Tiger One cupola location?

[Max-U52]

Hey Guys, I've searched the forum and a few places online and haven't found a satisfactory answer to this question, so if you have any info or reference sources for this problem please advise.

I'll be standing by ...

[jarndice]

Gary Hi, Some time ago I wrote a little piece on the TIPS & TRICKS page titled "TIGER CUPOLA's" I think it is on sub page 2 or 3.
What you need to understand is that HENG LONG/TAIGEN/TORRO have all for whatever reason got the location of the early Tiger 1 Cupola WRONG!!!
The first thing to do is look on the underside of the Cupola, and you will see a locating knob which is supposed to fit in a slot in the rim that holds the cupola.
Quite simply, that knob and the slot should not be there.
What to do?
Leave the slot in the rim and grind or file off the knob.
Look at a clockface and look at the hatch hinge on the top of the cupola, Turn the cupola until the Hatch hinge is at the 20 minutes to 8 position on a clockface.
The forward vision slit will now be looking directly to the front of the Turret.
I tend NOT to glue the cupola in place, I find it is useful for access to leave it free.
By the way, To anyone who has just got an early Tiger 1, then you will have noticed your cupola is GLUED in (the wrong)place.
To remove the Glued down cupola,
Put a knife blade (It should be just thick enough)in a vision slit in the cupola and work it up and down GENTLY then put the blade in the opposite vision slit and again GENTLY work the blade up and down,
You will probably hear a cracking sound, ITS OK, that's just the glue failing.
Lift the cupola off and carry on with the earlier instructions.
shaun

[Max-U52]

Hi Shaun, and thank you very much. That's just what I needed. I still can't find your thread, though. I think the search engine hates me. Before I posted this thread I searched "Tiger One cupola placement" and "Tiger One cupola location" and didn't get much help, and just now I copied and pasted the title of your thread to the search box and I still can't get to your thread. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I don't like to post repetitive stuff and the search engine ain't helpin' me out much.

Anyway, how does this look to you? Does this boggle things up for most of the decent tank commander figures on the market>



I've found this really great stuff called Zap Goo. Ever tried it? It will hold something like this firmly in place and I can still get it off fairly easily if I want to. Just slow steady pressure and a sharp #11 will take her right back off if I need to. I have three different cupolas for the IR tiger and that's how I hold the battle cupola in place. The others stay pretty well with no adhesive, and the battle cupola does, too, but for me it's a bit of insurance when the tank might get some punishment. Heat of battle and all that, right?

[jarndice]

Hi, Gary pleased to help, If you click on FORUM then scroll down to TIPS & TRICKS, on the right hand side at both the top and bottom of the page you will see a series of boxes with page numbers,
Click on 3 and I think it is either 1 2 3 or 4 entry, although it will tell pretty much what you now already know.
If you look at pictures of the cupola of the PANZER 4 you will see on many of them a vertical bar in front of the forward vision slit, this was so that the Tank Commander or Gunner could loose off a snap shot using the vertical bar and its alignment with the Main Gun Barrel and the Target,
I have never seen such a modification in photographs of a Tiger 1 Turret "BUT" very recently I was looking at a Japanese Hobby store website which was showing pictures of the first 1/16 Plastic kit by a new Chinese maker and of course it is a TIGER 1,
It is actually an early Tunisian Tiger, and I checked it over for mistakes and it really is very accurate,
It has the early unhinged front and rear fenders, the tow ropes are facing the rear of the Tank, the Headlights are halfway down the Glacis each side of the radio/operators and drivers places and at the rear the feifel air cleaners are the 4 pot type rather than the twinned type, and the killer is the 3 straight plate exhaust shrouds with 3 vents each side rather than the semi-circular later type,
There was one discrepancy and that was a vertical rod on the Mantlet of the main Gun in line with the Gunners twin viewing ports in the turret mantlet. this also is in line with the forward viewing slit of the Cupola, this would of course carry out the same function of the aiming bar on the Panzer 4.
The only problem is that while this might be a truthful modification and it does make a great deal of sense, It is just that as I said earlier I have never seen such a thing in any photographs so until DAVID BYRDEN makes his learned pronouncement I would be wary of fitting such a fitting.
I did notice what I thought was one schoolboy error in the Mantlet,
The picture showed the raised section that holds the Gunners viewing ports which of course are in early Tiger 1's flat then I skimmed over the pictures of the sprues in the box and low and behold there are 3 different Mantlets to cover the evolution of the Tiger 1 turret including the early flat Mantlet, which does help me in thinking the aiming bar might be based on genuine research.
Sorry for going on at length but I am trying to put last nights Rugby disaster to the very back of my mind.
One peep out of you KIASER, HERMAN and I will probably find myself banned from this Forum for foul and abusive language. shaun

[HERMAN BIX]

[DavidByrden]

There are quite a few errors in the "Rye Field Model" Tiger kit, see here; http://tiger1.info/models/products/RM5001

but the aiming bar isn't an error. It was normal for those Tunisian Tigers.



David

[jarndice]

Excellent, Thank you David,
I suppose you do realise that a lot of members of the Forum will be looking for a plastic or metal rod to retrofit their Tiger's?
shaun

[DavidByrden]

I've not seen any Tunisian Tigers here, have I?

David