RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 - Tunisia - January '43 - Build  
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All Forums >> RC Cars, Buggies, Trucks, Tanks and more >> RC Tanks >> RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 - Tunisia - January '43 - Build
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RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 ... - 1/12/2008 5:07:04 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		The sprockets aren't perfectly round either! I need Heng Long's secret chart that shows which sprockets mate up with which shafts! After mixing and matching 6 metal Tiger sprockets and 12 output shafts I found a perfect match! Now I gotta repaint the sprocket as it was for another Tiger project! This is going to be fun matching the rest of them up someday! PITA!!!

_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to uhu)
       Post #: 51

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 ... - 1/13/2008 12:10:25 PM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		The gearboxes went back together nicely but wouldn't go back into the tank! The output shafts wouldn't pass through the 8x16 bearings I'd installed. No problem I thought, pull out the dremel and take a little off the inside of the bearing. Nope. Take some off the shafts. Nope! This is getting stupid! Tried forcing them through with a hammer, gently at first, then with a little more force. Nope, broke the mount on one side so now there's a big hole where the bearing used to be in my hull! Now the final driver covers won't come off! ARGGHHH, dang CA glue! Finally popped them out without damage. No amount of grinding would get those bearings to fit over the shaft, ridiculous! I didn't want to grind away the shaft, then the sprocket would wobble again! Turned up the power on the dremel, 9000rpms and ground some more! NOTHING!!! Tried prodigous amounts of cursing at it, Nope! Then I noticed that I cracked a swing arm mount, the wheel was bowed out and I'm out of long standoffs! That's it, I quit!

So now I need to order more parts and make lots of repairs to the suspension and hull before doing the rest. I took the day off from tanking.

_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to swathdiver)
       Post #: 52

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/19/2008 8:14:10 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Finally Assembly! Pictures over the weekend!

Wow, it's amazing how much can be accomplished with minimal interruption! Pzrwest: Why didn't you tell me I was crazy for using .080" of styrene in my turret? You can see the surprise on my face when the turret ring had nowhere to go! That was 90 minutes with the dremel getting rid of all that styrene, then another 20 minutes sanding to make it all smooth and functional again!

The twist free phone adapter for the turret works like a charm. I attached it in the upper hull with some phone cord in case it doesn't rotate as it should. Next time I'll rewire the harness so that the twist free adapter sits on the floor of the hull facing up at the turret. None of the turret wires will then have to go into the upper hull and I can elminate the little junction block.

When this gets upgraded to dual batteries I'll move the board up behind the motors like Kabul Tanker did, more efficient use of space. Mine occupies one of the battery slots since my charger only goes to 5000mah. The receiver is mounted on the sponson just forward of the proper location for the antenna.

All the details items unique to the 2 Kompanie Tigers and lettering/numbering has been added. Next availability will test the tank and check center of gravity. The rear seems a bit light compared to the front. Center of gravity on the real tank was 120mm forward of center of the hull with the turret facing forward. Will check that tomorrow. If I open it up to add weight will shoot some more interior shots and post.

Still have minor detailing, painting, the camouflage netting and weathering to do.

_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to jonnymorris)
       Post #: 53

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/19/2008 10:16:04 AM   
blitzkrieg65



Posts: 1456
Joined: 5/1/2007
From: Escondido, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Dang Swath! Man i feel your pain, and it is good of you to be so honest with all your frustration! I know you pave the way on many builds! I'm not really sure that the, tanks need that bearing amyway? I can see that it adds support but its not going anywhere, if the gear box is mounted to the Hull well!? IMHO

The Blitz

(in reply to swathdiver)
       Post #: 54

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/19/2008 12:00:32 PM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks! I think people add the bearing as a way to waterproof the axles! I didn't see it making a big change either when they first started doing it, but then a lightbulb went off, problem solved to seal that part from water!

_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to blitzkrieg65)
       Post #: 55

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 12:38:19 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		The major conversion to a 2 Kompanie 501 Tiger in Tunisia is complete!

