Building a Mid-Production Normandy Tiger 1

[tomhugill]

My Elefant is about 10kg. They're lighter that you think!

[SovereignZuul]

TFTM, fixed that issue. Was super easy. I'm sure if you sat down and looked you already figured it out too. Let me know if you need my newbie advice.

viewtopic.php?p=129391#p129391

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Now Sov, if we're playing poker here I have to tell you - I'm rubbish at card games!

Plus, you may be a tad (ehemm!) younger than me (46 for the time being) but I wouldn't dare call you a newbie. You've already earned you spurs sir.

I had half-arsed drink-conceived plan but I bet yours is much simpler. Did you do something to bring down the ring plate underneath?

Spill the beans!

[SovereignZuul]

Two things. The upper hull itself has a raised ring which the turret base rests in/on. I sanded it to about half it's height. The Turret base itself has three rods that screw into the rotation gear with the upper deck sandwiched between the two. I simple cut a small length off those rods and cleaned up the cuts so they would still fit into the rotation gear.

Hard to explain, later I can take pics if you like.

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Now I get that...

I had already sanded down the raised ring on the hull top - but then replaced it with a wider one to help stabilise the turret. I may have to reduce the height of this.

My idea was more complex because it involved reducing the height of the pegs which join the turret top to the turret base - this would have raised the turret floor a little but this would have been hidden behind the turret walls.

I'm glad I gave you the chance to do it first because your method is way simpler.

Looks a lot better doesn't it? It's funny but I had been looking at old photos of my tank and always felt the turret just didn't sit right. I just couldn't work out why until I saw the correct height on the tomhugill's Merit / Hobby Boss Tiger - and then looked at mine.

So on with the show!

[SovereignZuul]

I was out all night but I prepared this earlier. Better late than never.



The pegs are made shorter and the big ring sanded down in height. The pegs are actually shorter than they need to be to keep more tension on them. I figure if the turret is tight to the hull it will help mitigate that ugly turret wobble you see in videos. Increased friction for the turret turning though, but less stress on the gears.

[terrythegrey]

The build is looking great keep up the good work.
Just a quick question do you need a resistor for the MG34 you got form tank Modelbau site.
Thanks

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Hi Terry.

I've already pmed but no, you don't need a resistor - it just patches right in.

[terrythegrey]

That's Great.
Just have it done works great.
Thanks

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Well, over a month since my last 'real' post - I'm really slipping!

I was rather counting on Father Christmas allowing me back into the modelling zone, although with Turkey duties due in a little more than 24 hours time this may prove rather short-lived...

Installing a working MG mount in the turret coaxial position

The working flashing MG34 installed in the turret.jpg (35.07 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

I already have flash and working recoil on my tank's main gun. Plus a flashing hull MG. So why not allow the coaxial MG to join the party?

In theory there's no reason against it. I have a 'ready made' Taigen Tiger that flashes in both MG positions and, although I haven't investigated the wiring, I assume this is because both are tapped into the same circuit that comes from the hull board. Of course this means that both guns fire in unison, but unless you are looking head-on at both at the same time, this isn't really a problem. The co-ax is also important because it was often used as a gun-laying tool: once the turret MG was seen to hit the target the 88 would surely follow.

I had a couple of spare Tank Modelbau MG 34s hanging around anyway, one of which was originally on this Tiger, so this proved a cheap and easy mod - although I have yet to wire it up.

The original Heng Long mantlet on my Tiger has been replaced with the Tamiya equivalent, but both have a reasonable representation of the aperture/hole along with the slightly protruding MG muzzle. The wonderfully gifted Sov has already replaced his with the end of a Perfect Hobby MG - see viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10204&start=240 - but since all that can be seen is the very tip of the machine gun I figured that the Tank Modelbau equivalent (which is otherwise rather crude by comparison) would serve my purpose.

First I drilled out the aperture from the front and all the way to the rear of the mantlet. I then enlarged the hole with a needle file.

The MG aperture was first drilled out and then enlarged with a needle file.jpg (31 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

However, when I inserted the Tank Modelbau MG from the rear I discovered that it was fouled by the resin peg from the Taigen recoil unit. Now this would never have happened if I hadn't shifted the recoil mounts over to accommodate the correct Tamiya mantlet (see above) because, in the process, I had moved the main gun towards the loader's side of the turret.

Here you can see that the Tank Modelbau MG is slightly fouled by the mounting peg from the Taigen recoil unit.jpg (29.52 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

But necessity is the mother of invention, right? So I simply cut down the peg and used it to anchor the MG!

And from here I will let the pictures do the talking...

The Taigen mount was then cut down and an old cable clip screwed into the end.jpg (25.41 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

Here you can see the cut-down mount, the cable clip and the drilled-out aperture in the mantlet.jpg (26.74 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

The cable clip was then pinched with pliers and folded back onto itself to keep the MG in place.jpg (27.6 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

And here it is back in the turret.jpg (23.91 KiB) Viewed 4389 times

The view from the other side is more convincng than the original Tamiya (or Heng Long) MG - and better still if it works!.jpg (32.71 KiB) Viewed 4389 times