Vince's Tiger 1 late variant 2017

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

So most probably I will do another late turret ventilator just for fun.

I think the Vince Cutajar line would sell very well indeed.

[Vince Cutajar]

Finished the turret ventilator. Etch primed and assembled. It took longer than expected but it was fun.

Here it is sitting next to the one I have installed on my Tiger. Changed some dimensions and it looks better than the one I have installed. Time to check if the green paint has arrived although I am starting to have second thoughts (again!!) and reconsidering if it's better to leave the wheels with the basecoat.

Vince

[Brian Ostlind]

The camo looks good.

[Vince Cutajar]

Thanks Brian although I'm sure it could have been better.

I have decided to give away (free) the turret ventilator I have just made. Instead of collecting dust here it will hopefully find a home on someone's model. My wife suggested that I sell it but to tell you the truth I wouldn't know what a fair price to put on it. After all I made it just to pass the time waiting for the green paint to get back in stock.

This is a late style turret ventilator ideal for Armortek's 2017 Late Tiger 1. It is fully assembled and etch primed. The dimensions were all eyeballed as I did not find the actual dimensions of the late style ventilator. It will fit a 26mm turret roof hole. I don't know when this late style ventilator was introduced although I suspect it was when the thicker turret roof was introduced. I also suspect that this type of ventilator was shared with the King Tiger but I stand to be corrected. So in theory it could be used on the upcoming King Tiger. Problem is that I don't know what size of hole the King Tiger turret roof will have so it may not fit the King Tiger.

So, if there is any 2017 Later Tiger 1 owner who has still not glued in the kit provided ventilator and would like to have it all you need to do is respond to this post. First come first served.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

It's going to the States.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

Haven't done much this week except sometimes driving it around the workshop. This was due mainly due to the fact that we adopted two kittens (Tuxedo cats) from a cat sanctuary and spent most of the time at home so that they acclimatise themselves to the new surroundings. This also gave me the chance to really decide what to do with the camo of the road wheels.

Decided to apply the camo and if I eventually don't like it I can always repaint it in the base colour. Only one problem remained. To do a proper job I need to take the tracks and wheels off. To do this, I need to jack it up, but I don't have any means to do that. During the last two years I have been on the lookout locally for one of those small motorcycle jacks that people use to jack up their models. A couple of days ago I did another search using a different search engine and hey presto two showed up !! They cost an eye-watering 115 euro !! Did a quick calculation to see how much it would cost me to import the cheapest one from mainland Europe and it came out roughly the same. So today I went and bought one.

Jacked it up and managed to get the wheels off on one side.

This gave me the chance to have a good look at the condition of the wheels, idlers, sprockets, swing arms, hull sides and home-made bumpstops. Happy to say everything looks OK.

Now to paint the wheels, idlers and sprockets, when the kittens give me a chance to do it.

Vince

[Brian Ostlind]

New cats, that’s always exciting! Have fun painting too.

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

We are a lot better off than the model railroaders...

[Vince Cutajar]

Yes Brian. Cats coming from sanctuaries need a lot of patience.

We are a lot better off than the model railroaders...

I have done stationary steam engines, I.C engines and also a 1/3 scale replica of a 1874 Gatling Gun (non-firing) but never a steam locomotive up till now.

Vince

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

I meant the small scale stuff with beautiful scenery, buildings and trees where the owners have invested decades in delicate detailing. Cats often like those layouts.

[Vince Cutajar]

Cats often like those layouts.

And unfortunately not just those.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

First thing I did as soon as the model was jacked up and tracks removed was to test the failsafe for peace of mind.

Painted the road wheels on the workshop table.

The sprockets and idlers I left in place and all four painted in situ.

Road wheels re-attached to the model.

Road wheels on the other side next.

Vince

[Vince Cutajar]

I'm calling it done! My 2017 late Tiger 1 is finished (for now). It is loosely depicting a fictitious June 1944 model that was recently delivered in Normandy and freshly field painted. Used the Tiger 231 that the Munster museum had for inspiration.

There are still a couple of things to do, namely:

• Wife promised to do a canvas muzzle brake cover for me.

• Pluck up the courage to make the left stick of my DX8 spring loaded to center.

• Try and find a suitable ammo bag to fit Mark's MG34 cupola mount (any ideas anybody?).

• Try and find one of those buckets to hang somewhere on the Tiger (any ideas anybody?).

There were ups and downs during the build but in general it was a fun build for me. I was fortunate to have the tools to do the alterations/modifications that I did. The highlights for me were probably the new basic skills that I acquired, namely:

• Using an airbrush.

• Using an Arduino.

• Using a stepper motor.

• Using a radio controls system.

All the above were all new to me.

I would like to thank all the previous Tiger 1 builders from whom I learned many things and also the guys that posted on this build log with useful information, tips and encouragement. Last but not least, thanks to Armortek customer service for being patient with me.

Vince

[Brian Ostlind]

Hard work pays off! Enjoy your model it’s world class.

[mark j. radick]

Looks awesome Vince ! well done