ARMOR - Tamiya 1/16 Tiger 1 Group Build

Kuma,

Yeah, according to "Willie", there are no reinforcing products available yet for the Type 4 (King Tiger)
gearboxes. I figure that with the new boxes and motors I'll be alright. As for the new cupola, I ordered a King Tiger turret from Tamiya and used a dremel to cut out the cupola. That was the easy
part. Then I had to cut the base of the old style cupola off of the top of my own turret. I had to be
very careful at that point. The rest was a matter of sanding and shaping. No, I didn't resin cast
anything. I've never liked that most homemade resin parts are so thin and flimsy. Ugh, why bother if I have the real thing right there?

Roy

Erock, it looks like you're dangerously close to painting something there!
Looking good, man.

Moses,

Thanks for the compliment! I will send you an email later today.
I must say, I am having a blast doing this build. I was a bit apprehensive about all the PE parts but, I am really starting to get into the swing of it. I normally don't add too many of them to my kits, maybe I should start.

I said on the website that, although there is everything except the kitchen sink in the Aber kit, I won't be using them all. I want to keep a good balance between detail and function. I have to remember that, it will be handled and take some bumps, being an RC kit.

J-Hulk,

It's all I can do to keep myself calm...painting is soooo close. I do have quite a bit to do overall. I am on the front hull now (2 hatches, headlights and such) I also have to add the Track-hanger handles and the rivets on the back of the turret too.

I am also starting to think about a display base. I wish there were more available, as far as 1/16 dio accessories go. I did pick up my 1/16 scale crew from Verlinden (you won't see those to the end ) I might try my hand at some scratch built buildings, if I can get some good ideas.

Display Base? I love the idea, but I have no idea where I could possibly put
something that large in my house. Hmm, perhaps it's time to buy a bigger
house...

Roy

Eric, I will go on record here....If you use that kit as an actually RC toy..I will kill you. That kit is going to be awesome when it is completed..and there is no way in hell I am gonna let you drive it around on the kitchen floor!!! If I find out ya did..I will have to take a drive to your house and relieve you of the Tiger I and put it nicely on the shelf in my model room. Of course full credit will go to you when people compliment me on my awesome 1/16th Tiger I

Kuma :

If you're going to order from Dave4What ., let me know !

I'd like to offer to take your Type 1 gearboxes off you , or pay you to order me a few things from Dave (Its long distance for me, and its a local-locked line , so I cant call him)

KT Cupola's :

Why hack a KT ? Dirk has them , and his turret mechanism's are designed to operate !

WhiteWolf

Whitewolf - already ordered my Tiger from D4W. If I'd only known awhile back I could have done it for you. I'm not sure what I'm going to do gear/transmission wise yet. I"m still tryin to decide. But if I decide to sell mine off I'll let you know first.

And who is this Dirk you guys keep talking about?

QUOTE: Eric, I will go on record here....If you use that kit as an actually RC toy..I will kill you. That kit is going to be awesome when it is completed..and there is no way in hell I am gonna let you drive it around on the kitchen floor!!! If I find out ya did..I will have to take a drive to your house and relieve you of the Tiger I and put it nicely on the shelf in my model room.

Kitchen Floor?? Heck no, it's going out in the backyard mud

Dirk's Parts :

For those wondering , Dirk is one of our German modellers , and has made castings for many of the Tiger 1 and King Tiger parts .

You can find his price list ( and some images of his parts) on his Yahoo group : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DP-Thema/

And as my own parts have arrive , I can speak personally on them : The castings rival the Aber ones for quality !!

I bought a brake for one of my aluminum barrels , and its gorgeous . The tow shackles are amazing , and the working KT hatch ... the casting detail on the hatch curve is wonderful , and the hatch arm even has skight marks that simulate welds .

I ~will~ be ordering from Dirk again . And as yet , I've heard of NO dis-satisfied customers !

WhiteWolf (reporting)

Guys :

Someone mentioned buying a ~Tamiya~ gear puller for use on the 380-to-Zagi swapover ... Or was I sleep-deprived at the time ?

Who was it , and where did you get it from (part #?) If it was not a Tamiya one , who made it , what part # , and where from ?

I wanna get more Type 1 boxes & I don't wanna risk mangling any more pinions . Plus I wanna be able to re-use the motors : the ones I manually pulled are now too sloppy to be of any use unless I figure out how to 'tighten' them up again .

WhiteWolf ( off to pack up the 'Pards )

I remember someone mentioning the Tamiya gear puller. I'll try searchin around and maybe visit my local hobby store. They have tons of RC stuff... mostly cars... but they might have some kinda puller.

Did quite a bit of modeling, so far this weekend. I have the gunner's hatch complete and ready to install. I am leaving the driver's hatch buttoned-up (since I don't have a figure for that particular hatch) I also added the handles on the track holders on the turret.

I am also working on my project for my local IPMS Regional show (which is Sat, Nov. 1st) I will be building it OOB. Now, can anyone guess what it is? Anyone?

Here is a hint....It's not a Tiger but, it IS a German Armor piece and it's by Dragon. It won't be as easy as you think

E-100!

Elefant? I know I've been itchin to build mine. Or maybe a Sturmtiger?

E-100?...................no

Elefant?.................nope

Sturmtiger?..................not

From Dragon you say .... maybe a Hetzer or a Stug.

