King Tiger in process

[Norton1]

Mr. Bix - do you have a photo of your screwdriver process? Patience he said - patience -

[HERMAN BIX]

Have a gander in my Fehrmann Tiger build thread mate.
It’s not as uniform as the ATC stuff but it’s quite good enough for field applied to my eye.
Practice on a scrap piece until you get the feel for it.

Research your ideal representative build and see about how you need it to look.

[Norton1]

Parts are arriving - have track for the turret, hangers, decals,

parts

and began taking the tank apart today. Stripped all the little parts off and then began gently taking the rear hatch off.

done

There was a tiny gap so I stuck the point of an xacto knife in it

more

and gently pried away. Voila!

more

Now to cut the hatch out and build a hinge for it -

loosen

[Norton1]

I got a little carried away. Waiting for parts - so I took the tank apart and installed the new smoker, TPC kindly sent me another, and then worked on the breech. There is no way the tank could go into hull defilade the way it was so I took and tapped a 6-32 cap screw into the base and now it will be a bit better. When the zimmet gets here and I tear it completely down I intend to do some work on the front plate and adjust even more in the depression of the barrel.

[Norton1]

Adding a fill spot for the smoker oil - I decided to use the stock one. So I milled the bottom off the fill hole, took the long oil filler from the HL smoke liquid, hot glued it in place, then tapped it with a 10-24 thread, machined a screw to fit the plastic portion and machined the end to fit a tiny hole (.079) in the original fuel cap, and the cap screws into the original hole just like on the real tank.

When I reassemble the tank I will be able to add smoker oil through the fill cap hole. It will flow in correctly and I know how much is actually getting in to the reservoir. And once the tank is repainted you'll never see the change.

[HERMAN BIX]

Brilliant idea!
Sure does beat the instructions “ add to the hole of filling”

[Norton1]

And after extensive emails with the folks I bought the tank from. I was told to only add 2 to 3 drops of oil when it was needed. And holding the tank at a 45 degree angle for a few minutes seemed a bit stupid.

I took the smoker completely apart and it's easy to replace the element if it does burn out. I also have the necessary stuff to put a fan in place of the pumper. Although I do like the pump smoke. I'm going to figure out how to get the smoker to fire up at the same time the motor starts. Be much more realistic.

Bored machinist is really enjoying this little tank.

[Max-U52]

If you really want cool smoke effects, an acoustic smoker is the way to go. Normand designed one that works great. A youtube search for acoustic smoker should turn it up. Might give you ideas.

[Norton1]

Thanks Max - but I have my setup and really don't want to change it. At most I will figure out how to get the smoker to start at the same time as the motor sounds. My tank won't be fancy but it will be really functional and easy to use.

Be well,
Steve

[Norton1]

When it rains it pours? Packages of things arrived today from the UK. The Zimmerit stuff was the most interesting. THAT is going to be interesting for a fact. The recommended glue is micro liquitape. According to the brochure the liquitape is a temporary adhesive. But the zimmerit maker says this is what I should use. Any advice is most welcome.

I also received the turret ring, metal with bearings, and it is a lovely item. It will tighten things up quite well. It does take a bit of fitting so I will post a few pics as I go along on this unit. Looking forward to this.

Happy New Year !!
Be well,
Steve