Late Tiger 1 build 1/6 Armortek

[Johnf]

After a break of a month due to hollidays interfering with my tiger I am back.
I have decided to do a trial assembly of the hull to see how everything fits.













Went together well with very little filing so far. Just a little on the rear plate and folds on the pannier floor. Only finger tightened. I will Tighten up everything soon to see if there are any major gaps but looks good so far.



Amazed how big this thing is compared to my 1/16 tiger.

[[ICE]monkey]

looking good mate, yes they are a size
regards, cliff

[Johnf]

Doing some work on hatches. I'm using the Armorpax loaders hatch. I did some modifications to the latch mechanisms. Now opens and closes properly.















I have a question for the experts. I know there is some modification required to fit the hatch. Should the hatch be as in picture or should the outer edge be flush with the turret roof?

I am thinking about making some periscopes for the cupola. Are the cupola scopes smaller or same size as the driver radio operator periscopes and is the loader's periscope also same size or larger?

[Johnf]

I have been working on the turret for a few evenings. Here are some pictures of progress.

I have added the reworked turret bin from Steve Winstone.

Armorpax track hangers.

I have sunk the loaders hatch into the roof so that it is now flush with the roof.

I have attached brass pins in the top hangers and drilled holes in the tops of the tracks to take the pins.

Armorpax loaders hatch which has been reworked slightly to enable the latches to open and close.

I intend to add Mike Stannards air vent with cover and probably the loaders periscope.

I have not done anything with the roof access yet but will do some work on that also.

[Johnf]

Next stage will be to add some texture to the roof. Also need to source some hex bolts to fit the bin. I will add zimmerit but will leave till much later.

[[ICE]monkey]

very nice , 1/6 takes alot more time to build dont they
cliff

[Johnf]

Do'nt even go there. I'm going to reassemble the hull now and see what difference my earlier adjustments have made. If everything fits well I can coar with etch primer and do a final assembly. The wheels and suspension will be a major job. I need to add a lot of additional detail to then wheels.
When you look at the amount of build time you get with one of these models you can consider them good value. This could take a year to complete or enen longer. It's going together nicely. Very pleased with it.

[Saxondog]

John this may be a little late to ask but the hull assembly,and specifically the top deck assembly. How does this attach to the hull sides? I did not see in the picture a rail inside the hull for this part to sit on, so how does it fit so well?

Sax

[Johnf]

Hi Blake,
The top deck is suported in the hull by L brackets fitted to sides front glacis plate and rear plate. In some of the photos you can see the side brackets but the rear and front were not fitted in the photos. The deck is attached to the brackets tith countersunk screws. I will not use this method and will fill the screw holes. I will hold the deck in place mainly with magnets. I have also somthing in mind to hold more secure without visible screws but easier to show when complete than try to put in words. There are also 2 large sturdy bulkheads from left to right which will help support the turret. The rurret is really heavy now. By the time the elevation motor and blank firer go in I will no lonker be able to carry it without help.

The building of the hull was just a dry run. Currently stripped down again. I have modified some parts for better fit and can take photos of any parts you would like to see. Tonight I was countersinking the bolts om the bottom of the hull so that I can have a smooth bottom. I mean the tanks bottom,not mine. I'm finding I need to replace some of the fasteners as the ones supplied either look wrong or are not scale.

The turret roof is posing similar removal problems to the hull. Two brackets on the gun support. Two at the side and one at the rear. Roof is screwed on at each position. I do'nt want to see screw heads on yje roof and need to be able to remove the roof. I intend to fit some form of invisiblt catches at the front magnets at the side but can keep the rear catch as it is as the screw is a hex cap screw nicely hidden inside the rear turret lug.

[raven]

boy that is a big tiger you have there john must have cost a fortune and the figures look great with it your one lucky guy

chris