Vince's Tiger 1 late variant 2017

[Vince Cutajar]

Finally had some time to play with Milliput. As this was the first time using this product, I thought I would do something easy first. So I filled some straight gaps on the inside of the lower hull.

Managed to get the hang of it. Also glued the idler tension cups to the rear plate. Masked them also as I will be etch priming the inside of the lower hull.

Vince

[Phil Woollard]

Looking good Vince, I find a good quality semi stiff makeup brush about 8 to 10mm head helps when placing the Milliput rolls into position. Use it like another non sticky finger, just keep it wet and use it to push the Milliput into the joint, then more water to smooth out but remember the Milliput sausage will stretch as you apply pressure, so start at one end and expect it to get a little longer!
Then when your happy with the thickness and evenness (trim the edges with a steel rule) press your weld pattern tool ( Allen wrench, small tube, that makeup brush handle tip) into the material and "bobs your uncle" a weld is made.

Regards Phil.

[Vince Cutajar]

Thanks Phil for the tips.

Today I did my first attempt at making simulated weld seams. I wanted do it somewhere where it is not very visible just in case I muck it up. So bottoms up! Turned the hull upside down and did my first attempt on the floor of the hull. Used a gadget I saw when I ordered the Milliput from Amazon and although I wasn't sure how it will work out, I am happy to say that it gave me a nice Milliput sausage without any effort.

Extruding Milliput sausage with tool.

This is my first result. I tried to simulate two parallel weld seams. Not sure it is any good though. I am open to any criticism. In fact I did not do the whole lot just in case it is rubbish and I need to remove it.

How does it look??

As I had some spare time to play about started re-profiling the casing fillets (CE2602) to make them look like the originals. I got the idea from a forum post but can't remember who it was that did the post (maybe Steve Norris).

Re-profiled fillet

Kit provided fillet

Both fillets on top of each other.

Can anybody tell me what this threaded hole is used for?

Mystery threaded hole.

Vince

[Phil Woollard]

That threaded hole could be for the spare track hanger bracket but I'm not sure.
Your welds are fine, it's a compromise after all. You could spend hours on those welds applying weld spatter with sand grains and trying to reproduce the " pigeon shit " effect, it's just fine if not a little to good ! .......Phil.

[Vince Cutajar]

it's just fine if not a little to good ! .......Phil.

Phil, are you pulling my leg?

Jokes apart, if you think I can do something differently just say so. If there is something I learned in nearly 40 years in aviation and training is to listen (not just hear) to people and accept critique. So now I can continue the weld seams on the hull bottom.

I suspect you could be right. That mystery threaded hole (and there is another one on the other side) could be for the spare track holder. Only thing is that a spare track holder is not part of the kit.

Vince

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

A spare track hanger is not part of the kit, but if you want to add one, those holes will make the job a whole lot easier. Typically, these are added as details late in the process and that is when you wish you had thought of how to fasten them earlier...

[Vince Cutajar]

Good idea Christoffer although I was under the impression that late Tigers because of the zimeritt did not carry spare tracks at the front. I have to check about this. Could be another thing to add.

Thanks
Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Finished off the weld seams on the hull floor. Today I felt more confident about it. I got that "sausage extruder" for less than a fiver and it's worth every penny.

Vince

[Marco Peter]

...Used a gadget I saw when I ordered the Milliput from Amazon and although I wasn't sure how it will work out, I am happy to say that it gave me a nice Milliput sausage without any effort...

Really nice thingy! Just can't find it anywhere on the internet! Do you have a name or a link?

[Vince Cutajar]

Try these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073QJ5TT6/ ... B01EY9GXV2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076KJMTCM/ ... B01EY9GXV2

Vince

[Marco Peter]

I now understand why I couldn't find any, I was searching using Milliput as a description, not clay haha!

Thanks! Ordered one right away!

[Vince Cutajar]

Marco

I hope you ordered the cheapest one. Obviously after you use it, it has to be cleaned up otherwise you won't be able to use it next time. To clean inside the aluminium barrel I use a bottle cleaner brush.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Last week when I did the trial assembly of both types of road wheels, I had a minor problem when screwing the inner cap to one of the hub caps. So as I had some time to play around I thought I would clean and check all hub caps and inner caps.

When threading an aluminium component into another aluminium component I am always careful as there is a good chance of galling and once the parts jam you basically had it. So first I inspected both female and male threads for machining debris. Most of the debris was noticed to be on the male thread. I cleaned these up with a wooden tooth pick. One could also use a blast of compressed air (using safety googles!). I only had a problem with three or four parts. Most of the time the problem was on the female thread. So I back it off and try hand tightening again until I feel the obstruction, then using an 8mm spanner carefully try to go beyond the obstruction which most of the time solves the problem. When I felt that gently using the spanner this was not going to help, an inspection of the threads with a magnifying glass always finds the problem which in my case was solved by using the metal point of a smaller divider to either remove a burr or fix a slightly deformed thread.

I wonder if I should cut the slots in the hub caps (marked by arrows).

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Not much done today except etch prime the hull floor and the paniers. Still haven't decided yet if I should give it the reddish/brown primer over the etch primer.

Last week I received the book "Real Colors of WWII". As this book has got some colour samples, I thought I would use it to try and match some colours locally. I was planning to do it tomorrow and try to match Dunkelgelb only to find that there are three different Dunkelgelbs!!

It seems to depend on the year of manufacture, so if mine is a June 1944 model it should be the middle colour which looks strange. I am more used to seeing the other two colours. I am totally at a loss now. Tomorrows plan has now gone down the drain!

Vince

[Stephen White]

Vince,

The middle chip is a late war colour, probably too late for a June 1944 Tiger 1. Have a look at the bottom row on page 32, left side. It's also the top sample on page 23. Dunkelgelb RAL 7028, mid 1943 to summer 1944.

You don't want:

- Dunkelgelb nach Muster (too early) or
- Dunkelgelb Ausgabe 1944 (too late).

The other variant in the book isn't a documented colour, just an interpretation of colours found on surviving equipment.

The reason the colours may look strange is probably because there are a lot of models painted in Tamiya TS-3, which is a fair approximation but not an accurate representation of any of the original Dunkelgelb hues. It's generally too light in shade, too saturated (bright) and not the correct hue (too yellow). Models in TS-3 and similar model paints look very bright and sandy and stand out, yet Dunkelgelb was a subdued camouflage colour. Another reason we're used to perceiving Dunkelgelb as a lighter shade is its appearance in monochrome photographs.

Bear in mind that Dunkelgelb (Dark Yellow) was not a Tropen (Desert) camouflage. The Wehrmacht had two other sets of twin colours for use in North African and Italy. The initial pair were thought to be too dark for desert operations and the two later colours produced a lighter effect. When these colours found their way to Russia in the summer of 1942, they were unsatisfactory, being too light in shade and too yellow for the dust of the Russian Steppes. By Spring of 1943, a new colour, Dunkelgelb nach Muster, was introduced, which was initially not on the RAL register. The hue of Dunkelgelb became progressively more brown, less yellow and became progressively darker as the war progressed. The health warning here is that there were undoubtedly many variations in production, which probably lets the users of TS-3 off the hook.

Do have another look at the thread on this:

http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... dunkelgelb

You'll see there a mix for each of the four known variants of Dunkelgelb using Tamiya acrylics, which I did using a colour sampling app. I did say I'd try to establish data you'd need to get the paint mixed in Malta. I'll have a go if you can remind me which notation system your mixer can use.

All the best.

Stephen