The Runner-Up: DML Tiger (P) Complete 12-09-09

Whoa Bill your brush work is superb guy. Glad you had a good day out there, ours was not to shabby around here if I do say so myself.

Tony Lee

WOW Bill that looks SWEET!  Real nice AB work.

Yeah thats what I wanted to see. I was looking at the cupola hatch and just remembered the signal port...Looks brilliant.

Terry.

The weather held up as hoped for today so I spent a good solid 4-5 hours out in the garage getting the paint on this build. First order of business was to apply a primer/pre-shade coat of enamel Italian Dark Brown. This allowed me to check all the previous putty work, made sure I didn't have any bare plastic areas, and provided a solid foundation for all of the metal parts for the base coat.

After the primer coat, I mixed up a full bottle of enamel 50-50 Light Gray/Panzer Dunkelgelb as I knew this one was going to require a lot of paint. The addition of the zim dramatically increases the surface area so I applied the base coat in a series of multiple passes both horizontal and vertical to insure good all-around coverage.

The camo pattern was applied next. I applied the Rotbraun first, using an enamel mix of 50-50 Leather/Military Brown and laying down the pattern free-hand with the kit instructions finishing guide and box art as a general template. The Olivegrun was applied next using enamel Khaki. I cleaned up over spray where needed using the base coat mix and then once satisfied with the pattern, I thinned down the remaining base coat in the paint cup to almost wash consistency. This was sprayed as an overall mist coat with the model about 12" away from the airbrush in order to tie the scheme together.

Depending on how things go tomorrow, I should be able to get the tracks done and installed along with the road wheels.

Looking forward to seeing you get the paint down. Good luck Bill.

Terry.

Pvt Mutt wrote:

Every now and then i'll run across a picture of this tank and the turret is almost always turned to face the rear and I suppose the balance issue is the reason.

That's true Tony, there are quite a few pics out there of #003 showing it moving around in the field with the turret turned towards the rear. The pics of it entrained however always have the gun facing forward. My guess is that when moving in the field having the gun toward the rear accomplished a key improvement, it shortened the overall length of the vehicle, making it easier for the driver to maneuver and probably gave the driver a better view through the periscopes given their placement relative to the turret. I don't think it would've necessarily changed the weight characteristics due to the way the suspension is designed but it certainly would've made life easier on the driver I think!  

Every now and then i'll run across a picture of this tank and the turret is almost always turned to face the rear and I suppose the balance issue is the reason.

Tony Lee

the doog wrote:

Looking cool, Bill. You're going to have a heck of a time painting those tracks in there behind the bin though--might better have left off that bin until later, and attached it with superglue?

Thanks Karl! So long as I can see it, I can paint it. Since the turret is detachable from the hull, I can attack them from both the top and the bottom so I'm not too concerned although I would've preferred it otherwise of course. The attachment points for the bin to the resin are very small so it was more important to get a solid join and line up with the styrene parts prior to painting. That and the fact that I need the bin to be incorporated into the paint scheme made the choice for me even with the downside. I've got some very fine detail brushes that will allow me to get into the tight spaces, it just will take longer than if I'd been able to paint them separately.

Looking cool, Bill.

You're going to have a heck of a time painting those tracks in there behind the bin though--might better have left off that bin until later, and attached it with superglue?

Thanks Mike! Actually did a little of both in regards to shopping. Didn't camp out like some of the crazies who had to be up at 4 am in an attempt to get gadget X but instead was content to shop a bit online (ordered Spielberger's Pz I&II and a Panasonic Blu-ray player) and do some research (new washer and drier) before heading to the store to order said washer and drier.

As for the all-weather painting solution...I have one, it's called the "garage"! It just depends on whether or not I can stand to be out there to get the job done or not! Tomorrow is supposed to be relatively warm so I think I'll be ok...life in the desert can be tough when the temperature drops.

A little pepto.....some cookies...some more turkey...some shopping and presto...

Nice work on a full stomach and tired feet (or fingers if on the internet).

You need to get an all weather painting solution!! Hummmm.......maybe Santa

Hope the weather holds up for your painting.

Rounds Complete!!

