Bitza Tiger 1 build

[wibblywobbly]

Now I am getting somewhere. On the home run now. I put the exhausts and tool box on for the pics which are still in the original dunkelgelb, now that the tank is painted in the beige type colour, the yellow/green shows up as yellow in the photo's, this was the colour of the whole tank in the pics above?? There has to be some major trickery going on with digital camera's, light, and paint, as far as some colours are concerned.

Anyway it now looks like the S33 above which was the main objective, so I can get on get the whole thing completed.

[wibblywobbly]

I totally agree, on top of all of that there were three different paint suppliers and they were all different shades. The green they used in Italy came from the Italian Air Force??

All I have done is get as close a match as I can to the model one in the pic above, and that is for absolutely no other reason than it 'looks nice'. It also means that everything else I do in the way of streaks etc will look pretty much the same.

[wibblywobbly]

Pretty much all done now, steel tow ropes a nightmare to fit but its all nailed down.

I can start on the servo recoil and battle system now.

[kj68]

Hi WW this is an interesting thread and very informative for the likes of new guys like me. Loads of ideas and pictures to help me with my build. I'm taking one step at a time and I am really enjoying transforming my Tiger 1. Keep up the great work WW.

[wibblywobbly]

Ok, well as I like to assist anyone starting out in the hobby as much as I can, and to give them a bit of confidence to try things that might be afraid of messing up, here's how I did the paint.

The first thing that I would say is that not everyone can afford an airbrush, and not everyone would want to buy one. If that's the case then a tank can be painted quite easily without one. I use Vallejo paint, the Model Colour, not the Model Air. Why? Well the Model Air paint is prediluted so that you can use it in an airbrush straight away. However, it is better suited to 1/35 scale tanks as it does not cover very well. You would use a lot of it to paint a 1/16 scale tank.

Model Colour can be used neat with a damp brush, or diluted with water 50/50 for airbrushing. Either way, it melts down after application into a very smooth surface. When used neat and brushed on it will cover anything underneath it, usually in one coat. If I am painting large surfaces I use foam pads. You can get sets of cheap brushes and pads in the supermarket craft sections for about a pound. They are excellent value. The stiff bristle brushes in the sets are ideal for dry brushing streaks etc.

The airbrush is however useful when doing camo stripes as it gives that blending effect.

For stone chips and wear marks, I use a torn off piece of kitchen sponge. The paint is either plain Burnt Umber, or a mix of Burnt Umber and Silver, Black and Silver etc. Just get some silver foil, pour two small puddles of each colour, mix them roughly together, lightly touch the paint with the sponge, and then dab the sponge on a piece of cardboard. Then lightly touch the tank where you want the chip marks, Do not dab more than once in the same spot, and rotate the sponge as you go along to give a random effect.

I like to go over every bolt head on a tank with Burnt Umber/Silver to give them a contrasting metallic sheen. You need a very fine tipped brush for that.

For rusty exhausts I use MIG Rust Powder. This is really fine powder, and whatever you do don't sneeze while you are using it, and only tap a small amount onto the foil at a time. Mix some Matt Black paint into it, use a very wet brush, until it is a dark rust colour, and then paint it on to the part. It will dry to a textured rust effect.

There are several way to do tyres. I normally use Rubber Tyre Effect paint, but on this model the wheels were in such bad shape that I couldn't do that as there were no casting lines to follow for a clean edge. I therefore applied Bare Earth colour as neatly as I could, then got some various mixes of Dark Brown and Dark Greys, and carefully used a cotton bud dipped into the paint to give a non-uniform dirty/muddy tyre effect.

That was pretty much it, it takes time, a lot of time, and the secret is not to rush things. Keep a packet of antiseptic kitchen wipes handy, if you make a mistake a quick wipe with one of those and the wet paint will come straight off. Wait a few minutes and you can repaint the area. Vallejo paint is touch dry very quickly, which makes multiple colour painting very easy. It takes around 24 hours to cure completely though.

I hope this helps, at the end of the day you are painting a tank, not a Ferrari, so a rougher looking finish is sometimes better than an immaculate one. If you take a look in the Gallery in the Show Off section you will see plenty of different approaches to how it is done.

Rob

[Bogeyman]

Great advice Rob, for the newbies and some reminders for the seasoned Vets.

John

[kj68]

Hi Rob thanks for explaining your process its all quite daunting as this is my first ever RC of any type and I do love tanks. I will continue with all the little fixes I can carry out on my Tiger 1. A few more components should arrive this week i.e the sight slits for the turret and the shackles and bolts for the chassis. My razor saw kit should arrive also so I can start on the gaps on the side flaps.

[jackalope]

Which is why I've said many times, it's your tank build it to suit you and not every Tom, Dick and Harry on the interwebs. Color is very difficult, not only is any pictures from then faded but the camera quality and photo paper quality of the 40'same left a lot to be desired. Then there's lighting, shadows, tint, and not everyone sees colors the same way! It's almost impossible to get it 100% correct.

However all that being said what you have going on is looking quite nice! Can't wait to see updates from you.

[wibblywobbly]

I totally forgot that there was a fire extinguisher lurking in the bag of parts I was given with it, so gave that a brush up, and made a mounting bracket using the brass etch sprue from the engine deck vents. I quite like the colour now that it has been weathered up a bit, and may even do my Panther in these colours next winter? The only thing I would add, but it means buying some, is a wash over with sepia and earth pigment, to blend it all in.

I am pretty certain that this is it as far as the painting goes, so will sort out the IR battle system, recoil and wiring loom over the next couple of days.

[doc larsson]

is that muzzle break in the correct position ? nice idea for the pose !