The 2 Kompanie arrived in January '43 from France via Italy and went immediately into combat. Hence the ragged look after 2 months of continuous fighting. With 10 kill rings on her turret the only damage from enemy tanks was having a smoke discharger shot off. She did strike two mines which did minor damage on the right side the first time. The second time blew off a couple of road wheels, some track and wrecked the driver's side sprocket.

The first photograph shows some of the details on an initial production Tiger. They all had two pistol ports. One of the features unique to the 2nd Company 501 Tigers were the little tool boxes on either side of the rommelkiste. There is a metal strap to hang equipment off and it keep the antenna from getting caught between the boxes as the turret rotates.

Second one shows a properly painted fire extinguisher (they were painted Dunkelgelb in February '43 with the standardisation of that color) and the lovely Jasmine on the back of the rommelkiste. Since this is my 6 year old daughter's tank, she too had to have a character like her mother and sisters. I was able to persuade her to choose one from the desert though! You'll see a set of wet tropical boots hanging out to dry and while blurry the early style round top feifel air cleaners.

More to come when this interruption is over...



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_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to blitzkrieg65)
       Post #: 56

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 12:57:45 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Ok, now where were we?

The next two shots show the interior in its present configuration. I kept the electronics tray, just moved it over. I completely forgot to build Pzrwests coil antenna, that will be a future mod. Also, while I there are no pictures of it, I did install the 360 turret with the "twist free" phone cord adapter. It worked great the first dozen or so times, then as the coil stretched it started catching on everything. I think I have it figured out but not 100% confident it won't jam again. When it does a bit of rewiring will be in order.

The real Tiger tank was balanced 120mm forward of the center of the hull. This is about the 4th roadwheel on the tank. Without tracks on it balanced out pretty much right there. I added 1lb up front and 1/2 pound in the rear to give it some more heft and keep it properly balanced. They who invented RTV deserves a lot of credit here! It's sealed the lower hull and keeps everything in place but easily removable! Thanks RTV guy!

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_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to swathdiver)
       Post #: 57

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 1:08:45 AM   
blitzkrieg65



Posts: 1456
Joined: 5/1/2007
From: Escondido, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Dude awesome weathering and really cool the theme " Julia"


(in reply to swathdiver)
       Post #: 58

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 1:12:21 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		These next shots show more details unique to these Tigers. First is the "crouching tiger" of the 501 and the "schwere" or heavy battalion insignia. The crouching tiger is painted quite a bit larger behind at the edge of the driver's glacis plate but it was covered up when the tracks were installed in front of it. It was then repainted over the visor. The 2 Kompanie did this from the outset, the 1 Kompanie did not do this until they were renumbered when they became part of Panzer Regiment 7. Note the PZIII links in the center. The brackets were made from brass, secured through the plastic. At this stage the front mud guards are gone.

2nd Picture highlights the spare track links. They were put on upside down compared to later methods with 2 bars holding them on instead of one. The bottom section was welded, the top held on with 3 bolts (one in the middle), as such there are 2 sections of track, they just happened to come together for the picture. Tow shackles were drilled through and brass rod so they won't pop off on every outting.

My favorite part are the hull side extensions. Nobody but me does this when depicting initial production Tigers. The extensions are longer, don't stick out as far and have a notch at the top for the defunct Vorpanzer.

Both machine guns were solid metal. Patiently drilled out with a Pin VISE! The turret MG is the gun warning light and the other one flashes when the MG button is pressed. Top one has Red LED behind fiber optic wire, the radio operator's is an Orange LED.

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_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to blitzkrieg65)
       Post #: 59

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 1:35:20 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Ok last two pics for the night.

First one show the result of the mine damage. Outter wheels were painted in disruptive RAL 7027. RAL 8020 shows up on the inner wheels exposed by the mine blast. Sprocket of course is in Dunkelgrau (Panzer Dark Gray). You can faintly make out the weld lines below the missing fender that I scribed into the upper hull. Did it on the rear too. The inner road wheels were not simply turned around. You cannot do that. I took another wheel of the same type and cut the face off, drilled out the center and installed it into the space of the original after making a spacer for it to rest against. The hubs were also made from the original wheels that were pulled off.

