had a good level of detail which is why I was willing to give this one a try.  I have been eyeing some of the Tamiya kits for a next build though.

Thanks for kind words and awesome tip Greg!  I'll have to remember to do that on the next one.

I recently picked up some of the Pan Pastels to give a try as they were on sale at the time.  Used a combination of those plus washes for wear and dirtying it up.  I liked how well the Pan Pastel went down in comparison to regular chalk pastels.

Something else has been bothering me about this model and today it finally struck me what it was.  It's lacking any markings.  I completely forgot to apply the decals!!

Looks good, indeed.

And Rob's right...with armor, usually 'neatness' doesn't count. Generally, the more beat-up, the better.

As far as tips...for ground vehicles...particularly in smaller scales like 1/72, which is my scale of choice for AV's...I'll usually drybrush a shade or two of light grey on corners/edges and projecting structures to suggest wear on those vulnerable areas...then go with a few shades of brown/grey/tan on skirts, fenders & wheels for dust and light mud. Heavy mud is a more labor-intensive treatment, more finicky to get right and look convincing.

Drybrushing usually looks best going dark to light, with the lightest shade effectively acting as 'highlights' for visual effect.

Cheers

Your Tiger II (Porche turret) looks great! I have to admit that I am surprised that it is an Airfix kit.  Well done!

Bill

Good point!

The camo paint job I did would definitely be far too crisp then.  Was following the box art.  Kind of nice to know I don't have to be quite so obsessive about my brush work. :)

Thanks!

It looks good, fortunately for modelers, most German armor was camouflaged in the field with whatever items they could use to paint them. Neatness doesn't always count.