heng long/taigen tiger build

[spongehoobtank82]

hey guys just wanted to throw a few pictures of my tiger 1 late production (ish, I know the cupolas wrong but I cant remove it and I like the smoke/grenade launches!) heres what I started with after some assembly!

next I removed the feifel air cleanners and all plastic tools and got some mato metal ones, also some taigen zimmerit, am not 100% happy with the zimmerit its abit thick so may remove it in future or its a good excuse to build another early production tiger 1!
does anybody else have trouble getting the heng long upper hull to fit the taigen one? the weight of the turret and hinge plate/catch on the front seem to warp were the top hull front meets and the taigen lower hull seems to sag in the sides and not meet the upper hull, you can see the gap in some of my photos!

this was the result after the final top coat was added, I was going for a DAK/dessert yellow as you can see it came out a bit too yellow even with a black undercoat, managed to tone it down with some weathering-

my electronics install started out with standard heng long RX/Tx and an RX18 board but had previously upgraded the gearbox/motors to taigen 4-1's although may replace these with waltersons brass ones as you can get a 5-1 ratio with those, but there fine till I wreck them! since upgraded to a turnigy 9xr Tx and 9ch Rx and using an IBU2 control board, this setup is a bout 1million times better than the heng long stuff, I cant recommend it enough!

have now also installed a heng long smoker but its a bit crap so looking at getting a super smoker II at some point, also want to say a big thank you to the guys at RC tanks Australia ER9X tanker firmware is great!

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well its not really finished! I still need to add mud flaps more detailing (although am quite pround of the wood effect on the tool handles!

and all in all I think its still too yellow! but am pretty happy with it really and handles great with a real go anywhere feel and it ways a tonne! thinking about investing in lipo batteries as well, will post more as I modify and add the missing bits!

[jeman]

Great looking tank, well done.

[jarndice]

Hi Leigh, A couple of things about the cupola, first, removing it is a lot easier than you might think, any blade that will fit in the visor slits, NOT TOO TIGHT! insert the blade and lift until you feel resistance, DO NOT USE FORCE, now insert the blade in the opposite vision slit and do the same you should hear the glue cracking, after that gently work it loose, once it is off you will notice there is a ridge on the underside just above the hatch hinge, that must be ground off because the the cupola is fitted in the wrong position by the factory, the correct position is to think of the hatch hinge in the 8-20 position of a clock face, you should now have a vision slit facing forward and the handle of the hatch should be nearest to the side of the hull and the hinged side nearest to the centre of the hull, It is an easy fix and I am afraid it is a mistake found on most Tigers no matter who made it. As to the fitting of the late model cupola I am unable to offer help but I am sure many other good friends will put you right. good luck. shaun.

[spongehoobtank82]

Hey Shaun, cheers mate, just tried it and that worked! Unfortunately that now means I have to spend to spend more money on a new cupola! But I won't hold it against you

[ALPHA]

Nice Job Sponge ....posting pictures and the tank


ALPHA

[Markocaster]

looks good
Maybe a tiny bit too yellow ? But it could also be the lighting? I would change to a late cupola, will complete the late tiger look, , great job!
Oh and that axe looks amazing , well done

[spongehoobtank82]

Cheers mark, yeah in bright light/sunshine I hate the colour but when its cloudy /darker it look great! Might just go with panzer grey next time!

[spongehoobtank82]

Thanks to your kind advice I have now changed to a late cupola, although I underestimated the work involved, cupola was easy to remove however your then left with a metal ring base plate that needs grinding off this took a while!

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Now I attached the new cupola and some spare track links/holders while I was there

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Now i thought I would have ago at doing some weld bead with milliput also added/touched up some of the zimmerit

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Now then I masked off, sprayed a black primer and then the top coat

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The I sanded the edge of the over spray to blend in with old paint work, hopefully you cant tell I changed it!

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Hopefully it all looks good! Also added an MG34 to the cupola and a front headlight, just need to add rear fenders now but am going to use brass to fabricate some hinges for those so will keep you all posted how that turns out!

[PainlessWolf]

Sponge,
It is looking really good! ;o) Kudos!
regards,
Painless

[jarndice]

It does look good, and before you start thinking about changing the paint do remember that the SAS had all their rovers painted PINK and they were pretty much invisible in the desert, I am wondering about the ventilator at the rear of the turret, I have always thought they were moved in the later Tiger 1 to a more central position on the roof but a lot of the modifications were carried out in a field workshop and if they did not have the time or the parts it would be done later. All I ask is you don't wear your nose out on the grindstone. shaun