tigrotto1a6

Great job RivetCounter!!!
Very impressive!
For my tank (the first time) I used polyurethane paint based on RAL codes, it was difficult for the yellow.
That paint is very strong compared to the one used for models.
For the re-paint I used FX60 and then used oil based color brown to give it a darker tonality.

skitt

Beautiful work! The Tiger really is my favorite.

Maybe this was already mentioned.....but where did you get the large drawings you have up on your wall?

I would like to get a set....

Skitt

rivetcounter

Sorry for the delay responding the large pictures in the background are taken from the Tamiya CD rom that was released a few years ago no matter what you try the 1/16 diagrams will print in 4 sheets that you have to attach where as the 1/35 can be printed then enlarged onto larger paper this was supplied by a friend in England who got a friend in Scotland to print the diagrams I think they are around 1/10 scale though I was told they are 1/8 but haven’t measured to confirm though they look nice

I have done some more internal detail recently just to add to the aesthetics whether it’s worth it in the end I have no idea only time will tell, this is the internal detail of the close defence weapon this can be seen when the escape hatch is open otherwise it will probably never be seen


Apart from giving the tank a number 134 from SS102 I have also assigned a fictitious turret number 251 117 there is absolutely no evidence that this number was ever assigned to 102 let alone Tiger 134 but as the Vimotures Tiger has the turret number 251 114 I felt the likelihood was that this turret number belonged to SS102 this was done free hand and if you look at the ruler the size is 10x2.5mm so will barley be visible

rivetcounter

Here is another part that I have spent a lot of time building again just to add to the through the hatch detail, I have to admit that it’s only about 75% accurate as once installed it will be difficult to see most of the time but I have enjoyed building it all the same, the breach is made from laminated plasticard up to 2mm thick, various parts turned on the lathe from brass and alloy along with a few modified stainless nuts which I still have considerable amount left from my biking days, the recoil mechanism is also buried in the breach hence the loss of detail functionality comes first, as you can see from the pictures it does make a considerable difference, this was just a test for pictures there is weathering to be done plus other detail parts that need to be fitted first






History of SS102
At the beginning of 1944 SS102 was formed in Argentan France taking new recruits from the various formations of the German armed forces and raw recruits the new commander at the beginning of March 44 was SS SturmbannfĂĽhrer Weiss, at the beginning of April 44 the battalion was moved to Zwolle near Wezep in Holland, where it received quarters in the Oldebroek training area personnel arrived at the battalion throughout April.

On the 21st April 44 the first six Tigers arrived all six Tigers were operational, by the 29th May a further 39 Tigers were delivered, 45 Tiger in total. Of those only 28 were operational on the 1st June 44 training of the crews for the fourth coming invasion went on from morning till night.

On 6th June 44 the last percipients on curses at Paderborn were brought back to Wezep, a ceremonial of the transfer of the tanks to the crews took place on that day after news of the first Normandy landings in the days that followed all tanks were readied for the fourth coming action, on the 11th June 44 the tanks were transported to Normandy.

It wasn’t until the 7th July did the battalion reach the vicinity of Evercy, hill 112 the battalion fought on through the heaviest battles of Normandy against English and Canadian troops in operations Jupiter, Epsom, Goodwood, Bluecoat, Tractable along with the Falaise gap by September 44 all tanks with the exception of 132 were lost in Normandy
http://www.tiif.de/bilder/9s4hkx.jpg
Tiger 132 was commanded by Oscha. Walter Knecht, The driver only known as "Heini" managed to drive it all the way from Normandy back to the Cologne area early in September 1944 and was awarded the EK1 for his achievement.
The rings on the barrel are meant to represent all the kills achieved by the 1.Kompanie the reason for USA is unknown.

Tigers issued to SS102 are from the April May production, there are 2 remaining examples from the battalion one in Saumur and one in Vimiotures known as S and V both are very different this is mainly on the turret’s Tiger S has a single piece turret roof no rain channels in the cupola, 25mm forged loaders hatch with short hinges, monocular gun sight and a large muzzle break that was fitted to a small number of SS102 Tigers, oddly this Tiger also has the x3 Pilzen on the turret roof these where probably retro fitted in the factory during final assembly.
Tiger V has a 2 piece welded 40mm turret roof, rain channels in the cupola the loaders hatch is missing, monocular gun sight, small late muzzle break and also has the 3 pilzen though they are in a slightly different position both tanks have all the April/May features to the chassis, all Tigers had zimmerit most had the large pattern to the turret though a small number had the same pattern as the hull.

tigrotto1a6

[X(] Wow, it's super Fantastic!