Dragon and German...

Maus!
Panther II!
Panther F!
Jagdtiger?

Let's see........

Hetzer?
Maus?
Panther? (not even the Night Fighting version)
Jagdtiger?

Good guesses though.

PS.....Just to mention (and before anyone asks) YES, it is WWll era

king tiger ...???

or

wespe ...???

Stug?
Pzr III?
Pzr IV?
Geez, what else has Dragon put out...

Guys :

Edited :

Willy can get anything Hafner (aka www.TruckModellSport.de) list , as well as Carson , Graupner & Robbe . Those of you wanting a 4x4 , 6x6 or 8x8 transporter , there's your source .

He is also carrying a motor that he reports is better than the stock Mabuchi 380 or even the Zagi 400's (sorry guys) and says it'll run $10-$12 US

What he ~does~ appear to have is a set-screw-mounted 10 tooth pinion ! Price estimate $5 each .

Despite differences between Willy & I , I'm considering placing an order with him . The only reported problem was shipping delays because he is called out of town on business . He replied to me before leaving for the airport !

WhiteWolf

PS: Poll is up on DP-Thema: How would you like to place orders with Dirk?

PPS: My vote ? ~KING~ Tiger .

WhiteWolf, I only see the group page. No listings or prices. Does he do 1/35, also, or just 1/16 parts??

Eric,
Kettenkraftrad w/pupchen (or without)?

Bill

Alright! I have applied by base color of Dunkelgelb (Dark yellow). Man, I can't believe how awesome this baby looks now! What a difference this color makes. I didn't get too excited when I put the primer on, but once I sprayed the dark yellow, I can't wait to get my other colors on! The camo job will have to wait a day or so however. I want to be sure I get all of my smaller parts painted as well. This is also the first time I got to use my Badger 150 airbrush. I will NEVER use a can again. It's so much nicer, and easier to apply an even coat with the 150. Plus the finish of the paint looks somehow deeper and oxidized when I used the 150. At any rate, painting has
begun! Question for you guys. How are you getting the seam
to not show on the muzzlebreak on the main gun?

Kuma and WWMcB, I ordered the Tamiya gear puller from my LHS right out of their catalog. It cost $11 and some change.

Roy

Wipie :

Price list and ordering instructions are in the files section , some of the older parts images are in the photo's section (#'s don't correspond , working on new photos & price list)

Also have a poll up about how you'd like to place an order . There is a possibility i Missed in the poll : Using Willy as an importer , as he's already bring other stuff in .

Erock :

Filler & sanding . That or buy one of Dirk's cast ones . I'll see if the LHS can order it ...

WhiteWolf

Kugelblitz?
Leopold?
Karl Morser?

Roy (Okieboy)

Glad to hear its coming along so well. Airbrushing is really a blast too. I've been doing it for about the past 4 yrs and I think I still have a lot to learn. I really enjoy reading finescale cuz they put some tips in them that are helpful.... like softmasks, etc...

Really lookin forward to seeing some new pictures!

Thanks for the Tamiya gear puller info. They don't have it posted to there site but maybe I can just call Tamiya and ask them about it?

About the muzzle break. Filling and sanding. In the past I'd try to put on a fine layer of filler then sand it down. Sometimes having to repeat it when the seam was difficult. Now what others have done in the past is apply the filler then whip it off with cutex nail polish remover only leaving the seam filled. This way you have very little sanding to do. Now I've never tried cutex but I've tried it with Model master red putty and some Tamiya thinner. The putty just attacked the plastic making a mess. Same thing happend with Squadron white putty and thinner. Maybe cutex nail polish remover works better but try it on a test piece first!! I did pick some up but haven't tested it yet. It could be just my puttys fault. I'd really like to get some of that new Tamiya putty and try that.

How is your drive train going? Do you have it all setup? New gearboxes and Zagi motors?

Alright Roy!

Paint, Paint, Paint

Kuma;

I tried it (nail polish) with the Tamiya Polyester putty and it doesn't work very well. As I recall, I did it while the putty was still pretty fresh and it did work it down a bit, but it was kind of messy and didn't work nearly as well as with other putties. I've used the nail polish remover on Squadron, Testor, and Tamiya (basic putty) and had pretty good luck with it. However, this method doesn't work well for filling ejector pin marks. They are too shallow and broad. They q-tips just strip all the putty out of the mark and you get back to nothing for all the work. It does work well for seams, especially (sorry guys) things like wing to fuse joints. It does seem to craze the plastic just a touch. Basically just takes the gleem off the plastic. I'm not sure if its a result of the nail polish or an etching from the putty (which is what I think it is). Definately best to "outline" the area with tape before puttying.

Good luck,

Bill

Thanks Wipw

I'll have to keep trying. It sounds like a good method when its working right

Eric or Roy... have you guys opted to go with the Tamiya fenders? I think I remember seeing Roy's Tiger with the Tamiya fenders in place.

Was it because the Aber PE was meant more for a static display and wouldn't possibly hold up to RC handling?

I'm waiting around for my Aber set to show up and was just thinking about it.

Kuma,

One more thing. Make sure the putty is set up before hitting it with the nail polished soaked q-tips. I've had it turn a bit sloppy if I did it too soon.

Bill