Tiger 1 Build – Otto Carius ‘213’ in winter camo

[Estnische]

Thanks guys. Yep after market white metal parts. Some bits you could reshape, but the white metal bits are so cheap.

[43rdRecceReg]

Impressed by the staging of your presentation:the graphic novel styling, set to the (imagined) tones of '.. underneath the lamplight, by the barrack gate'..as well as the scope of, and approach, to the job. Above all, though, I appreciate the refreshing explosion of eccentricity and find it especially willkommen. Looking forward to the next instalment, where perhaps Johann's wayward girlfriend emerges -as a Tank Mädchen-from the newly fashioned Driver's hatch (nicely done, by the way.. ).. to give him a wee bit of advice...or flak!

Johann's shapely Panzer Putzfrau...

Johann Schmidt's girfriend.jpg (55.11 KiB) Viewed 4971 times

[Estnische]

Danke!

I must admit I was a bit unsure how to make my fairly mundane build a little interesting - but then I found Birger's Star Wars panzer thread on a German forum.

Thanks for the suggestion of a female counterpart. However, I imagined that Johann was seeking world domination as a compensation for his shyness with females. Tank girl might be a leap too far for him.

However, he has quite a soft spot for the fellow red-head who sings 'Lili Marleen' down at the Offiziers' Club:

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If anyone knows where I can find a 1/16 Jessica Rabbit for a reasonable price, let me know.

[HERMAN BIX]

Never mind a 1/16th version, I want the 1-1

[Estnische]

For those who may have been wondering about my Panther paint experiments, here is a pic of it so far. Although I haven't done the wheels, I'm not sure that I will do any more. The rubber tracks are laughable, this side has some splits and the other fell apart straight away, but its proved its value in allowing me to try techniques and see how much might be visible on a white tank.

Any suggestions are welcome.

[Tiggr]

Great thread - some great pictures. Liking the humour too

[43rdRecceReg]

I've often looked at that German website for inspiration too, and posted links here to articles found on it. I see where the graphic novel format theme came from. No matter, Birger probably got it somewhere else. Forums (old style: 'Fora') are all about sharing ideas, experience and knowledge....and a few laughs...maybe ( reputedly good for the immune system!) Collecting ideas and improving on them is what Isaac Newton said he did; that his achievements- 'seeing further'- came from '..standing on the shoulders of giants'... After all, we wouldn't know that the ultra lethal Funnel Web Spider has a penchant for nesting under toilet seats, and the sight- ahem- of male punchbags without some hapless predecessor finding out for us! Hope they don't discover the interiors of Heng Long Tigers are more commodious!
I've always had a shutterbug, and when I see crisp images of projects on here, I always like to ask what Smart phone/SLR or even Tablet camera was used to snap them. Your pics are really well lit and crystal clear so what's your preferred fotoapparat, and do you use additional lighting?
By the way, on the rcketten site I came across the use of the verb 'zu Pimpen' applied to tarting up, and modding tanks (...Ich Pimpe, du Pimpst, Wir Pimpen...usw.,) much to my amusement. Maybe we should have a 'Pimped Tiger' category here, especially for those sporting tattoos, piercings, and /or other incongruities ....(tanks, that is- not members) Anyway, looking forward to your next bit of hacking and pimpen.

Things to come

Star Wars Tiger.jpg (73.78 KiB) Viewed 4929 times

[philipat]

Thanks guys. Yep after market white metal parts. Some bits you could reshape, but the white metal bits are so cheap.

cool...thanks.

[Estnische]

Here is my photo set-up.



I use a Canon 450D DSLR I borrow from my son. Although I have a workbench with a window, I’ve set-up a little area where I can control the light better otherwise I’d be fighting backlighting all the time. That light comes in from the right of this area, and was the only source in the Panther shot in my previous post. But as you can see, even then it washed out some of the colouration from the dot filtering I did. I tried to improve it with the white paper underneath, but only partially succeeded.

Most of the photos in my thread are taken at night. There is a fluorescent ceiling light over head, but it doesn't do much, so I’ve added the two desk lamps to add side light and fill in the shadows. Even so, most of the shots have a long exposure in order to get a greater depth of field. I use a tripod and 2 sec shot timer delay to minimise any camera shake.

In cases like the intro shot for Johann, I turned all lights off except for the desk lamp on the left and placed it in front of Johann to place him in shadow.


When I did this next shot I placed a mirror below Johann to reflect a torch light up under his face, as though it was an internal cabin light.



What I’d really love to do is a workshop diorama, like this one I made for my slot cars.



But it takes time and space I don’t have right now.

[43rdRecceReg]

Ahhh., I thought you might be using an SLR. I have the Canon 600D with an assortment of lenses, but lately I've found my iPhone 6's camera more conducive to spontaneity. My son has the Canon 5D; a real beast, but I would spend never that much money on a camera. I also have a neat little holder for the iPhone I can stick in the ground when needed, or clip to branches etc..for outdoor shots. But, I digress...
With the atmosphere created by the combination of black backdrop,
fluorescent light, and twin lamps for highlights/ deep shadows you have an excellent recipe for Diorama and drama there. Effective lighting is crucial for achieving the depth of field you want in dioramas, as well as perhaps a telephoto lends for scenes with a blurred background: the appearance of that menacing, shadowy, archetypal gestapo nutjob figure...
Anyway, thanks for the inside info on your presentation. Your setup bodes well for the future. Here's a link to the absolute best example of diorama I've found on Youtube (I posted it once before in March). Apart from the moody, battle- scarred landscape, this gem features a brilliant model of the British A34 'Comet'.....my dream tank model... You might draw bit of inspiration from it too..

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