Dragon #6253 Tiger I Late Production-Complete 12-20-13

Love the camo, and the choice of red primer in the inside wheels, Bill!

I like the lack of camo in the missing shield too! I see this alot in some old pics.

Thanks Jack! No gloves or anything special when handling the model. One of the advantages of working with enamels I suppose, there's no real worry about potential for flaking paint or other issues once it's applied and fully cured.

Bill, very adept work here, and have to comment on how pristine the surfaces are, which is so crucial in the final stages.  Do you wear gloves or have some kind of special apparatus to hold the model when working on it?

regards,

Jack

Yes, I was intending to mark this one as #213 with the sPzAbt 101.

Thanks Johan! You could have the pattern go either way depending on your view of the crew's thinking. My view here is that the skirt is gone and the crew didn't have time to repaint the pattern down to the hull or replace the skirt, so the pattern cuts-off where it would've normally been continuing on over the fender like you see with the other skirts that are still in place. This adds a little bit of visual variety and character to my Tiger I think, that's why I opted for that appearance. Since these camo schemes were field applied and the skirts were in place when vehicles were delivered, there's no reason to believe the crew would go to the trouble of applying camo under existing/in-place fenders on the off-chance that they might lose one down the road.

The spare tracks question is one that depends on what particular scenario or vehicle you're modeling I suppose and what photos do/don't show for a particular vehicle. The only times you see tracks typically over-painted to match the hull or camo pattern is if those tracks are fixed in place as add-on armor as opposed to being true spares...since of course, spares did often get used and you didn't want extra paint interfering with the ability of spare links to fit in with existing tracks, blocking up track pin holes, or other similar issues when you needed to repair a track in a hurry. Lots of photos out there with Tigers with the spare links on the turret showing they weren't blended in with the hull color or camo pattern from what I've seen.

The innermost wheels will all but disappear once the outer wheels and tracks are fitted, so you won't see much of them unless you behave like a 1/35 mechanic!

Hi Bill,

That scheme is a true nerve wrecker, but you have managed it very well  

Congratulations 

One thought - would the pattern towards the missing side shirt be a sharp edge or continue down to the bottom of the side armor?

And would the spare tracks have been taken off, over painted or painted around?

Looking forward to see how those primed inner wheels look behind the rest of the road wheels and some weathering.

Super blog as always - dropped everything else and pulled out 6383 in pure excitement 

Very Best Regards

Johan

IBuild148

Its looking good Bill, as always.

Question---How do you get the painted tools on after you have painted your armor? I either use elmers or blu tack to hold the tool clamps in place.

Curios as to your technique.

Thanks

Thanks IB! If I understand your question correctly, it depends on whether I'm using PE clamps or not. If PE clamps, they are glued to the hull with CA gel and then painted along with the rest of the hull. The Griffon clamps I prefer allow the top portion to be bent over and locked in place without glue after the tools are installed which makes life much simpler. When I'm not using replacement clamps, I glue the tools directly into place using regular Testors glue (or sometimes liquid glue depending) after the tools have been painted/detailed. Because I work with enamels, the glue will bond with the painted surface and once dry the tools are secure in place for the next stages. HTH!

Its looking good Bill, as always.

Question---How do you get the painted tools on after you have painted your armor? I either use elmers or blu tack to hold the tool clamps in place.

Curios as to your technique.

Thanks

thanks, ye it was. Got two new kits and went to the village pantomime sat night that my other half's daughter was in, again.

Thanks Bish! Happy belated b-day btw, hope you had a good one!

Nice, great work on the tracks.

Thanks Eric! Got to love the advantage that workables bring to a build.

Love those tracks Bill, this one is gonna be sharp!

More progress to report in the details department. Following on from last week's efforts, I turned my attention to the remaining hull details first. The spare track run for the front hull and the turret individual links were given a light dry-brush of MM enamel Steel followed by a wash of MM enamel Rust. Then some burnt orange and raw umber artist pastels were worked into their finish to add some additional depth/layering. I also detailed the hull MG and coaxial MG in the turret using a base coat of MM non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal followed by a light dry-brush of Steel. Rounding things out, I also detailed the exhausts using a base of metalizer Gunmetal followed by a heavy wash of enamel Rust and then some artist pastels using the same colors as the tracks as well as black for some soot staining.  

The rear hull also received some attention. The tools were installed in their respective positions and the rear Notek convoy light added. I used Tamiya Clear Smoke for the light's body

Efforts shifted back to the suspension and I detailed the road wheels using MM non-buffing Metalizer Steel for the wheels contact surfaces as well as the idlers and sprocket teeth. Some enamel Burnt Umber was stippled on the wheels to simulate scuffing/wear in anticipation of more weathering to come. The innermost wheels were left in primer since they get hidden away and the middle wheel pairs were installed in place while the outer wheels were left off for now to make it easier to weather them separately prior to their installation. Sprockets and idlers are dry-fit only at this point as well.

Tracks also received some attention as well. Dry brush pass with MM enamel Steel followed by a wash of MM enamel Raw Umber to tone things down and get them ready for the pigment weathering later on.

Next up will be dealing with the markings!

Jack

Thanks ps1 and Bish always good to see you drop in and comment!

Love that scheme bill, she's looking great.

VERY COOL

Bill, great application  of that camou.  Do you have a separate airbrush for fine lines, or a fine tip set you would interchange with?

regards,

Jack

Thanks Brian!

She is getting two thumbs up from me so far Bill!

Brian

Thanks Ernest! It's always one of those stages where so much time goes into little things but it's all worth it in the end!

The little details are making it come to life Bill!

Not a lot of photos in this update round but definitely a lot of progress. I got the tracks ready for more work later on by airbrushing a base coat of MM enamel Burnt Umber. This is just the first step in their finishing and weathering process of course.

Attention then shifted to the details for the hull. All of the tools and tow cables that I'd cleaned up earlier were now hand detailed and installed. The larger tow cables proved more of a challenge than I expected as they kept wanting to lift up out of their mounts on the rear deck. Some finger pressure and liquid glue provided the necessary persuasion to get them to ultimately settle down.

Next up will be continuing work on the remaining hull and turret details before moving on to the suspension and tracks.

Thanks Karl! I've found the 50/50 mix for the DY makes the ideal foundation for later weathering and such, there's still a lot more to do with this one in the details department for sure.

Garzon

OOOhh that cammo is going to look great!

Great steady hand, so nice the flow of colors.

Liked it!

LOVE your base-DY color, Bill! That's a nice pale Tigger!

The camo is very imaginative and well-rendered, too---should look great under some weathering!

Thanks IB!

I really "graben" that camo scheme Bill!

Thanks Anthony! Don't stare at it too hard or your eyes will stay that way!