From the land of ice and snow

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Panzer Fenris
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Location: Norway

From the land of ice and snow

Post by Panzer Fenris »

Hello and greetings everyone!

Back in the early 90's quite a few Leopard 1A5's were taking part in a NATO exercise around a small town in Norway, and at some point three of them took up positions in a farmyard while the crew rested for the night in the barn.
Needless to say, the size of these steel behemoths, the grace with which they moved through snow so deep it would swallow a man, and the characteristic V10 engine roar that vibrates the air in your very lungs, left quite an impression on the farmers young son.

Two and a half decades later that boy has gotten a bit bigger and older, but the interest in armoured fighting vehicles stayed.
After a stint in the army as the driver of a NM217 ARV, a Leopard 1-based vehicle, countless hours in games such as World of Tanks and War Thunder, and a pilgrimage to the Bovington tank museum, that interest has only grown stronger and stronger.
With the disposable income to justify the splurge, and a very understanding girlfriend, I am now the proud owner of a 1:16 Torro Tiger II.

I've only had it for a few days and am loving the big girl, but I'm already getting the itchy fingers on how to improve upon and change the parts that I don't like or which I think are designed wrong.

Incomplete to-do list.
  • Give it a paintjob. Picked the unpainted Pro Edition since I wanted to put my own touch on it. Leaning towards recreating 104 at Bovington, but we'll see.
  • Sort out the wiring inside. It's a bit of a spaghetti nest, and it's a wonder the gearboxes haven't started chewing on the motor wires yet.
  • Gearing/movement. Would like it to feel more hefty, deliberate and realistic in its movements.
  • 3D print accessories. I have a printer and do CAD for a day-job, so there's a lot of possibilities here.
After that we'll see where things go; but maybe there's some other tracked toys in the future for me. I would like to own a Churchill at some point, and obviously a Leopard 1 ARV.
Current vehicles:
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. B (1/16 Torro Pro)
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E (1/16 HL 7.0)
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E (1/16 HL Vintage parts donor)
- WPL B14

Past vehicles:
- NM217 Bergepanser (1/1 KMW)
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

". . . . From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our 'tanks' to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming. . . ."

Hello and welcome to the forum Panzer Fenris :wave:

That's quite an impressive initiation into a tank interest, thank you for sharing your story.

Enjoy the forum.
Mick - The grit in the underpants of life!
And always happy to spare the bytes

TOTM needs YOU :thumbup: support YOUR TOTM competition, I'm doing my part, are YOU?
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jarndice
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by jarndice »

Hi Fenris Welcome to the Forum :thumbup: :wave: :clap:
You do know about prepping your King Tiger for paint I am sure such as wiping the whole vehicle over with acrylic thinners to get your greasy fingerprints off of it :haha:
And all the metalwork will need to be painted with metal etching primer but the item that caught my eye was the wiring,
I use "Cable Ties" they are available in small sizes and certainly make the interior more tidy.
You appear to have a decent grip on this hobby so while you may have questions perhaps we can look to you for some answers?
Enjoy this place and please do join in any threads that get your attention.
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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Kaczor
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Kaczor »

Welcome! Feel free to make a thread about your build. Torro KT is a great runner.
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Jimster
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Jimster »

Welcome aboard! Striving for realistic sound and movement is a great goal in this hobby. I love watching YouTube videos of 1/16 tanks that are driven realistically with appropriate details and sound effects. Keep us updated on your progress and photos are greatly appreciated.
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Herr Dr. Professor
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Herr Dr. Professor »

You have made a superb start by choosing the Torro kit and 3d printing, too. I am excited to see your work as it goes along. Please do start a "build" here on RCTW just as Kaczor recommends. There are so many details with which RCTW can help you and we all can learn from your experience, too.

"I would like to own a Churchill at some point." Me, too! Here's my idea: you develop your own complete Churchill 3d printed, print it, send it to me. Then I will paint it and show it to everyone here on RCTW. :D Hmm... You say that's asking too much, eh? :O :haha:
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Panzer Fenris
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Panzer Fenris »

Thank you all for the warm welcome.
Son of a gun-ner wrote:". . . . From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
Glad someone got the reference. ;)
jarndice wrote:Hi Fenris Welcome to the Forum :thumbup: :wave: :clap:
You do know about prepping your King Tiger for paint I am sure such as wiping the whole vehicle over with acrylic thinners to get your greasy fingerprints off of it :haha:
And all the metalwork will need to be painted with metal etching primer but the item that caught my eye was the wiring,
I use "Cable Ties" they are available in small sizes and certainly make the interior more tidy.
You appear to have a decent grip on this hobby so while you may have questions perhaps we can look to you for some answers?
Enjoy this place and please do join in any threads that get your attention.
Copy that Jarndice. I'm pretty deep into printing and painting figures for tabletop gaming as well, so already have plenty of isopropanol and other stuff to wash off greasy fingerprints and... other... bodily fluids.
I've got access to a lot of wiring-gear through my workplace, so a bit of cable-management and maybe shifting things around a bit isn't going to pose too much of a challenge.

I'm pretty new to the hobby, so I'm mostly here to listen and learn, but what little experience I have and gain I will certainly share.
Herr Dr. Professor wrote: "I would like to own a Churchill at some point." Me, too! Here's my idea: you develop your own complete Churchill 3d printed, print it, send it to me. Then I will paint it and show it to everyone here on RCTW. :D Hmm... You say that's asking too much, eh? :O :haha:
Hehe. Afraid I can't promise anything.
I've always been fond of the Churchill. It's the embodiment of that British make-do attitude, taking something that's unsuited or obsolete for the current situation, letting a couple clever blokes in a shed tinker with it for a bit, and then it somehow not only works but is actually able to leverage its strengths to great effect and fill niches few other vehicles could.

Just such a shame UK tanks are a mostly neglected field amongst the big manufacturers. There's excellent kits and scratch-builds out there, but the cost and experience required for them is a huge barrier to those entering the hobby.
Matilda, Churchill, Crusader, Cromwell... they'd all make terrific entry-to-intermediate vehicles if Heng Long/Taigen/Torro took a crack at them.
Current vehicles:
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. B (1/16 Torro Pro)
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E (1/16 HL 7.0)
- Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E (1/16 HL Vintage parts donor)
- WPL B14

Past vehicles:
- NM217 Bergepanser (1/1 KMW)
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Jimster
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Jimster »

Love Led Zeppelin!
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jarndice
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by jarndice »

Best track---Rock and Roll :thumbup:
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: From the land of ice and snow

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

jarndice wrote:Best track---Rock and Roll :thumbup:
Different album ;)
Mick - The grit in the underpants of life!
And always happy to spare the bytes

TOTM needs YOU :thumbup: support YOUR TOTM competition, I'm doing my part, are YOU?
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