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

[Ad Lav]

Havn't you finished yet?

I'm gobsmacked by all the extra bit you've put on and indeed the amount of time! Great work!

[grim_marmazet]

how do you manage will all the small parts?this build is a credit to your skills, brilliant

The photo etch parts look daunting when you first see the frets, but after you start putting them together, you realise they're not so bad. I will say though my Tiger is primarily a shelf queen, all the tiny details i've added would be lost if she was battled hard.

I've started on the battle damage. It was scary to start to 'destroy' all the lovely brass thats taken me ages to put on, but I wanted this Tiger to look like its near the end of the Ardennes Offensive and has seen some heavy fighting in all sorts of areas.

The side skirts were easy to damage using pliers, sprue cutters and a micro drill bit in a pin vise hammered through for bullet holes. If you hold some thing underneath the brass, I used a pencil rubber, you get a nice clean hole. You can also see the start of the damage to the running gear.



The same techniques were used one the exhaust sheilds.


I added a run of bullet holes and a nice dent on one corner of the turret bin. The corner of the lid was bent up to make it mach the damge that caused the dent. With some paint and some Mig Productions Rust Effect on the holes, they'll look great.


Finally I added some shell impacts. A couple on the turret,


and two on the glacis. I made one look like a deflected shot.


These were made with a bullet shaped polishing stone in a dremel to make the initial hole, them I used a combination of a spherical burr and various engraving bits to 'rough' it up. I need to build up the edges of the impacts with some putty, but unfortunately you wont see the full effect until its painted.

I need to add a couple of tiny details, and add the rest of the damage to the road wheels, which i'll be writing a how-to guide for the effect i've found out about.

Cheers,
Rik

[xrad]

wow, I don;t know if I could do that to my hard work...I give you some credit (B*lls)!!!

Hot solder iron w/ blunt end maked good impacts in heavy metal (curls up on edge of crater) areas...

[littletankman]

Hi Rik . Excelent mate it realy is you have made a good job . Cant wait to see it painted .

Andy

[grim_marmazet]

Thanks guys. It was scary to start beating the hell out of my nicely finished tank thats taken so long to get here! lol. I did want it to look like it's been fighting hard. The 506th ended up about 10 miles east of Bastogne when the only picture of a Tiger 1 from this unit was taken, and eventually the remainder was pushed all the way back across the Rhine. I want mine to be from near the end of the offensive. It was low on ammo and fuel, had spent a lot of time being shot at, and even more hiding from 'Jabos' and Allied tanks. So its going to look roughed up.
Cheers,
Rik

[Saxondog]

Rik,you must have stopped before the first bit of damage and pondered what you were about to do.You have created a BRILLIANT Tiger VI for all to see,so much work and skill went into this project.I have to say the damage does add to the overall effect,and the paint and numbering will enhance the appearance even more.I can only say the anticipation to see it finished is like a very good movie that you don't want to end,but you still have to see the end of the story,Patiently waiting the end of the story and an epic story it has been.All the best Blake

[grim_marmazet]

Thanks Blake! I did do a fair bit of research for the damage to get as close to realistic as is possible with my limited skill. My heart did skip a beat when I started to drill the dremel into the hull, but its worth it for the end result.

The end of the story is coming soon. I ordered all the paints, brushes, primer etc.. I need to finish this model, and I have the second week of Febuary off work to focus on it. I also ordered Mig Jimenez's FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About AFV Painting Techniques book. It was very pricey at £70 , but its the bible of painting techniques, and covers about every possible section of painting. It should help me finish this beastie the way it should look.

I should be able to move onto the 2 next projects I now have. My 1/6 pre-jump 101st paratrooper figure, and my 1/24 Airfix Spitifre Mk.Vb! Oh, and the King Tiger, 1/24 Bf-109G-2, M1c Helmet restoration.....

Damn the list is endless, lol!

Cheers,
Rik

[grim_marmazet]

Time for another update for anyone following my build. I know these are far and few between, and I apologise. I just haven't been as motivated to work on the Tiger recently. Good news though, all the paints, brushes, washes, pigments, primer, and thinners came today, along with Mig's excellent FAQ book. I also have a week off in February so I can get it painted! I now need to pick a camo scheme! If anyone has any pictures of Ardennes Tiger 1 camo schemes i'd love to see them!

First up, I stripped the running gear off in preperation for painting. I also re-did the sloped section on the front of the sponsons. I then decided to apply the rolled steel texture to the sponsons, and I still need to do the side behind the running gear. I know it won't really be seen, but if a jobs worth doing....




I was looking at Frank Helmling's excellent Tiger 1 in Model Military International, and saw he'd applied a sand cast texture to the sprocket and idler. So, after much research I did notice this texture in some pictures and copied it. To get the effect I used Mr.Surfacer 500, and a Citadel stippling brush. These are fantastic for a fine cast texture, though they wear out quickly!

This is the idler, sorry about the picture quality, they look much better for real.



On the sprocket I went one step further and added the casting numbers as well.

This is the manafacturer's mark;



And this is the year of manafacture;



These should be on opposite sides from each other.

Finally a quick shot of my next project!



Cheers,
Rik

[Saxondog]

Hi Rik,the texture looks good,I remember a post on using baking soda for this texture effect.Seems similar effect,just thought is worth mentioning.Still following this epic story. Blake

[grim_marmazet]

Thanks Blake! I have seen that effect as well. Its a nice smooth sand casting texture. I wanted mine to look a bit rougher, like its been worn, exposed to the elements for a long time. I'm going to add a similar texture to the mantlet and snorkel covers, but a bit lighter like those parts were finished to a higher standard.



I know its not stricty accurate, but I figured if the sprockets have casting numbers, i'll add them to the idler. I used a different manafacturer number to show they have been replaced in a refit. These picture also show the texture a bit better. I reworked some bits, and sanded it down very lightly.

Cheers,
Rik