SimonT - 1/72 Revell Tiger II

[SimonT]

Morning all,

This Revell 1/72 Tiger II will be my entry for the Little Armour GB


box top


comes with a hefty instruction booklet although I don't tend to follow them very often







I have a turned barrel in the stash, an end of line bought for a couple of quid, which has just been waiting for such a project

I have plenty of reference books so I am sure that I will be able to make a few improvements to the basic kit along the way

 

[Mini Me]

Right Simon, Good choice the Henschel turreted Tiger ll is one of my favs. Happy New Year pardner. I'll just pull up a chair and watch this one unfold.
Cheers, Rick H.

 

[Lee Drennen]

Nice choice Simon I’m sure you will do your magic and turn this thing into something incredible. Happy New Years also

 

[JR]

I'm in please Simon.
" I will be able to make a few improvements to the basic kit " really, an under statement if I ever read one.
No doubt there will be pewter , the odd 100 rivets, along with hatches complete with hinges .
I look fwd to this with relish .
John .

 

[Si Benson]

Afternoon Mr T,
Interested to see where you go with this. At least some of the tools are not moulded on....although I’m expecting you to remake them all
I’m currently making Revells 72nd Tiger 1...shaved all the tools off, replaced the barrel and been adding a PE zimmerit set....gotta remake the tools and cables next

 

[Jim R]

I have plenty of reference books so I am sure that I will be able to make a few improvements to the basic kit along the way

You do surprise me. Fancy you not building OOB
Jim

 

[Mini Me]

Wouldn't that be a novel idea! Happy New Year Gents.
Cheers, Rick H.

 

[Steve Jones]

JR said it all Apprentice bodger seat pulled up with notebook in hand. Good luck

 

[SimonT]

Thank you all for turning up

Are you sitting comfortably, then we shall begin......


Firstly, what have I done? Tiger II's are a minefield of features and changes depending on which month the things were built

So without any clear direction other than getting something Tiger looking I have started with a few general bits and pieces


a pot full of bits


the holes in the rear of the final drive housings were filled and sanded


as you can see - if this is not done then the holes protrude past the hull and are visible


basic turret parts assembled



the turned gun barrel added - unfortunately the maker did not allow extra length for fitting into the mantlet so I ended up drilling the end of the barrel so I could pin it and extend the length with tubing

the mantlet was then drilled out to accept the tubing - this will give a stronger joint than just tacking the barrel with glue to the mantlet end

new ballistic bolts added to the barrel retaining ring - these should really be cross drilled and lock wired


the tall forward grille covers are moulded solid so I made up some new ones from etch mesh

according to the plans in Achtung Panzer 6 the grilles are too short (and in fact do not cover the grille) so I made mine to match the plans

this will cause problems with the turret though as it only just cleared the kit version so something is off slightly



made the circular grille covers as well

That is as far as I got

Back to work today - I should actually be getting ready rather than writing this so gotta go......

 

[Mini Me]

Simon, looking good so far. Yes, lock wire on the ballistic bolts is something that always bothered me too.
Cheers, Rick H.

 

[Steve Jones]

Ah the joys of going back to work. Back to snails pace like the rest of us. It was a joy to watch your burst of creativity over the festive period.

Well this is certainly going to be a Mr T classic. Are you using a specific point of reference or whatever you see fit as far as the upgrades go.

P.S I hit the like button as well

 

[John Cole]

Happy New Year Simon. Ah, lovely. Another view of your high class structure with your own modifications. Like everyone, a sit and observe enjoyment of you. Great.

 

[Fernando N]

Great looking updates to the base kit Simon, like the others looking on what can be done to this one.

 

[SimonT]

Rick - if you don't use lock wire your nuts will fall off and you wouldn't want that

Steve - yes, slow as a slow thing again. References, see below

John - and to you. Thanks for dropping in

Fernando - cheers


my main reference - gives info on what feature was implemented or removed and when and has scale plans which seem to agree pretty much with the dimensions of the Revell kit


if the plans in this one are actually 1/35 then the Revell kit is nowhere near as they are rather different to the Achtung Panzer ones


lots of info for modelling and detailing 1/35 Tigers in this one


not much on Tiger II


walk around pictures of preserved Tiger II

I also have a Meng 1/35 kit which may be handy for details

 

[Mini Me]

Great ref. material. The modelers guide is particularly helpful in my opinion. You can't go wrong with this lot.
Cheers, Rick H.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Simon
Looks like you are up to you're usual tricks References can be a mixed bag - can create order or chaos Sometimes false info in one book can find itself quoted in another and after that it kinda spreads.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 5819]

Great work as usual Simon but I think you need more reference books .
Keep up the good work.
Pete

 

[SimonT]

Rick, Jim, Pete -

I do like a book or two

As Jim says, there is conflicting information between books, the worst being the plans. The Culver & Feist book doesn't have a scale bar on any of the drawings and they are quite different to the ones in Achtung Panzer 6 (AP6) which isn't very helpful
removed the moulded on tools from the hull top

Marked the hull sides in preparation for adding the side skirt mounts - you can just see the pencil marks


made the grille covers for the rear of the engine deck

the kit has the late ventilator armoured cover but the earlier grille covers so I sliced it off and replaced with the earlier type of vent cover with open mesh

I want to add zimmerit so that combination of grille covers and vent should place it in the right time frame for zim according to AP6

 

[papa 695]

Some very nice work going into this one Simon, looking good

 

[Jim R]

Morning Simon
Looking good. I presume that you will be making your own zimm. Interesting to see which method, from the many available, that you choose. I imagine zimm is harder to do at braille scale?
Jim