Steel Cats (Sept. 2012-Aug. 2013)

thanks- just one thing-- is it sept. yet?

some assembly required

thanks- just one thing-- is it sept. yet?

I wish, but then I don't. Too many other things going on. 

ha= aint that the truth!

Right now my hobby room is flooded with garage sale items and a bunch of kits I bought for a song. I need to move them and clear up space.

SMJ - if you're looking for knowledge re: Tiger variants, try these sites:

http://tiger1.info/

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/panzerkampfwagen-vi-tiger-ausf-e-sd-kfz-181.htm

There's one more I thought I had bookmarked that was an article from Jentz/Doyle that had an actual grid with individual items to not only determine the variant, but manufacturing date and plant as well. If I can find it again I'll let you know.

Thanks dupes,  It'll be fun to do some research while we wait until September!

Bish, I've got that pic, and I think that's about where and what I'll be doing, but I'm still looking as well. Problem is, towards the end, I don't think too many people turned their back on the Russians (or us or the British or whoever) long enough to take a picture, so I may end up building something based on looser references.

No worries, while I'm pondering, I'm working on a purely conjectural Israeli sherman, kind of tongue in cheek.

Ye, i know what you mean. The one i am planning on for this, i have only seen one picture of, and apparently there are a couple more. And i believe there were only a couple in existance.

Going to need a bump, otherwise off the page she goes.

Bumping! I just received Tamiya's  Jagdpanther retool and am wondering if I could fit it in as well as the King Tiger... I'll let you know how my packed build roster looked later in the year!

M/TB379

The Jagdpanther Late? I have that kit and thought about doing it instead. It just depends if my job situation changes by September.

That's the one -- it would be in the same ambush mix as the KT, operating on the same front, probably in the same battles, and the temptation is considerable...!

M/TB379

I think it would be an easier build, but it does have rubber-tires. Ugh. The camo has always bugged with the Jagdpanther. I've seen less variations of it. I'm not a big fan of the striped-camo.

Nope, no rubber tires, that was an Academy experiment. The camo is certainly unusual,  and offers the possibility of doing a German subject that is not predominantly yellow or grey...

M/TB379

I'm confused. Are we talking about the Jagdpanthet? If so, they all have rubber on the wheels.

Oh, I see what you mean, rubber rimmed as opposed to resilient steel roadwheels, as on the later-build Panthers? That would be correct. I was thinking kit parts, and all Tamiyas have the tires moulded in as opposed to the separate vinyls, which was Academy's experiment on a few kits.

M/TB379

I din't know Academy did that on their kits. I have a Tristar Brummbar, and the tires are separate from the rims. Otherwise, I've never seen that before.

Tigerman - Alright, Alright, Alright after much thought I'll accept your invite to join in. I might be biting off a bit more than I can handle but I'd really like to build some armor for a change of pace and this appears to fun to pass up. Although I mentioned the 1/35 Tamiya Tiger I, I do have a couple of other options in my stash that I may consider:

 I, uh, just kinda tossed in the sd. kfz. 234/2 Puma in case that might fall into the "Steel Cat" category. It's actually a toss up between the Tiger and the Jagdpanther. Although the Jagdpanther is a bit dated I may look for some AM to dress it up. Now, I am fairly knowledgable on German armor but I'm no officianado by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I do love putting a bend in my learning curve. I'm more in this to try out new painting and weathering skills rather than making sure I've got the right antenna on the right production model. With that said I do have my first question. I've been doing some searching for a metal gun barrel for the Tiger I Mid production and all I seem to run into is barrels for early and late prods. If either of these will work for the mid-pro which one? Looking forward to getting started.

                                                                     Joe

Glad to have you aboard Joe. 

Oh, you threw me a curve with the Puma. After much back-and-forth, we settled on just Panthers and Tigers and their variants. Sorry bro. Of the kits you have, the best is the Tiger Mid. The same barrel was used from early to late. The mantlet did have some variations.

Malone, I'll have to do some investigating on the armor which I'm assuming is your reference to the additional armor on the engine-deck. 

As far as late camos, I've always liked the ambush scheme. Late war G's used dunkelgrun as a base with red-oxide and dunkelgelb as secondary camo colors. Very confusing I know.

  nice, kind of along the lines that i was thinking...   so guys any tips for getting those little dots or triangles to look goodi  in 1/72 scale...  i tried on my jagdtiger but it just didnt come out right...  i used my airbrush though, maybe hand paint???   also, on the armor plates...  i dont know if i could pull off the bare steel plates in that scale as well... i've seen that some of the plates were made from old side skirts. so would painting them be ok?  sorry for so many questions but just one more guys...  do any of you know of any makers of on vehicle tools in 1/72 scale?  if i have too i'm gonna try and scratch them cause if any of you guys saw my jag the tool handles just don't come across well in the photo-etch sets...   man i cant wait till sept...  i'm finishing up my mk3 for deafpanzers group build finally and also i am throwing together the sherman m4a4 from cyber hobby for my cousin... i  love building for family, you don't have to fret over acurracy at all and they just want it to look cool... so i set some limits just so they don't get clowned by someone who knows different...  but the kit itself was kind of a drag...  its my first sherman ever...  and def. not a good one to starti  with...  nothing really fit right and as far as what you get in the box and from what i can tell you cant really do it from any country without really good reference or add-ons...  especially decals...   i think next time i'm gonna try tascas m4a4 and try and turn it into an isherman...  they had alot of a4's from france i read, and not all were made into those wierd carriers you always see in the books....   hope you guys can help with the panther i really want to trick this bad boy out!!!!!!

malone, i get the feeling the extra armour was field applied. I doubt if they were assigned to specfic unit or front. The problem with German vehicles of this period is often a shortage of photos. The camo scheme would be the standard for that period, i doubt anything special would be used just because they had the extra armour.

Malone, I just used a spotter brush and dabbed very thinned down paint. Maybe a zero or double zero.

Late war Panthers tended to have a hard edged Camo too.

I saw a reference to pzr rgt. 26 using the shields in Italy on A"s and G"s .HTH Dragon/Cyberhobby kit #6267 is a representation of this AA armor. 

                                                Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Ok, the Tamiya Tiger I mid prod. it is. Picked up a metal barrel and a cable set off ebay for it. As far a the Puma goes I'm not ready to tackle that gorgeous kit yet until I get a couple other armor kits under my belt. Being as I am a reference book junkie any recommendations on books for the Tiger. How are the books by Thomas Jentz such as "Germany's Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I" or "Tigers at the Front"?

Dentz and Doyle are generally considered amongst the best when it comes to German armour. I have not seen the book you mention, but i think it would be very useful. The Osprey vangaurd book on the Tiger I is also very useful

Needs another bump. I guess guys are getting busy.

Thanks Bish.

And thank you. I have added those two books you mentioned to my Amazon wish list. I hadn't been aware of those books.

How much Bish? What is your real name BTW?