Tiger 1 spare track question

[jeman]

Hi all.....I have an early tiger 1 and wondered if the small track spares can be fitted. As you can see from the pic, it has the large middle spare track, but I would like to add the small track spares that sit either side at the top next to the MG and the drivers viewing block. Were they fitted to early tigers ?

Cheers folks

[jeman]

Cheers buddy ! I'll get up in the loft and try to find plastic track I've had for a while

[jarndice]

Hi, From April 1943 a total of 5 spare track holders were fitted to the turret of Tiger 1s, 3 on one side and 2 on the other,
This does not mean all Tiger 1s, merely that this was the date spare track holders were first fitted,
Over the course of the next two years the number of spare track holders fitted changed.
There is a list available with regiments and dates detailing how many in total and how many on each side of the turret.
shaun

[jeman]

Thanks for the info ! Great stuff......I've also seen that there was spare links added to the back of the tiger at the very bottom of the rear....one single spare track each side under the exhaust shields. I did see this on a model....so may not be authentic. Here is the pic


Cheers

[jarndice]

Individual Tanks had spare tracks fitted by the workshop all over the vehicle, but as far as I know these were not a standard fitting.
The spare track holder across the front and the spare track holders attached to the turret were the only one's conforming to an approved pattern.
You will find spare tracks mounted along the sides of a Tiger and either side of the Radio ops m/g and the drivers vision slit of Tiger 1s but they are local modifications.
Think of the fitting found on the front of many Normandy campaign M4 Sherman's to cut through the "BOCAGE", these were all local modifications done by individual company workshops with no set design.
Whatever helps and does not interfere with the fighting ability of the Tank goes, whether Axis or Allied.
shaun

[jarndice]

"J" Hi,
How accurate do you want your Tiger 1 to be?
I ask because you describe it as an early model,
If you mean one of the first 50 Tunisian Tigers then you have some good bits and some not so good bits! There is some question about the front step and grab handle, some people say it was fitted by the factory others say it was fitted by a British REME workshop to allow King George vi and other officials easier access to "131".
The first fifty had the Headlights mounted halfway down the front next to the Radio operator and the Driver,
The Turret Mantlet was mainly flat and if you intend filing and grinding yours to that shape you should be aware that the metal on the TORRO/TAIGEN Turret Mantlet is very thin and will need some filler.
The early Tigers had two vision holes drilled into the area above the Drivers vision slit, most of them were filled in later and after the initial batch the holes were no longer to be found.
The front Fender was a flat sheet of rectangular Steel without the later hinged section, the same is found on the rear fenders as your other picture shows complete with the curve along the base and side,
That picture rightly displays the early pattern Air Cleaners and the correct exhaust shrouds.
The Tow ropes on the top of the body were mounted back to front when compared to all the later model Tigers,
With the exception of the Exhaust Shrouds everything else can be fixed with a little work with regular modelling tools.
The shrouds I made using the photo - etch brass from a "Voyager" rear fender set and the very few photographs available as reference.
And finally the first 50 did not have spare track holders on the turret, indeed not many had a track holder across the front
Good Luck!!! shaun

[DavidByrden]

Hi all.....I have an early tiger 1 and wondered if the small track spares can be fitted....Were they fitted to early tigers ?

Your Tiger looks to be about February-March 1943. Probably they modelled it on the Bovington Museum Tiger. They included the step and handle on the front, but these were specifically made by the crew of that Tiger.

Spare tracks at the sides of the front plate, were certainly in use by then. They were attached by the crew, not the factory.

David

[jeman]

Thanks Jarndice and David. That's lots of info that I will certainly find very useful for my Tiger. From what your saying I won't be basing my one on one of the very early Tigers. I shall have a good look through All good fun lol