[WINTER 23-24] Tiger I #822

[MrChef]

Must be the Tiger from Militracks last summer.

I have a Panther link if you want to see the colour.

Yes sir that's the one.

Sure please share.

[MrChef]

Some more track work=





My first time doing metal tracks with this finish.

[MrChef]

Exhaust weathering using the AK Crusted Rust set=

[Ecam]

That looks terrific! Way better rusting than I've ever created. I'll have to get that set. Battle damage and dents are great too!

[ColemanCollector]

Tracks look sweet! Regarding the bluing, the usual bluing mixtures for home use are acids like phosphoric in your Brownell's stuff, or nitric in Birchwood's bluing. Shouldn't really get weaker, although it is easy to contaminate by "double dipping". Was it warmer when you did the other sets of tracks? That will really influence the time required for a dark colouring.

Whenever I blue any firearm pieces they always get a nice warming from the hairdryer, and it makes a huge difference.

Mike.

[MrChef]

Time to share some thoughts and direction.

When I started this I definitely wanted to do a Tiger I, it is an all time favorite tank of mine. Tigers have a lot of following and there are a lot of historical images. The Heng Long was a great option for me to do some easy and noticeable improvements and try out some new stuff and ease my way into more in depth modding, and modeling. When I see other members work I am humbled but also proud that we share the same forum and freely support each other. I'm also proud of what I have learned and what I can put into practice and accomplish. I used to be actually scared to even think of repainting a whole tank let alone cutting, carving, gouging and grinding one to bits and then reassembling it into my vision.

I specifically picked this Tiger because 1. it was an early winter Tiger that didn't have the Feifel air filters of which I am not fond of. 2. there was decent photographic history of said unit. 3. after getting into the research I found this Tiger had a rich history of noted action in multiple well known battles and then found out more about it's interesting commander.

When I first started hanging around this forum I saw all these interesting projects and the effort and lengths to which you all took to. I also marveled that some of you would take so much time to accomplish them and then others would start cool projects and either just fall off or take actual years to finish them. This boggled my mind. I was never a modeler. I did dabble in Tamiya RC buggies when I was younger but they were definitely more function over form for me.

Now it's into the 3rd month for me which I only realize when I look back at the pics of the build on my phone and notice the dates. I remember starting on November 1st but life has a funny way of bending time when we get busy.

So back to earth. The Tiger in question #822 after much investigation and even developing a helpful relationship with David Byrden on Facebook has some more noticeable differences besides the missing filters. Turns out the rear turret storage bin is very specific for Das Reich something that David pointed out to me but at the point I was at in the build would have meant a total U-turn in rush hour traffic and modeling skills/tools that I don't have yet. There were a few other small differences that he offered but they aren't anything that unless you are him you'd notice. It's also clear that Das Reich Tigers were painted Tropen then Whitewash camouflaged very well before being sent to Kharkov.

Soooo It's crossroads time. I didn't want a Grey Tiger. I already have one. I don't want a Tropen Tiger. If I did, I would have done 131. I do want a Winter Camouflaged Tank to fit into our group build. I have been playing with the camo paint and am looking forward to a well distressed, weathered, whitewash camouflaged Tiger I.

So Artists license in hand I went looking through all the Tiger I paint and camo scheme pics and representations that I have collected on this journey, and it's A Lot. I came up with a couple "other artists representations" of Tiger I's.

Here we go...



I like but it's sparse. and I can't decide if the non yellow is supposed to be faded grey or faded white.



Excuse the search on my phone, but I particularly like this "what if" camo.



Again is that light blue and yellow camo? I mean colors can play tricks on your eyes.


Sooooo, I decided that since I'm already having fun, and #822 has been a fantastic reference but I am Not making an exact copy for obvious reasons and plus I just don't want to. It's my "What If" anyway because I've added details and damage that appear in pictures on later dates and a bit from other units.

I made some moves yesterday:
















I am extremely happy with the results. I'm almost sad that I'm gonna cover it up like the T34




PS. She's back together, all things work as they should amazingly enough. Bells and Booms and Ratta, tat, tat's... Whizzez and Whirs abound. One thing I like is that cool Imex MG, it lights up all the way through the little holes and just looks wayy cool. Sooo much better than the stock piece.

[Ad Lav]

Very nice camo job

[Jimster]

Excellent modeling and painting. I enjoyed the backstory along with it.

[Meter rat]

I’ve looked forward to your updates. And you have not disappointed. This is looking fantastic.

[ColemanCollector]

That's looking pretty schwanky!

Mike.