In looking at these pictures I see I have to go back and do some more work on the rear plate. More weathering needed!

I made the convoy light functional with 3 Blue LEDs wired together. Unfortunately the voltage drops so much that they wouldn't light when wired with the headlight, or they weren't compatible with white light. I wired it to the smoker instead! One of the 3 burned out or never worked too! Too bad it was all glued together and shaped and I'm too lazy to fix it!

The mufflers are functional, the smoke goes into them and out through functional rain caps which I'll make a point of taking pictures of. The mud guards were modified in accordance with 501 standards. Also note the correct position of the crank starter plate on these early tanks.

The rear mud flaps were not hinged, but bolted to the brackets that surround the convoy light, I forgot to drill the 6 holes with my pin vise.

You'll notice that I renumbered the tank too. Didn't like the font on the original. Repainted that 3 times then figured a way to do it better. Also at that time changed my mind as to which tank to depict. The PZIII in the background is going to be renumbered to 212, this one 211. There are no known photographs of 211 btw. The 2 Kompanie tanks were all odd numbered while their PZIII support tanks (Ausf Ns) were even numbered. This is different from the 1 Kompanie where the first 2 tanks in the platoon were Tigers.

Only about 30 Tigers served in Tunisia. Most of them would have been painted this way as that was the order in effect at the time. RAL 8020 as the base with RAL 7027 as the disruptive color not to cover more then 1/3 of the vehicle. Small parts should be painted in either color and on advice I chose to do the wheels in 7027. Incidently this is how the Bovington Tiger was done. There has been great debate on Green Tigers in Tunisia. We now have color photographs and clearer black and whites showing obvious camouflage patterns. That's not to say that the eyewitnesses were wrong, some Tigers probably were green, just not my 211! The famous photos of 141 and 142 traveling through town suggest they were green. However, the Time Life images clearly show the camouflage pattern on the side. The debate will rage until someone posts a color picture of one from a deceased veteran!

Weather depending (it always rains when I plan to take the tanks out now) we'll take a few out and photograph them outdoors.

Feedback critical and congratulatory is encouraged and most welcome! Thanks for visiting!

Now go build your own!



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_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to blitzkrieg65)
       Post #: 60

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 2:07:48 AM   
swathdiver



Posts: 3716
Joined: 3/21/2006
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Forgot to mention a couple of things!

All of the 1 Kompanie and most of the 2 Kompanie had 2 piece mud guards. Only a few like the surviving 712 and destroyed 833 had the newer single piece ones. I depicted this by gluing a thin strip of styrene just under the flange. In an explosion or collision the base was less likely to be torn away as evidenced from numerous photos of the unit.

The hole for the jack for the sprocket is flat on these tanks, there is no collar like on later tanks. The cut of the plate is accurate for initial production tanks too. The ends were also very rough from the cutting torch, not nice and smoothed over like the later tanks. I see many folks making the mistake when removing the front mud guards and depicting these details to omit the overhang as the plate comes forward to the joint. It's hard for me to describe, can you make out the circle over the right side track? That's what I'm talking about.

Dissatisfied with the turret number I spent hours looking for the right font! Finally settled on Dotum Che for the number 2 and Vrinda for the 11. To get them to come out with a white outline stencil I could cut I used the Word Art Feature in Microsoft Word. Font was 96. They're basically 2 Word Art images placed next to each other with 1 space at 12pt. I cut out 2 stencils this time. One for the white which I sprayed in a solid color. Then one in black which I should have overlayed directly over the original stencil, instead used measurement points that were slightly off. Next time will be better. After 4 attempts with both numbers on 3 sides I concluded it was good enough.



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_____________________________

James -
You do have spare boards, don't you?

(in reply to swathdiver)
       Post #: 61

RE: Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf H1 Tiger of Pz.Abt. 501 -... - 1/21/2008 3:49:33 AM