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Vince there should be no gap between the turret and mantlet, if you go to my Tiger thread on page 3 you will see I had the same gap. I had to do a lot of filing/sanding to eliminate the gap.

Christoffer
Thanks for that information.

Adrian

I now test any of these cheap Chinese DC step-up/step-down boards by deliberately shorting the output pins together.

Thanks for the warning. I had a couple of these here and it was a pity not to use one. Like you, I shorted the output to see what happens and it just shut down (no magic smoke). It needed a reset (removing and reapplying power on the input) afterwards.

Mike
Thanks for that info. Most probably I will do something about it but have to see how it will affect other things, mainly the recoil. I have to think about it.

Vince

Made a start on the turret roof. Realised that there is going to be some work involved so started with something simple. Did some additions to the close defence weapon. Also made up a plug to show it as closed.
In photos it seems that this item is fixed to the turret roof with six flat headed bolts. So drew up the bolt circle so that at a later stage I will simulate the flat headed bolts in the turret roof.

I also have been playing around with a spare white metal tool handle that I have. I am trying to paint it to simulate wood.
This is the result. What do you think? I think next time I will make it a lighter colour.

Vince

Looks good Vince, in service it could be that dark, maybe mix and match to add interest. Keep experimenting, remember it's all in reverse as the colours underneath are what give it depth.

Hollowed out the loader's periscope guard so that eventually I will fit the top part of a periscope under it.
I think I will redo the turret ventilator from scratch.

Vince

Yesterday I noticed that East Coast Armory have a resin turret ventilator for a late Tiger 1. So before I attempt to scratch build one myself I ordered the resin version. Typical me being lazy again! This is the first time I have ordered something from them so don't know what to expect.

Vince

Started playing around with the cupula.
Is the space (in the above photo) between the hatch and hatch arm normal?

Are there any close-up photos of the late Tiger 1 cupola?

Vince

Yep, never looks right to me either Vince , some modellers try to fill it in but that's how it was.

Thanks Phil. I was a bit worried about it as I could not find a photo at the correct angle to show that space between the hatch cover and the arm.

Vince

the real hatch does have a better fit, I will look through my pictures to see if I can find a better one for you.

Mark, that would be great if you manage to find something.

Vince

here is one:

Kind regards
Kent

Thanks Kent.

Vince

After seeing the photo that Kent posted I have decided to leave the hatch arm as is (at least for now). Did some work on the hatch arm. Could not find a shaft for the hatch arm and it's not shown on the diagram. So used a 6mm stainless steel rod and threaded it M6 so that it can be screwed in the big-end of the arm. Also made a brass slotted screw that goes in the big-end. For the small-end of the arm made up a slotted M2.5 round nut. Also made a brass U handle for the arm.
Vince

I am looking at cupola photos so often that I am getting cross-eyed. One thing I noted is that the U handle on the hatch arm is located in the wrong place. It needs to be moved closer to the big-end of the arm.

Had a look at the periscope guards and the first thing I did was to skim off the legs of these guards so that they all sit straight and at the same height.
One thing I am also planning to do to these guards is to give the back of the guards that "angled" look and also add a cover at the back of each guard.

Also had a look at the white metal cupola periscopes.
Wasn't sure if the wide vision side should be at the top or bottom. Went on the Armorpax website and luckily Dave had a photo of these periscopes in a cupola. The wide part should be at the top under the armoured guard.
Vince