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Hi all, I have finally got myself a Tiger 1 to play with.
I always knew i would get one as it is probably the most iconic WW2 tank along with the Sherman.
Anyway i collected it from 'up North' yesterday on my way back from a Christmas break in North West Scotland.

This Late model Tiger 1 is of 2012 vintage and is Serial #01.
It is unfortunately starting to show its age with flaking paint where little or no primer had been used and a few damaged parts but thats how i like them tbh.
It will require a complete strip down and rebuild.
It never had any Zimmerit applied so that will make things a bit easier when i get around to that part of the restoration.
There is also very little in the way of weld lines on the model so this will also need to be done.

I have still got a bit of work to do on my Panther which i need to prioritize so that i have a decent runner again.
In the mean time i will start a thorough inspection and work out what needs to be fixed and what parts are ok to reuse and what needs to be replaced.

I will be building this Tiger 1 as one of the late Tigers from Schwere Panzer Abteilung 510 I will post a bit more very soon but just wanted to get the ball rolling on this one.

Cheers
Tim

Pulled up a deck chair and some popcorn to follow this project.

Vince

Hi all, I have identified a couple of broken/damaged parts on the Tiger but dont as yet have a 2012 late Tiger manual and parts list.
Does anyone have a pdf copy that could be emailed to me?
If not then I will ask Kian and Monique when the office re-opens.
The swing arm for the comanders hatch needs to be replaced as does the turret escape hatch.
Not sure why but it looks like it has been attacked with a dremel and it is almost D shaped now.
It also does not fit properly into the opening. I have started to remove and bag up some of the small fittings from the turret and upper hull.

As i mentioned, there is a lot of flaking paint in all areas and from what i can see no primer was used on the outside of the upper hull or turret.
So, at some point I will have to strip all the paint and then apply some good primer.

Cheers
Tim

Made some good progress on the tear down today with the entire upper hull, rear end and turret stripped.
There are a few bits attached right now but these will be removed shortly.

I had great fun chiseling away a 1/2 inch wedge fillet of car body filler around the top of the turret.
I think that welds on a 1:1 Tiger would have been smaller. I am struggling to remove the bolts that secure the escape hatch hinge in place so this will be left until i can figure it out. Spanner wont fit and neither will my sockets. I need to remove it so i can convert it to the late type hinge. I am not happy with the way that the loaders hatch sit on the turret roof. I dont know if this is a common issue but it looks like the hinges are sitting too high and need lowering by 1-2mm to make the hatch more flush fitting. I am going to leave the engine deck alone for the moment but hada question regarding lowering the rear deck.
I have seen this mentioned on a few threads but not sure what part it is refering to and if it is required on my Tiger. Can someone please confirm. The rear end strip down is complete apart from the reflector which i will remove once ive slackened off the adjusters and removed the tracks. I discovered that the guards for the final drives are both missing and look like they were never fitted. These will also have to be added to the 'replacement parts list'. I have a question regarding the 2 round belly engine access panels on the Tiger.
My understanding is that the later Tigers fitted with an HL230 had a rectangular panel on the right side. With this in mind i have removed the right side round plate but I am now looking for a diagram and / or dimensions for this rectangular panel.
Can someone please help.

Many thanks.
Tim

Hi Tim,

Lowering the rear deck is not required, as your grills are already level on a 2012 kit

Cheers

Hallo,
das Scharnier der Notaustiegslucke kann so bleiben, war bei den Tigern auch abgeschnitten,wenn
noch keine neuen da waren.
Gutes Neues Jahr
Gruss Klaus

Thanks for confirming David.
Thats one less job to do

Cheers
Tim

Danke Klaus

I am now looking for advice on a another question now.
I now have a pdf copy of the build manual and have been trying to identify the part number for the Final drive armoured guards but they dont seem to be included in the diagrams or parts lists.
Not fitted to my tank so assume were not included in the kit.

The Vimoutiers Tiger 1 has them fitted and they are very prominent so I would presume that they should be fitted to all Tigers.
My Tamiya 1/35 late Tiger 1 kit also includes these parts but unfortunately too small

Were these parts included in the Late Tiger 1 kit from later batches and if so can anyone provide part numbers and confirm if they will fit my 2012 Tiger.

Cheers
Tim

These are CE0602 - Casing Fillet - which goes on the insides of the lower hull plates, and CE0667(_M) - Casing Armour - which go around the front of the final drives. Pack 12 - Finishing.

They don't seem to be mentioned in the instructions but shown (just) on Page 43.

Adrian.

You clearly had your Weetabix today mate.
Many thanks for all your assistance.

I assume that without any clear picture or guidance, parts like these will often be omitted from the build and never fitted to the models.

Cheers
Tim

Had a go at making a new front hull ventilator this evening.
The Armortek one seems a bit too small and I think that a replacement part used to be available but hard to find these days.
Anyway, i had a scale drawing so only took me a few mins to redraw it in CAD.
Printed it on my PLA printer and I am happy with the results. I would definately prefer to use metal parts if available.
It was designed to fit into the same mounting point as the original part so no cutting required.

I think i will add some casting effect to it and then add another layer of primer.

Cheers
Tiim

I feel like i am jumping about with no clear plan or direction with this Tiger 1 right now.
Still trying to figure out what jobs and upgrades need to be done but I have at least made a task list and i am certain that i will be adding a lot more items to the list as I come accross other issues or cool upgrades that others have already made to their late Tigers.

I was messing about in CAD a few days ago and ended up making a new Nahverteidigungswaffe for the turret roof as the original part was open and i really wanted a closed version on the Tiger.
This was taken from a scale drawing and turned out slightly larger but still fits into the original opening on the turret roof. I am now thinking it would be cool to design print the internals for the close defence weapon as it is very visible when the escape hatch is open.
Will see how it turns out in CAD.

Cheers
Tim

Has anyone got a drawing with overal dimensions for the rectangular right side engine access plate on the late Tiger?
Ive been looking but unable to find anything suitable.
Many thanks.
Tim

Printed off another new part this evening that is essential for those 1944 built late Tigers.
This Engine coolant heater access port was fitted to all new Tigers from January 1944 and needs to be fitted just below the left exhaust heat shield next to the track adjuster.
It is one of those parts that was not included in the 2012 kit so was high on my list of new parts to make.
Thanks to Gary Richardson for the inspiration.

This was printed on my Elegoo Saturn S resin 3d Printer and I am really pleased with the way it turned out.
This will be packed away for the present until I make a start on the rear hull.

Cheers
Tim