Newby from the Netherlands.

[Rob59]

Hi guys.
First post for me, with a little intro.
As a kid I used to build plastic models in 1/72 scale, mostly about WWII, planes, tanks, or whatever.
Always had a great interest in that period, so I created a little battlefield in my bedroom.
These days my interest mostly goes out to German Panzers in 1/16 scale.
A few months ago I got myself a Taigen Tiger 1, Early Version metal edition, first big tank in this scale for me.
Did a few mods since I got it, and this afternoon I finished the weathering/mudding the tracks and road wheels.
I do not have fancy tools, just do everything with enamel paint and some old brushes.
Waiting for some accessories to come in from Germany tomorrow, like 2 fuel barrels, 4 ammo boxes and other small stuff.
Been ages since I've been into modelling, so I will have to learn a lot, compared to you pro's on here.
Here are some pics...
My tiger, out of the box:


as she is right now




I also got a cheap used Torro WSN Tiger 1 from the Dutch internet.
Too bad it came in broken, because the seller did not take the effort to pack it very well, so the barrel was broken when it arrived.
I hate that, when people refuse to think about what happens when a tank slides around in a big card board box, without any protection of paper/newspapers and so.
Besides that, the delivery guys are not very careful too with their handling of the packages.
Anyway........
I won't put much money into the Torro Tiger, just got it because it is a Late Version and...it was pretty cheap.
Here are the both of 'm, in this pic my early Version has still the "stock colored" tracks and road wheels.


Sorry for the wrongly rotated pics. I am a member on several US bike forums, and this happens to me quite some times. I did rotate 'm in photobucket, but apparently that site did not want to cooperate. But.....sometimes after a few days, the pics seem to have turned into the right direction.
So...just let's wait, haha.
Quite a long read, thanks for your attention, and maybe I can learn a lot on here.

Rob.

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
Welcome to the Forum, Rob. Thank you for the pics of your tanks. You are doing fine in the weathering department, I would say. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[midlife306]

Welcome to the forum Rob!!!
Cheers
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rob59]

Thnkz guys.
About the road wheels of my cheap Tiger, indeed got this tank a week or so ago and was wondering the same.
Late types should have all steel road wheels.
The road wheels are slightly larger than the ones on my Early Tiger too, which actually looks a bit better than the smaller ones from my Taigen but that is my opinion, and i do not know yet if the Taigen's size roadwheels are correct.
Anyway, will start weathering the Late one too with paint and real sand so when I'm done, the Early type road wheels will not be visible again.

[jarndice]

The reason the front wheels were altered was because the Mud in Russia would build up and dry between the front inner and outers and prevent the wheels from working,
The JU87 "Stuka" Had its Undercarriage Spats removed for the same reason, The dried mud prevented the Mainwheels from turning leading to aircraft turning over on landing.

[Rob59]

Cheat lol, but weathering won't help hide the wheels being in the wrong places
If you look at a late Tiger 1, the wheels are in and out like the early, but are all moved one position along like the Panthers, so that the foremost set of wheels are inner ones.

I have a theory why they changed the wheel configuration to the later positions. It has been noted/documented that Tiger 1 crews sometimes removed the front outer roadwheels in the early days to help the tank run better on soft ground like sand. And this is why I believe they changed the configuration on the later models. I haven't read anything to confirm that, it's just my opinion as to why.

Apart front the wheels and tracks, I'm not too good with the differences between the early, mid and late Tiger 1's, so now I'm wondering if your cheap one represents a mid? I have a feeling the mid models had both types of roadwheels, starting with the early type and ending with the late. Bugger, I will have to read up on them again lol.

As for the wheels being different sizes, that's interesting, I'm now going to have to check that out lol.

Mick.

Hi Mick.
I have no clue why the Late one is with the wrong set of wheels.
All those cheap models come with that same set of road wheels.
Could be a mid production as you mentioned....?
About the changing of wheels from the early Tigers to the later types, Shaun is correct.
I did read some info about the tanks in the Russian winters, struggling with the frozen mud between the road wheels.
Great info on here guys, i like that!
Rob.

[Rob59]

Did some searching on the web.
Mid versions did have the rubber road wheels like the Early Types, so thank God so far nothing wrong with my cheap plastic beast, LOL.
Learned something again this afternoon.
Cheers guys!

[jarndice]

Rob a couple of points worth knowing,
Point one, The term "MID" is one that has been coined by the RC Armour fraternity, It was not used by the German Armed Forces or the Manufacturers,
Point two, As the war progressed a Tiger 1 would be brought into a field workshop for repair and if it was an "Early" and the only wheels available in the workshop were "Late's" that is what would be fitted just as if a "Late" came in and only "Early" wheels were available then the "Late" would get the "Early" wheels.
If you take a look at Herman's Build of a very late Tiger 1 you will see it is a real dogs breakfast of "Early" and "Late" parts which is exactly what happened as parts became ever harder to find due to the failure of Logistics and the heavy bombing of the Tank Factory's.

[Marco Peter]

Welkom mede-Hollander!

Zit je ook al bij een tank club? Anders wil ik wel een lans breken voor RCAGH!
RC Armour Group Holland.

[Rob59]

No, being back into scale modeling/1:16 tanks since Pentecost (Pinksteren).
What about that RCAGH........?
Any advantages being a member of a "tank club", besides the info I get/find on here?
BTW, send you a PM.