"Der Tiger von Eschnapur", Italy 1944

[Steve Hutchinson]

Thanks Oliver

It is where you just have something different describing the link rather Than just the code

Philipp, you were doing before the promotion to moderator, so I don't think it is an extra permission on your profile

I tried your sequence Oliver, but it didn't work for me, but I am not a software user, and probably got it wrong.

Never mind, I'll keep trying

Steve H

[Olivier Carneau]

Steve
here is how it should work :

(url=http://www.plasticarmour.com/phpBB3/vie ... f=57&t=986)My Italian Puma(/url)

Instead of the () signs, use the []

My Italian Puma

[Philipp Gross]

Maybe it's still too early in the day but I absolutely have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe make a screenshot of your problem?

Philipp

[Steve Hutchinson]

Edmunds Ryefield Tiger
You are a Star Oliver got it sorted

That is what I couldn't do, Philipp

Steve H

[Philipp Gross]

Yep, it was too early for me. Good we have that settled now.

As for the Tiger, all the major hull pieces are now in place:



There's a bit of a problem with the front armour plate - it's slightly too narrow. There's about 1mm missing, which is noticeabe when you look at the front/side joint. I added a bit of sheet styrene, but it's still not quite enough. There's also an issue with missing parts in the instructions. The bolt plates on the inner final drives aren't mentioned (B54, B55) and neither is the hull ventilator cover (B21). Having the instructions of other kits online proved quite helpful.



The gap in the lower glacis plate joint could easily be filled with some sheet styrene. A minor issue is the hull MG. The kit part is designed to have the ventilation holes sideways, but these actually faced upwards and downwards. Otherwise the whole point of an armoured sleeve would be slightly questionable. The hull hatches are moveable, which is quite an advantage for people like me, who can't decide about figures until the last minute. It also makes adding the periscopes after painting so much easier.



On the rear end I installed the remains of a dismounted Feifel system. To do that you have to cut off the air ducts from their end pieces and hollow them out. Not really an oversight but adding extra parts would have been nice. There were some minor fit issues with the rear grilles, which sit too high unless you carve some material away on the underside.

Despite all this, the kit is still very impressive with its level of detail and mostly excellent fit. Especially the front parts went together very well, something I remember quite differently from Dragon Tigers.

Philipp

[Philipp Gross]

The hull is now more or less complete except for a few parts which I'll possibly replace with photoetch. I'm not yet sure about the tow cables either, I might try something silly involving a turretless Sherman tank....



I decided not to use photoetched clamps because the plastic version is perfectly fine. Earlier I failed to notice the extra set of tools without clamps on sprue O that makes this a lot easier.



On the rear I'm still missing the auxiliar engine starter engine adapter plate (this thing). The kit includes only the early version, which was changed when they switched from the Maybach HL210 engine to the slightly different HL230 in May 1943. The newer version had two holes so that you could use it on both engines if needed. I need to look for a spare, I think my Tamiya Afrika Tiger should have one which it doesn't need.

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

Wise decision avoiding the PE clamps Philipp The minor filling and sanding seems perfectly acceptable to me. Looking good so far.

Cheers,
Vincent

[Philipp Gross]

Thanks Vincent Besides the obvious benefits of a faster assembly, I have other Tiger kits that could use all that photoetch much better

Turns out all my other early Tigers come with the early model engine starter thingy, so I had to make my own...



I still need to drill out the other hole once it's dry. Not perfect but should look okay if you don't look too closely. On the plus side it also turns the two ejector pin marks on it into something useful.

Philipp

[Philipp Gross]

Some more progress of the very minor kind: Rear S-Mine brackets and the finished starter tool.



Until late 1943 Tigers had 5 S-Mine (S=Shrapnel) launchers mounted on the hull roof for close range anti infantry defense, Two in front, two in the back and one on the left side. None on the right, probably for concerns of blowing away the radio antenna. On the pictures I posted in the beginning it seems like my particular Tiger had its S-Mine launchers removed, which is not entirely surprising considering these photos were taken in 1944 and spares were probably no longer supplied to the field.

The brackets for the rear come as a single piece that forms the full base (F27 and F28 here). Regrettably, German engineering had to have its ways and the whole assembly was designed to be dismountable for rail transport. Can't have something hanging over the standard train loading gauge for a cm or two after all. To get what remains after you disassemble the whole thing I had to cut up the kit parts and add a few bolts to the leftovers. While I was at it I also added a few bits of plastic to better represent the empty Feifel mounting points.



Compared to the madness above, this piece was a lot easier

Also note the rather ludicrous thickness of the supports of the exhaust caps. Thankfully the outer covers will hide them fairly well. I hope....

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

The starter tool turned out nicely Philipp. I'm worried that those delicate little brackets you made might end up with the carpet monster though.

Vincent