Tiger 412 - s.pz.abt 506 - Ardennes Offensive

[grim_marmazet]

Andy, thanks for the comments. I am going to add the exhaust flaps. There in one of the Aber kits, they include the pin and chain as well. I plan on adding that in. I just need some very thin chain.
The side skirts are awesome, and will look even better dented and with a few bullet holes in them. 
Cheers,
Rik

[thecommandernj]

The Tiger looks great. What tank will you build next?  The KV 1.......  Bob thecommandernj

[grim_marmazet]

Im 'themeing' my tanks from the western front, so no KV-1. Im not really a fan of the Russian tanks anyway, there pretty ugly. I have a King Tiger that is built and waiting to be detailed. Im hopeing though the next tank will be a Panther, which is my favourite German tank. I plan on going the whole hog and adding a vast amount of the Wecohe detail parts, and literally making it as detailed as is physically possible at this scale.
Cheers,
Rik

[Wight]

Fantastic brass work,first class.

Steve.

[grim_marmazet]

Thanks Steve.  What they dont tell you about these kits is how long they take to put together! I've just spent the last 4 hours putting together ONE of the front mudflaps! I haven't even put the hinges together yet, lol. Thats a job for after i've had a coffee. 
It may take ages, but the detail is unsurpassed, Aber really outdo themselves! Check out the pictures below. On bothe the front and back mudflaps I need to get 1mm wing nuts for the hinge locks, and to glue the nuts down on the underside. The nut heads are way to small to solder, so i'll just use a bit of CA. They wont be under any stress, so it should be fine.




One other thing, anyone who tells you rolling tiny hinges is easy, is an outright liar! lol 
Cheers,
Rik

[Wight]

Your making it look easy though

A friend of mine had the Tiger 1 when Tamiya first released it,he also bought the Aber kit but was put off by the soldering.He did not use all of the kit and the parts he did use he used superglue on.Turned out well though.
In fact,my Sherman has a few small bolt heads on the front fender which came from the leftovers of his kit.

Steve.

[grim_marmazet]

I did think about superglue, but I dont think it would be nearly strong enough to run it RC. It would be great for a static kit though.
I used this guide to help learn soldering techniques; http://www.indy-amps.org/articles/soldering/soldering.html That guide is why the second rear mudflap looks a lot better than the first!  The Aber sets are incredible, the detail really adds to the Tiger. One thing I will say is, you dont have to use it just because its on the fret. Not everything is best made from folded brass. For instance i'd rather use the Schumo Tow cable holders than fold the Aber ones, purely because there stronger.

I've been working on the hinges for the front mudflaps. I've ditched the folded brass bits from the kits and replaced them them with styrene ones. There more solid and feel sturdier than folded brass. Im going to further strengthen them but putting 1mm nuts through the bottom of the hinge sections, epoxied into place, and brass strips over the top to add an additional layer of strength. This should keep the front mudflaps in place while the tank is running around.

Cheers,
Rik

[grim_marmazet]

Finally attached the first mudflap!  As I said before I replaced the brass hinge sections with styrene ones. I just have to strengthen the hinge piece on the mudflap a bit. Theres extra sections to solder on to make them stronger. This has been challenging to say the least, and its by no means perfect, or properly scale, but its the best compromise to allow it to still be run RC. I broke the outer most hinge piece, and had to scratch a replacement, but it all worked out in the end, after a great deal of frustration.




I haven't attached it permanently yet as I want it removable to put on the tracks and paint the hull, then i'll just use bits of wire and epoxy to hold them in.
I'll try to at least put the second one together tonight, and possibly mount it tomorrow, then all the mudflaps and side fenders will be finished. Only a million tiny parts left to go! lol
Cheers,
Rik

[Wight]

Another fine job.
It's a good point you made on wanting it still to be RC.This is why I have only detailed the upper hull of my Sherman as I wanted to still run it properly without the worry of something breaking off on the lower hull.It's main running ground is on grass.
It's great to detail these tanks,and because of they're size it is somewhat easier,but there always has to be a compremise between scale and strength.What is strong in 1/1 does not necessarilly scale down strong in 1/16.However the enviroment they run in is not scaled down and therefore in some ways they need to be tougher to cope.
After all they are working scale vehicles.

[grim_marmazet]

Your very right there Steve. Some aspects of our tanks have to be so robust just to survive the stresses they get put under. But working out how to make it strong enough is part of the fun!  Mine is mostly a shelf queen anyway. There's not much of an area around where I live to run it anyway.

Today I finally finished the front mudflaps! It's taken the better bit of four days to get them put together and attached to the tank. I was so happy to have them actually finished i did a little victory dance!  As always the second one went together much faster than the first, lol. I love the detail they add, and its just great to have another functional bit on the tank. I did roughen up the edge below the mudflaps to make it look torch cut.






Hope you like! 
Cheers,
Rik