   Bill I have to disagree on the ugly duckling comparison. The more I see this build progress the better it looks to me. I think this one-off Tiger is very cool and will have to be added to the collection. I've checked out the premium edition and have decided that's the one for me.

   Looking forward to your painting update.

         Steve

Managed to squeeze in a little bit of work in between turkey and shopping over the holiday. The last remaining bit of business before painting was the rear turret details, so I proceeded to complete Step 18 by adding the spare track links and rear turret bin.

The Atak turret rear replicates the plate on the DML turret perfectly and I didn't have any fit issues, just had to be careful to place the links in the correct spot as each one is shaped a little differently due to the curve of the turret. I had hoped that I could detail the links and install them later but due to their placement and how they fit in with the turret bin that wasn't possible. I used a #68 finger drill to drill out the open track pin holes on the links at either end of the runs for a little more detail and then used CA gel to glue them to the resin turret and regular glue to each other to complete the runs.

Next I assembled the turret bin and used a #11 blade to remove the molded-on bin latches and replaced them with the 3-part Lion Roar PE parts. The bin was then installed to the turret rear.

Test fit with the hull showed the bin had plenty of clearance all-around and also helps balance out the overall look of the turret relative to the hull.

Tomorrow should see the paint work start if the weather holds up!

Thanks tread for the comments and the interest. You humble me considering the level of details and intricate work you put in on your builds. Thanks for following along!

Eric, thanks for the kind words as well. You're right about the box art perspective, it has the turret posed at an angle which makes it look more like the "conventional" Tiger profile vs. how it actually looked. The reason the turret sits so far forward is the engine layout and types used in the Porsche design, the engines take up fully half the hull length leaving no other choice but to squish the fighting compartment and turret ring forward!  

Magnificent, Bill  : )

You are a master of the intricate. 

Both in your execution of the builds and the fine tutorial way they are written.

I know I don,t respond often, but I read all your posts, every word-- I guess I just run out of adjectives. 

 This is a really cool ugly duckling!

tread  : )

panzerguy wrote:

I've been giving a lot of thought into getting this kit. Just cant decide if I want to get the premium edition or go with this kit that your working with along with the Voyager pe set and some MK tracks. After seeing how nice that barrel looks that would be a must have also.

Thanks Steve, appreciate the comments! I opted not to get the Premium kit because I already had this one in the stash and had begun acquiring stuff for it. The Premium kit doesn't have zim but does correct the turret question in relation to the escape hatch features not seen on the standard kit turret. IIRC the Premium kit also includes an aluminum barrel with a styrene muzzle brake and has more PE brass instead of the awful PE steel parts in the standard kit. All depends I guess on the price and availability of one kit over the other vs. your total spend $$.

Edmund, thanks for dropping by, I think you've got the perfect excuse in the way of how your Camionetta is coming along!

I have been watching this one closely Bill and it occured tome I have not posted on this one!

Sorry my freind I have been preoccupied!  Looks excellent as is your quality bar!

i can;t wait to see paint on this one!

     Bill #101 is looking great! You just got to love that Atak including the whole turret. Makes life a whole lot easier.

     I've been giving a lot of thought into getting this kit. Just cant decide if I want to get the premium edition or go with this kit that your working with along with the Voyager pe set and some MK tracks. After seeing how nice that barrel looks that would be a must have also.

making good progress on this Bill, I really like the looks of the PE, adds that extra touch to liven up the model. I too look forward to the painting stages.

Rob

Thanks dupes! Since I had to secure two parts (the frame and the mesh) in order for it to work, it took a bit of head scratching and trial-and-error before I settled on the T-pins. Masking tape didn't work because it would hold the mesh but not the frame for example! The T-pin approach is one I'd used before for soldering stuff and after struggling for around 15 minutes with how to get this done, the light bulb finally went on and it went a lot smoother after that.

wing_nut wrote:

Looks great Bill. Looking forward to the painting satge. And that is quite a plus getting the entire turret as a resin piece.  1 up on the Cavalier set

Marc, thanks for the comments and have to agree 100% on the value-for-the-money on the Atak set vs. the Cavalier set. That's ultimately what sold me on this set way back when and Atak packages it in a sturdy box so there's no worry about it getting damaged in shipping either.