Tims Tiger Beginners Tips

[Tim Carr]

Well, I might be one of the last persons that should offer help to a beginner, but I'm thinking that as I found some of this helpful so another builder could also.
Please note up front this is not a thread on how to build the greatest Model Tiger but just an attempt to be helpful. I sorted out my 2015 Tiger #131 back in 2015 and started back into it again just a couple of months ago. I should note I built the Tiger #131 main hull and such and then took everything apart. Everything! It was still in the initial order that I put it in and it was easy to jump back in. Within a few days I had the hull and about everything to where you see it in the pictures. Then, I bought an already started 2014 Mid production Tiger, without directions. Spent several frustrating days trying to get things in order while trying to find what's missing or ?? Right now waiting for the Armortek folks to get back from their Holiday so I can order the motion pack, smoke, sound, and barrel recoil kits for my Tiger #131. So while I'm waiting, I offer the following beginner's tips.
If you have better idea or whatever please feel free to add them to the thread. I look around and read a lot before I jump in.

A great outstanding build by a builder that's a couple of hours South of me in Florida thread. Mark J Radick, Again Thanks for the cable gift many years ago.
viewtopic.php?t=7656

THE TIPS
Before you open the box, I know we all want to asap, but while it's in shipping. Do the following.
1st Buy a sorting box. I'm using 2 of them, one for each Tiger build. The box is mainly for the fasteners but has room for a few other items.
I marked the Tiger #131 box (wish I had the other box when I started) drawers on the outside with the size of the fasteners and put the bags in by size, all types, same drawer. The mid Tiger I found a box with smaller drawers and had a different row for each major size, then going left to right starting with the nuts I then sorted by type, cap, hex, button, and csk with what else need to be stored. The mid Tiger came with a special raaco box which I might use for the small part setups, jack stand, MG mount, or whatever, but I'm not going to put fasteners back into it.
Tiger #131 box

Mid Tiger box

Tiger #131 box

raaco box

2nd Buy plastic bags! I use 1x2 inch and 2x3 inch and sandwich and then 1 gallon (large) size. Note I'm in the USA and don't have an idea about what sizes are in other countries, but you get the idea. Small ones for the fasteners and then I bagged by page numbers as best as I could.
3rd Black Sharpie or whatever felt-tip pen. MARK everything!

4th A table and a dolly. Very different from the normal. Ok, it was hard to dig up the money 10 plus years ago to buy the Tiger kit for me, without spending another $500 to $700 dollars US. So I use the following, BUT. The best way to go is to follow the Armortek thread.
BEST WAY viewtopic.php?t=5798
My Way

Yes there are 2

What I did was to buy a 4 wheel dolly ($10 to $15) that was rated for 1,000 pounds US weight. Bought a nice table (used $15) that had several pieces of glass on top of which 1 or 2 were broke. Cut some 3/4 inch plywood and some 2x4s and made a top that went over the top of the table and would be wide enough for the Tiger with it's tracks on. Then cut the dolly apart and put the wheels on the bottom of the table. Make sure that the table is at a nice height to work at and is STRONG enough and will Not be high enough to tip. My table is just right and if I want to turn it to work on the other side I just wheel it around or I move to the other side. I know someday I will need to build a ramp or whatever to final get it down to run. But I'm also going to need a ramp setup to get it in and out of my truck. Total cost including scrap wood was around $30.00 dollars US.

5th TEST FIT EVERYTHING, twice if needed, plan ahead. Double check pics, the manual, and other threads on this forum. I have a pile of books and have downloaded and bought tons (lots) of pics. I'm going to be changing several things on my Tiger #131. See my Tiger #131 build thread after I start it, someday.
As to several folks are starting to work on their swing arms I thought that I would post and talk about what happens when you don't plan and test fit 1 or 2 times. The mid Tiger that I bought had the tension arms and swing arms put together. Then taken apart, I'm guessing because things did not work out to well. I believe that the last owner had to drill out a lot of grub screws and use vice grips and heat and more to get things apart. I'm only going to show the swing arms. On the set that I put together about 2 weeks ago I had to put in the arms in and out of the swing arm several times before I got the arms to completely seat. I noted that when I was done the 2 grub screws were in about the same spot on each set. Note the ones in the picture that I bought with the mid Tiger. The2 grub screws don't really line up in every case, should they, I think so to help out with setting the angle. Note the nice grinding off of the locktighten grub screw ends and how they were filled in and nicely primed. To redo or live with it, I shall decide and post on my mid Tiger build thread, someday. Help, need 2014 mid Tiger directions, please.

Armourtek has a lot of other nice "how to" threads, but I thought this area needed a small note.
viewforum.php?f=34

Whatever you do be Safe and Enjoy the build.

Later Tim

[Dave Goodwin]

Agreed - one of the first things I bought after ordering my kit was a set of 4 compartmentalized hardware storage boxes. Once I had the stuff in hand, I opened each bag, dumped the contents into a compartment, counted them all and used my labelmaker to print up a label with the size of each piece. That's been a real timesaver for me.

You definitely want to mock things up as you build. Don't secure anything until you've built it up and checked it out. I do it by sub-section, such as the hull and top decks, turret, suspension arms, wheels, hubs and assembled wheel stacks. I use my best judgement as to where I am likely to have alignment issues and work to that level. On the hull, for example, I find it necessary to use long clamps to pull the front and rear hull plates into the proper angular alignment before I tighten things down. To date, although I have the lower hull box assembled, nothing on it has been locked down.

One of the hardest parts for me is deciding when to paint things.

[neil graham]

Despite me only at an early stage, I will post something I read about in another build thread, which I am utilising myself:

- Buy a few hundred M3 stainless steel Nyloc nuts..... no need to use a threadlocker on many, many internal bolts.