Tamiya Tiger Resto Project

[Cruiser133]

Hey Guys,

I thought I might share my latest project. I bought a tired Tamiya Tiger from Tom and wanted to turn it into a late version as I already had an early. I also love World of Tanks and I had a spare L71 in the box, so you guys know how ideas get started! I know this tank is not worthy of any historical mention, but I wanted it to look like my Tiger in the game so I up gunned her to the longer Jagdpanther barrel. When it arrived from across the pond, there was significant shipping damage. I repaired that then I then bought a host of parts from Erik at Imex who also gave me a little discount, so if you guys need parts, Erik is the guy to go too! I wanted to use the factory Tamiya wheel axels with the Taigen late metal road wheels as they are quite a bit more beefy than the Taigen and they would obviously fit the factory swing arms better, but wow what a pain. I had to bust out the Dremel and hack and polish to get them fitted and spinning freely but they work great now. I then installed the Zim and then had to fill in the gaps with the filler and screwdriver method. I installed the late hatch and turret roof parts and put on weld lines. The tank also has metal tracks from Imex and a track tensioner from ETO armor. I also bought the air vent from them as the late models did not have the bulky air cleaner boxes. I also had to make little spacers for the track hangers on the turret as they kept hitting the deck grills on the back engine compartment. The only issue I have is the flash unit is dead, but everything else works and is programed for my Spektrum DX6I. I airbrushed the camo pattern on what I have seen in game. I am quite happy with the results, so on the shelf it goes with my others!

[tomhugill]

She looks awesome! Really done a great job turning something old into a top model.

[c.rainford73]

Yes I agree fabulous job with the restoration

[Muncheberg]

@Cruiser133

Could you elaborate on what you actually did with the dremel tool to the Taigen steel wheels to get them to mount on the Tamiya axle shafts? Did you just enlarge the center hole in each wheel? How did this work out on the tank? Is the performance the same or worse than running the stock Tamiya wheels?

[Herr Dr. Professor]

WooHoo, Cruiser! If I count correctly, I see 10 Tamiya tanks there (two just show barrels). That's a shelf of gold! Nice!

[HERMAN BIX]

He has not logged in since 2018 so I wouldn’t expect an answer or further input !

[tankme]

I bought my basket case Hooben T55A from Cruiser133. Not sure how active he is in the hobby anymore as he doesn't show up on RCU either.

[Muncheberg]

Didn’t realize he is MIA, as I was for a long time..