Vince's Tiger 1 late variant 2017

[Vince Cutajar]

I haven't done a lot on the Tiger. I have been distracted these last couple of weeks. One of my daughters has gone to study for four years in the UK and at the moment with my wife also in the UK I am stuck here at home babysitting the house cats (Binx, Tiger and Remy). Also, the fact that I still haven't decided how to move forward with the rear mudguards has not helped at all.

I have been mostly playing around with the engine deck (avoiding to do any metal cutting) and planning for future modifications / alterations that may be required. I also ordered some things so that when life gets back to normal I will have them ready.

So when today I received an email from Steve that some parts I had ordered are ready, it gave me a huge morale boost and something to look forward to. Tomorrow my wife will be returning from Nottingham and hopefully life will start getting back to normal.

Vince

[Robert E Morey]

Hi Vince
I for one have missed your Tiger 1 updates. But I totally understand, life sometimes messes up our build plans! Hope your life returns to normal soon!
Best regards,
Bob

[Vince Cutajar]

Thanks Bob for your comments. Good to hear that you are interested in my slow progress. Life is coming back to normal and today finally finished fixing the starter shaft to the rear plate.

As Steve's starter shaft is a bit wider than the kit supplied one, I found that the kit supplied clamps were too small. So I got some photo-etched tool clamps from Dave (Armorpax) in the hope that I might find the size that I needed. Assembled some to find the right size. Fiddly little things but really cute. The 1.4mm bolts and nuts are my addition to the clamps.

I soldered a 3.5mm shaft with a 2mm threaded hole to the bottom of the clamps so that I could fix them to the rear plate using the existing holes. A bit over-engineered but if possible I like to make things removeable if needed.

Now I can take the starter shaft off the to-do list.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Finished the exhaust components and did a trial fit.

Exhaust armor

Added the lifting pins and milled the semicircular cutout at the bottom for the drain.

Top cover

Remade the top cover with a 45mm diameter. Used smaller head bolts and also experimented with the lock washers using brass washers. Remade the supports for the top cover from 3.5mm brass rod. Male thread at the bottom and female thread at the top.

Exhaust stack fitted

Exhaust armor fitted

Added square stand-offs for the exhaust heat shields. I used the same square stand-offs which are also used for the side skirts.

Heat shields added

Vince

[Steve Norris]

Vince.
Really nice job your doing on the Tiger,
Looking forward to starting my Tiger rebuild and will be happy if I can get anywhere near your level of detail
Regards
Steve

[Vince Cutajar]

Hi Steve

Thanks for having a look and also for the complement. I am just copying what previous builders have done and documented in their build logs.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Finally relented and got myself a 20T jack from Steve. Awesome piece of modelling. As new holes need to be drilled for the jack brackets I thought I would make a template for the holes on a piece of ply.

I was going to drill the holes in the rear plate for the brackets but thought it would be prudent to wait until the rear mudflaps are actually fitted, which means that work on the rear plate will have to come to a halt as I still don't have the mudflaps for a late Tiger.

Vince

[Brian Ostlind]

That’s a nice looking piece!

[michael haerle]

Hello Vince,

pantastic work on your tiger. Great detailing. Is it still possible to buy the jack right now? How do I contact Steve?

Best regards
Michael

[Vince Cutajar]

Thanks Michael. PM sent.

Vince

[Steve Stuart]

The use of a ply template, now why did I not think of that? Thanks for that idea.
Steve

[Vince Cutajar]

Glad you liked the idea.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

It's been rough these last couple of weeks. Had to take one of the cats for surgery and then the youngest one (7 years) suddenly fell ill and weak and shortly afterwards died in my hands. I am not ashamed to say that me and my wife were crying like babies.

I worked a little on the model to try and distract myself and today finished the engine main access panel.

Although I should have; I did not shift the rectangular air inlet opening forward. I decided that it was too much work for little gain. To compensate I used Steve's air inlet instead of the kit supplied part. I also added the four lock panel fasteners that are typical of a late Tiger. Before anybody asks, I used the head of a Robertson wood screw to simulate the fasteners. Also, for the catch pivots, instead of using the kit supplied dowel pins, I used round headed bolts with two flats and castle nuts.

I still need to add some weld seams and plug some holes but I will do those later.

Vince

[Robert E Morey]

Vince the modifications are looking fantastic. Sorry to hear of the loss of the family member....
Bob

[Vince Cutajar]

Thanks Bob.

Vince