Old MSgt

Hi everybody! It's been a few months since I've posted on here but we've been moving. We got the keys to our new place (which is 1.5 miles from our previous house) between Christmas and New Years... THEN 'Old Man Winter' set in with a VENGENCE! Worst winter around here in over twenty years! And that was hard to move in! Anyway, we've finally got settled in some but still doing home/mini horsey modifications and we've about caught up on'em.

So about two weeks ago I FINALLY got some time to start setting up my new tank workshop, building a workbench & shelves, and get suff organized. Soon as I could I got the Tiger and parts unpacked and have gradually started working on it (SOMEWHAT between house jobs.)

The Tiger had a couple of torsion bars broken because the original novice builder didn't put in the swingarm stops. So I contacted Armortek to order a complete new torsion bar set and a 'few' other upgrades that are on the newer Tigers but wasn't originally on this '03. Some of the upgrade parts had to be manufactured by Armortek because they didn't have them 'on the shelf' but it didn't matter because we were 'In The Heat Of Battle' MOVING here anyway.

Back when this tank came out in 2003 the torsion bars were 5mm on the four front and rear and the middle ones were 4mm. Well, I discovered that the NEW Tigers have 5.5mm front/rear with 5mm in the middle. So I ordered the newer diameters and will start to make that update when they get here on Friday. And with the excellent advice from East Coast Armory I am going to pin each swingarm cause I don't trust the Locktite either.

When I could afford it (cause of us buying a new place) I ordered parts from East Coast Armory and 6th Scale Icons. Last fall I worked on putting some of the detail parts together but when we closed on the new place that ALL stopped. It was time to start boxing everything up for the move so when parts came in I just left'em in the box. Talk about FRUSTRATION!

When I have time I've been doing a little detail work and you all know how 'little' things can turn in to HOURS. But I'm so happy to finally, after these COLD MONTHS OF MOVING, to be able to get back to work at my workbench!

TODAY, after working on detail parts, I suddenly decided to open the box that had the crewmen I got on ebay, set the turret hatches and loose parts on, set the crewmen in, and just LOOK at it! Decided to take a few pics.

Summer's here, we're (almost) all moved in, so NOW I can get back to work in my 'new' workshop on this tank.

Mike in Kentucky

P.S.: I just added the pictures below.

Old MSgt

Martellus

The attachment links seem to be broken

Old MSgt

That's weird... I can click on'em now and they come up...

Anybody else have trouble bringing them up? If so I'll try again.

Mike

MAUS45

Hi Mike, Glad to see you back!!!. I just tried the photo attachments and they do not open for me.
You may want to try adding the photos again. I hope to see them soon! Rudy

thecommander

Ditto...they won't open. Darn. Just bring them to Danville over the weekend and show them to us all. Are you coming?

Old MSgt

I'm going to try to upload'em again. Here we go....

YHR

Wow , those were worth the wait. Best I have seen. Although I am guessing these are 1/6 scale,

MAUS45

Those head sculpts are fantastic. They look real.

Old MSgt

Hey Rudy! Yeah, it's been a HECTIC around here moving. It's almost been enough ta have me carted off to the Nervous Hospital! Hopefully this is the last time we'll ever move. Moved all those times in the military but now that we've got out we've accumulated a lot more stuff (junk...).

Now I just want to get back to my tanks. We have more room here and I've been running my tanks a lot more than I used to.

And I REALLY want to make it to Danville one of these days Commander! But it's the same old reason: Something always comes up. I'd like to meet all of ya and have some fun watching the battles! I'll do my best to make it before too long!


Mike

sevoblast

Well that was certainly worth the wait for the photos! Nicely done, very realistic looking, no doubt.

Panther F

Hey, those are some really nice figures there Mike!

Their faces (especially the TC) looks so real and the eyes... can't get much better than this!





Jeff

philipat

Those are awesome! Nicely done.

rivetcounter

Never mind the crew when are you going to host pictures of the tank itself, I can see you are doing a sterling job with the detail.

Old MSgt

OOHHH, I'm work'in at it as hard as I can Rivetcounter!!!

I even have a LARGER refrigerator in my new workshop now! And (it goes without saying!) it's FULL of ICE COLD CANS and beef jerky! Sometimes I don't even stop for lunch!

I'm doing a lot of tiny detail stuff now but I'll take a pic or two later. I just WISH I was as good of a detailer as everybody on this site is but I try to do my best!

Mike

Old MSgt

Hi Everybody! Well, today I took this tank for it's third drive.

The first drive about a month ago got EXCITING and not in a 'Ho-Ho, Ha-Ha' way... remember the movie 'KILLDOZER'?

Everything worked great up on the bench then when it got in the outdoors the radio and receiver didn't quite get along. There was suddenly a LOT of 'twitching' one way or the other and speeding up or slowing down! And I didn't even have the top steel deck on then. I was walking beside it in the back yard and it decided to STOP then TURNED FACING ME! Like it was deciding if it wanted to take off on it's own for greener pastures or kill me right there! Thought out going in and getting a .44 for protection! I got close with the radio to the antenna so it would receive better and LUCKILY got it back in the garage. Sure was a relief to turn off that power switch!

I changed the receiver and it behaves a LOT better now so the second trip a couple weeks ago was a 'shakedown' cruise. Saw that the steel road wheel spacers were too thick and would come in contact with the wheel tires beside it. I deduced THAT because of all the sqeek'in and squeal'in! So I took'em all out and milled'em for clearance. The outside road wheels still like to occasionally make contact but I don't want to take any more off of'em because that's where the bearings are. Now it's a LOT better.

This Tiger has a BUNCH of torque and the good top speed that looks about right. Today's third drive went fine because I put the receiver outside the hull. It don't seem to like having the receiver INSIDE the hull. What would be the best way to run the antenna outside all that aluminum/steel? I'd REALLY APPRECIATE any advice on this! With all the steel and aluminum this tank has it does mess with the receiver.

I found that taking it off or putting it back on the dolly was easy by myself if I let it drive up on to 4X4s and rise up off the dolly. Then going back on was the same, just watching my fingers and getting the dolly in the middle as the hull slowly comes down and it rolls off the 4X4s. It's still a little tense but the tank is behaving to commands as it should. I sure don't want it to go ape poot when I'm THAT close to those tracks!

I've just been doing little detail work but drilling the screw holes thru 1/8" deck steel or that thick hard aluminum is HARD! I've went thru some little drill bits!

When I got it back in today I decided to put the turret and some of the little detail things on for my own satisfaction on how it's shaping up. Here's some pics... still have a LOT of little stuff to do but I'm working on it almost every day. Even thought about starting some paint scheme but keep putting it off til more detail stuff is on. It DOES look better now than when I saw it on that shipping pallet for the first time.

I'm doing the best I can but when looking at the detail you all do is kind of down heartening. It may turn out looking like liv'in hades but the NEXT owner (hopefully decades from now!) will make it a lot better!


Just wanted to keep ya updated and I'll show more later! Mike in Kentucky

CHIEFSONN

there 1/6 scale figures

Old MSgt

Yes, 1/6 figures.

M1A2 Commander

Your crewmen figures are awesome. I’ve had mixed results painting crewmen, but when I see work like this. It just blows my mind away! Excellent work my fellow tanker.