Pzjgr

Like watching your build. So with you installing the breach and loading mechanism does that mean your Tiger won't have working recoil?

rivetcounter

Pzjgr, I have only built from the breech back in front there is the recoil for the main gun which took more than a week and 3 prototypes to get right once this was done I thought why don’t I have the breech recoiling with the gun but as I’m pressed for time and only have 1 month to paint and reinstall all the electrics I decided to leave that for another time as that would be something to see with the hatches open, once painted, up and running I will take some vids of the recoil and the MG movement

torpedochief

What a real work of art! Everytime you post it is like Xmas. One of if not the finest tanks yet built.

DOn

StumpyBloke

Yup, for me, it is THE best one yet!

Rich

rivetcounter

Thanks guys but there are a few faults on the tank that I overlooked and would be a little difficult to rectify though I may do this in the future, one or two jobs to complete on the mantle then it’s time for paint

rivetcounter

Frankenstein’s experiment

Over the years I have seen peoples builds with what I believe is unrealistic rust which could only have happened over many years outside in the elements so I have decided to conduct a scientific experiment to see what the real possibilities are and forget
all the “my mate say” routine by so called experts, what I have done and I believe this to be the first of it’s kind is take a piece of mild steel 100 x 100mm square and 1mm thick this is normal non galvanised steel, I have primed both sides with red oxide and applied a little yellow in a camouflage pattern I have then applied scratches to the painted surface to represent damage caused by normal ware and tare along with shell splinters ETC this was placed outside on 23/4/10 this would represent one of the oldest delivered Tigers in SS102 this will remain outside until the end of September this would represent the loss of all Tigers in the Abteilung during the Normandy offensive on that date I will show more pictures to see how the steel has weathered after 4 months outside just like the real tanks to show the real extent of corrosion, taking this experiment further I will leave the steel outside for a full year to see the extent of corrosion after that period, the outcome of this experiment to me will show the true extent of corrosion if other people wish to join this experiment then this would be more than welcome.

torpedochief

Wow history and science meet! This is great! Maybe a bi-weekly update?

Great Job Mark!!

Don

rivetcounter

Don,
I was thinking more monthly, but lets see what happens

CastorTroy2150

My Feedback: (10)

I just want to say....This thread could about make me S%$t my pants, I cannot believe the amount of work you have into this. On an additional note, could you imagine what you could sell something like this for(not that you ever should) I would like to say that I know of NOBODY who has surpassed your skill. This is the most interesting and outstanding threads I have seen to date. I am impressed beyond words, I am sorely upset that I have no more to read at this point. HURRY UP. Kidding, but keep up the immaculate work!

rivetcounter

Whilst studying the few known pictures of SS102 Tigers one question came to mind “did this unit paint beneath the side mud guards” there are many pictures of Tigers from various different units that either did or did not paint beneath the side mud guards this also causes some debate amongst modellers some believe that the zimmerit stopped below the side mudguards and how wrong they are, I already knew of 1 picture that could answer this question this was of Tiger 231 Ostuf. Loritz this is of the right side after it was knocked out, the last rear section is missing this is also seen missing on the way to the Normandy front before the tank was involved in action, this clearly shows the camouflage pattern beneath where the side mud guard should be the front two sections are also missing in this picture but a fire has burnt away all the zimmerit and no pattern can be seen there are no other pictures that can confirm camouflage beneath the side mud guards however there are pictures from 103 in Normandy where the maintenance unit are repainting Tiger II 100 without the side guards attached another picture shows them replacing these are painting them so for my Tiger the paint will be below the side guards not that it will be seen most of the time, so after 3 weeks of painting using all the latest techniques the Tiger begins to take shape, many thanks to Lee from “Newthorp Models” who lent me the stencils for the numbers and the Balkan cross during a quick trip back to Nottingham, there is still a lot more to do with the paint work though there will not be any of the heavy rusting that is seen on some models, the next picture with a bit of luck will be outside in the garden.

pcomm1

Great zimmerit, the paint looks almost real. And keep that pretty Tiger I out of your garden mud or all those ETO Tyhoons and P-47s will finish it off.

torpedochief

Mark,

Do you sketch your cammo lines on the hull, or do you go by "feel?"

