Sov's Tiger Build

[HERMAN BIX]

Vimoutiers Tiger, brass exhausts, resin covers................(sigh)
Stood proudly on that Tiger in Vimoutiers, and spent 2 days in the township just getting a 'feel' for things"
tried to get a 'Cafe-au-lait' in a small place that still had the resident bar fly hanging around at 0730hrs either from the night before, or there in time for Petit- Dejeuner . A man after my own heart.
They served beer at that time, I dont drink beer otherwise I would have been in like Flynn
I took what seemed like a million pictures of that Tiger , but not from a perspective of attempting to emulate what yourself and mr Tanks are currently producing.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
The exhausts and fender mounts are as impressive assembled as I thought that they would be. ;o) Does the exhaust stack come with the flap cover? I thought that I had seen it in the parts but that may just be me. These guys make a set of armored covers for their exhausts, right? If I do this, I will know that they don't play well with other brands of tanks and parts.. Thanks, Sov.
regards,
Painless

[SovereignZuul]

I've received parts for this Tiger from every corner of the globe now. Nothing is perfect, so many manufactures have different fitting parts. Aero-mate does make some nice (heavy steel) armored exhaust covers but I got these Schumo I want to say.... Every part is more like artistic impression than actual scale produce. Some are bigger, wider, longer in areas than others. At the end of the day, anything can be made to work though (and look good with enough skill & patience).

No stack covers, I'm not sure anyone (maybe Tamiya?) makes those. I'll scratch build some like I did for the Asiatam exhausts I made early on in this build. My higher skill level now should make them a bit nicer than before.



You can see here how these exhausts were designed to countersink into the original model.


Had I countersunk mine I could have had my resin covers fit fine but I've got a thin plastic rear plate, not a nice thick steel one. Wouldn't work the same without some major modification which I'm not prepared to do. I want to finish this Tiger already!

Check out Chris3's build of the Aero-Mate Tiger 1
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=7729

Here are the exhaust covers for that model
http://img4.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads ... 71jqod.jpg

To me, without a doubt, that is the best 1/16th scale tank kit I've seen yet. If I had known what I do now before I started this I would have just built one of those instead. Alas, I do not regret what I'm doing here though! Maybe a loooong time from now I'll consider another building another Tiger like the Aero-Mate. It's equivalent to what I would call a 1/16th Armortek. All high grade steel, all scale thickness panels, and high price. Considering what I've spent it's not that expensive comparatively... At least for what it is.

[DavidByrden]

Here's a cross section of the front of the Tiger's turret armour.
This is one with a 40mm roof; the inner surface of the roof would be unchanged between Tiger models, so the outer surface in this drawing is 15mm higher than an Early or Mid Tiger would have. That's why it seems to almost blend into the top crossbar, which used to form a step on the earlier turrets.

However, the old 25mm roof had a thicker strip across the front, which did extend down into the turret, below the level of the plate that you see here.



You can see where the top crossbar is welded to the side cheek pieces, which sit inside the armour. You can see the hole for the 3-part sealing strip that keeps debris out. This was removable so that the mantlet could be removed.

David

[PainlessWolf]

Sov,
I've seen nothing to lower the value of the work that you have done. I know that when you are finished, it will sit and show well beside any 1/16 Tiger 1 including an AeroMate. Paint schemes are the great leveler of expensive parts vs stock, metal vs plastic and as long as it runs great, Bob is indeed your Uncle. Following along.
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... one thinks you should of just bought all the parts and build it from scratch
It'll be outstanding unpainted I think....let all the bling do it's thing


ALPHA

[SovereignZuul]

Ahhh godammit feeling grouchy. Bashing my head for an hour on those exhaust flappers. My dremel isn't turning round, it's spinning oval so I can't get nice round flappers. Tried four times, all oval...

And I broke my smallest dremel drill bit, that I just bought, because I broke the last one by dropping it while it was still in the drill. Rough day, I gave up early.

Can anyone share a picture of a real Tiger's exhaust flappers for me? I can't find a pic and I've looked high and low. Best I get is 1/6th scale exhaust flappers.

Another question... Are these the correct shape for gun cleaning rods? I've seen them were the brass part blends with the wood rod and in this picture of the Bov Tiger they are stepped. Not sure if these are accurate and original or changed during the restoration.






As for the tiny bit of work I'm alright with today...

Drilled those gasket screws in the barrel sleeve as instructed.

Enlarged that front piece of armor in the mantle gap. Does it look correct? The late Tiger pics TFTM posted show this area flat with no small step and I can't see one in the blueprint you posted David. Maybe I should make this edge flat? Easy work with a file. I can add the reinforcing strip next.

[DavidByrden]

Can anyone share a picture of a real Tiger's exhaust flappers for me? I can't find a pic and I've looked high and low. Best I get is 1/6th scale exhaust flappers.

[SovereignZuul]

.






Final update: I got frustrated with the tank and smashed it. Also burned whatever was left in a fire pit. Adiós!



































Just kidding....


Thanks David, before those pics I had the wrong idea on what they looked like. Although it was frustrating and took way more time than it should have I finished these. I felt like they were holding me back. Scavenging for the proper parts was... not easy.

I used a pushpin mauled for the cap itself, had to make my own hinge from heavy brass and brass rod to connect the thing. My fingers hurt.






Now I can get back to regular work.

[PainlessWolf]

Sov,
All of the Kudos for the day for paving the way. Beautiful!
regards,
Painless