1st large scale tank: Tamiya 1/16 Tiger I

[panzer man]

I have reached a decision based on the excellent information David was kind enough to pass along on Tiger S33. Due to the construction already completed on my Tiger, I feel it would be far more difficult to remove parts & make modifications at this stage in order to make a more realistic & believable Tiger tank S33. I still plan however to do a tank with this scheme sometime in the future with a new kit...maybe a Heng Long or a Taigen Tiger I. I have decided to switch gears & go with a new paint scheme for my project with Tiger S13 from Das Reich as my second choice. Its the paint scheme as depicted on the Academy 1/35 Tiger I box. I like it for several reasons: I can retain the Feifel air cleaners & ducting, its a very attractive 3 color camo scheme & there are many images of this model built by others which will help to provide a guideline when it comes to painting & finishing. I will also need to locate a S13 stencil for the turret.

[panzer man]

I feel sure that David will do a better job, But here are some of the more obvious differences between the 1944 Tiger 1 and the picture,
The Cupola is from an early Tiger 1,as are the wheels,
And the headlights by the time of the Normandy campaign were reduced to a single light mounted centrally between the Driver and the Radio operator/m/gunner.
The picture does not show the spare track holder across the front and I do not see any Zimmerit coating on the body or turret
Like I said David is the expert and will point out everything that is wrong in the painting.
shaun

David REALLY seems to know his stuff when it comes to Tiger tanks!

[panzer man]

Thanks Kiaser for the tip! I have never tried stencils but I have seen fantastic results from others.

[billpe]

I've been researching Tigers for 20 years, and one thing that I learnt, is to never trust a painted "profile".

The more I've looked into it, the more I've learnt that very few painted profiles are actually accurate, even vaguely so. For instance the entire King Tiger section of profiles on this forum is near enough fantasy.

[DavidByrden]

Tiger S13 from Das Reich as my second choice. Its the paint scheme as depicted on the Academy 1/35 Tiger I box.

If profiles are not to be trusted, then Academy are not to be allowed in the house!

You seem to be concerned with accuracy so I looked into that S13.
It's the same story as S33; the same large turret bin, early Feifels, and other differences from your kit.

The problem here is that Das Reich got a bunch of Tigers in January 1943 which were all like that. Most of the available photos show them.

They did get a few Tigers in April that would match up to your model; the second type of Feifels, no holes at the driver's visor, etc. But they all had spare tracks on the turret sides. Have you parts for that?

Anyway, here is one of the very few photos of one of the matching Tigers. Number S25. It has that high-contrast 3-colour paint scheme that you seem to like.



David

[panzer man]

Thanks for the information again David. I'm a amateur hobbyist so I can live with inaccuracies. I'm more interested in producing a well constructed model with a good paint job. The Tamiya has its shares of shortcomings like the incorrect jack retainer on the rear hull, missing S-mine dischargers on the upper hull roof, missing drivers & radio-mg operator periscopes on the front hatches, missing welds, etc. My skill level is not up to the level yet to produce the ultimate & all correct Tiger tank model. I do have the earlier style Feifel air cleaners which Tamiya included in the kit. I was never aware of the other kind of turret bins. Do they look like the later standard production ones with the exception of the width? Thanks for the photo. I think it will be Tiger S25 then for my project. Yes, I have spare links. The view of S25 does not show them but it does appear to have the turret spare link brackets...I cant tell. Also I noticed there are no S mine or smoke dischargers. I wonder when this photo was taken...before or after the Battle of Kursk?

[DavidByrden]

I would bet it's after the battle, because that Tiger was built in April and it's showing a lot of damage.

Turret smoke launchers are cut off as usual. That left a small welded stub on the turret roof - you can just see it.

This Tiger has the usual 5 spare track holders on the turret left and 2 on the right.

The rear S-mine launcher is still on the hull, but the other ones must be lost. They weren't used much, in fact it's extremely rare to see them loaded with a mine.

As for the earlier turret bins; the Pz.3 bin was used at first, then two slightly different "wide" bins, and also there were 9 Tigers with a very unusual looking "slanted" bin.

David

[panzer man]

I think I will model S25 as it may have looked in late spring or early summer before the Battle of Kursk. Getting a stencil or decal for S25 will be mandatory if I am going to reproduce this machine. I do not have a color photo or a profile to work with. What do you suggest? I would think that I would have to look at other Tiger's from Das Reich during this period & create my own scheme based from what I see.

[panzer man]

My friend was nice enough to include a set of Aber photo etch intake screens when he sold me this kit. I have never worked with photo etched parts before. I watched several quick instructional videos on Youtube before proceeding. Everything went smooth but I noticed during the process that PE parts are very delicate & fragile & require care in order to prevent bending & distortion of the parts. After installing, I noticed that the right screen is not correctly aligned. It is off center. I will pop this part off & re-glue with a few drops of super glue. A simple addition but what a difference the PE screens make to the overall appearance of the model!

[panzer man]