Armortek

No, that's not my model and not my workshop. Wish it was though. It's one of Armortek's photos of the build of the 2017 Tiger 1. I am asking the following question just to make sure. Is the configuration of the track rope that is fixed to the side of the hull correct for a June 1944 late Tiger 1? It seems to me that the lacing configuration of the rope is more appropriate to an earlier variant.

Vince

Hi Vince,

Yes that tow rope configuration is from the Early Tiger1 and not from Late.
http://tiger1.info/EN/AC13299-track-cable.html

Kind regards
Kent

Thanks Kent. I wasn't 100% sure about it as I am just a beginner in this tank building thing and I thought I would ask here. Now I have to see if it's possible to change the configuration without buying an after-market kit. For sure I will need to make some new rope holders.

Vince

I tried to fit the track rope to the side of the hull to see if it could be adjusted but ran into a snag.
These brackets were blocking two of the holes required to fix the rope to the hull. So instead I made a template with a strip of plywood and fixed the rope to that instead.
Now I can see better what needs to be done to change the configuration of the rope.

Vince

Hey Vince what length are the screws attaching your back plate to the bracket? The 12mm is a little short.

Brian, looking at the photo, I suspect it is 16mm.

Vince

That is what I put in now. Thanks.

Two or three days ago started adding bits and pieces to the front mudguards.
Still a work in progress and much more to be done but at least I am happy with the way it is turning out. It's a very slow process dealing with so small hardware and aligning and drilling these small holes but eventually I will finish them. I also realised that I ordered material (brass "L" profile) for just one mudguard so I have to re-order again.

Vince

Waiting for parts is half the game!

I hate that game but I have learned to live with it. The other option is for me not to make these silly mistakes and under-order things. The good thing is that I can always work on another part whilst waiting.

Vince

Are you working your way up or have you started looking at the turret?

Yes I am working my way up. The turret is still packed in the box that it came in. So instead today I did some work on reconfiguring the track rope to be more representative of a late Tiger. I think I can re-use most of the current holes, but the best news for me is that I do not need those two holes that are blocked by the brackets. We'll see.

Vince

Still playing around with the track rope on my plywood template but I think I am happy with the configuration. If anything it looks more like a late Tiger configuration.
Not to ruin the kit supplied rope, I have made a temporary one with exactly the same length. With this new configuration there are four places where the rope passes three times. The kit supplied rope clamps do not cater for this so I remade all of them from brass and I think I will use wing nuts later on.

The only thing that remains to be decided, is whether to use the kit supplied end clamps for the rope or remake these to look more like the real thing. Still deciding if it's worth the hassle.
Vince

I have remade the track repair rope end clamps to look like the original ones. It took more time to take a decision than actually making them. I was also lucky that I had a length of 10 X 10mm "L" profile brass strip. As I did not have any idea of the dimensions of these items I used an eyeball mk2 method to guesstimate the dimensions. Tried them on using my test bed.
I have seen the arrowed item (see above photo) in other models to be just a bolt and nut but I am wondering if in real life that thing would have been a steel pin held in place with a split pin. Any ideas?

Using a bench grinder I have also tapered the arrowed part in the photo below. Sorry but I don't know the technical name of that part.
Vince

Vince, it's a ferrule. On the real thing, the end was swaged. On our models, you can heat the ferrule and run solder into it or glue it (unless you want the ropes to be functional, in which case swaging is the answer). Seems the height of luxury on a tank to have wire track ropes as well as separate towing ropes. On Chieftain, the track ropes were hemp and much more easily stowed in a bin. I suspect the provision of such elaborate track ropes reflected another ridiculous feature of the Tiger, the need to change tracks for train moves. If possible, recovery crews always prefer to use a straight bar tow, which gives more control over direction. (They also like - demand - a slab of beer for the trouble). Stephen