If you do sketch could you give a short how-to as far as your techniquepf Xfering from a picture to the model?

Great wrok!

Don

rivetcounter

Pcomm, welcome back to the forum, you could be right about a P47 finishing it off though, I have no idea how this tank was destroyed where and when is a mystery though I believe it did break out of the Falaise gap.

Don, my friend I do not pencil sketch the pattern first but I do sketch the pattern with the air brush turned down low to give me the thinnest line then work my way in from there always having the air brush pointing inside the camouflage so that most if not all the overspray goes inside the pattern, “Tank Power Number 15” just happens to have a 5 pan plan of this pattern all I did was sit down with the book in one hand and the air brush in the other using points like the individual side mud guards or the bolts within this takes a long time but the final results are worth the effort another thing you could do is print out a 5 pan plan of the tank you want to paint and draw and colour the pattern fist so you know what you are going to get

pcomm1

Hi, Had to go learn new software, so I couldn't blog, again this is a wonderful build and I enjoy following the thread. John

RSEA

Rivet - I am not up to speed on the interior colors of Tigers. What is the correct color to paint the underside of the forward hull hatches and their hinges on a Summer 1943 Tiger? I assume the commander's and loader's hatches would be painted in the same manner. Would it be any different for a 44 Tiger like yours? I've seen "white", "blue-gray" or the tank's base exterior color used by other modelers..

rivetcounter

Very good question these I haven’t shown yet but on all Tigers the inside of the hatch was painted the same as the outside initial Grey Tigers would have had Grey hatch all latter Tigers would have been yellow hinges and locking arms would have been black, give me some time I will get some pictures up latter today

RSEA

Thanks for the info. Yellow then is the correct color for my hatches. I'll be on the look out for your photos.

I recall seeing a museum Tiger with white on the hatches. I thought that would have stood out on the battlefield, maybe making the tank easier to spot in certain circumstances if those hatches were open (except in snowy winter conditions when the tank was whitewashed). This is then just another museum restoration mistake I guess? Does the same apply for the general interior color of the tank, Panzer Gray or Yellow? I have to look at your thread again, you probably posted some interior shots, but I don't remember the coloring you used.

I also didn't want white on my commander's hatch because I was concerned that the white might reflect the incoming IR beams and bounce them into my TBU apple. Making it easier for my tank to recieve hits in battle. I keep the commander's hatch installed and open when mounting the TBU.

rivetcounter

As requested the inside of the hatches complete with all the correct colours they just require a little weathering and the rubbers seals adding then they will be complete, also of note is that the turret escape hatch was painted the same as the inside of the turret the closest colour I could find was Ford Diamond white this was also applied to the inside of the hull down to the sponsons below was painted red oxide early model Tigers had light grey as opposed to the red oxide this was also painted in the engine bay late model Tigers had a red oxide engine bay



Latter on in the war after the introduction of the mid Tiger the hatch stop was removed so that the hatch could be fully open facing towards the sky this from a distance was quite distinctive easily identifying the tank as a Tiger when the hatch was fully open it could be mistaken for a Panzer III or IV

rivetcounter

Here are a few sots of the completed cupola complete with Armourpax periscopes on the outside they are from the Stug IV and the inside they are from the Panther set, I have also scratch built the opening mechanism this adds depth to the detail



Also a few shots of the painted breach again this helps make the Tiger look more like a real tank as opposed to an RC model



This is the completed Machine gun mount with gurt sacks I built this a few month’s back, apart from the detail it had to be functional this is almost ready but has a few glitches this will be ironed out at a later date


Through the hatch detail of the radio operators position


And the drivers position complete with illuminated gyro compass this is connected to the ON/OFF switch turn the tank on and the compass illuminates this acts an idiot light I prefer an idiot light with purpose ass opposed to a car dash light below the engine grills

And some shots from the inside of the Tiger


Hopefully the next shots will be of the completed Tiger well stage 1 completed

rivetcounter

Here is a short film I shot this afternoon

And a few black and white pictures some deliberately slightly blared








Fey taking command of his Tiger