ICE]monkeys early tiger build

[[ICE]monkey]

i got my first rc tank on a saturday , a h/l s&s tiger 1 , after driving it a bit to see if it all worked the fun began, with in 2 hours all i had was a pile of bits,  then i started the mods , i removed all the molded tools plus opened up the radio operators / drivers hatches, swopped the mantle ,  moved the cupola around and opened up the drivers vision block, and removed the hull mounted mg ,i replaced it with a better looking ball mount  [ its a small measuring spoon ] then adde the wiring for the headlights.

[[ICE]monkey]

next came the lower hull ,i added metal suspension mounts  to strenthen the sides,  metal suspension arms, and then fitted the track tensioners. the new tigers come with a different road wheel axle set up [ i think its h/ls attempt to stop chassie flex] so the axles wont fit the metal suspension mounts, they are to sloppy , to get over this i got 16 x capped bolts [the size is 40 mm x 4 mm, i then tapped the mounts with a 4mm tap [ went through with a 3.3 mm drill bit first. 

[[ICE]monkey]

next came the turret i filled the led hole in the mantle, added some wires to the smoke launchers and fitted a recoil kit , new barrel and muzzle, then added pc connectors for easier removal.

[[ICE]monkey]

next i added metal gearboxs, idler wheels, drive sprockets and metal tracks , then started to add more detail by adding metal hatches [ added all the inner detail using metal strip and brass sheet ] , added the jack clamps and fastners for the tool box . also added the jack block stand brackets and made he wooden jack block from balsa and brass strip

[[ICE]monkey]

then it was time to get the airbrush out , after giving it a base coat i shot a few coats of dunkelgelb on , followed by olivgrun stripes, then added a few coats of klear floor polish to give it a gloss coat ready for the decals .

[[ICE]monkey]

forgot to mension that i use lifecolor acrylic paints , i find them spot on for colour , they do all the ral numbers.
next it was time to blow some boards, er i mean fit the elmod , it all goes in very easy [ once youve worked out what the manuals are on about ]  bigginers luck or skill [lol] it fired up first time ,and it all worked, well apart from the recoil [ that was tracked down to be a dodgy solder joint in the recoil motor [ so not my fault ]

[[ICE]monkey]

then it was time to put it all back together, add the metal tools , the tow ropes are the original h/l ones [ just painted],  then i gave it a wash [no not with soap] with a thin solution of muddy brown paint, followed by a pin wash with brown/grey/black, then added some paint chips, base coat grey, around the edge of the chip with a light dunkelgelb, then gave it a small highlight with a soft pencil. then a overall drybrush,
i still have lots to do [ it needs dirtying up  and there are some more details i want to add so i will keep you posted.

[adin]

That really is a beauty

[[ICE]monkey]

cheers got a few more pics , just added the mushrooms ?, and bent one of the rear track guards up

[Norse]

Ice monkey did you have any problems with the Elmod stuff? was it simple to install etc? i know they have manuals but