1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

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Steve Hutchinson
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1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Steve Hutchinson »

Good day Gentlemen

Now the Breda is built, time for something bigger.

Why build a Tiger I or Sturmtiger OOTB, when with a little effort you can make it much more difficult for yourself :roll:

The cast iron prototype did see service in Warsaw in 1944, but, as it was vulnerable to AT fire, general service was out of the question.

I will use the redundant top of the mid production Tiger I to build a Kelly's Heroes Tiger, as one of my top 5 retirement builds :ugeek:

Where to start?

Sturm tiger reviews

The best is yet to come?

Always good to check out what's available, and as I now have 2 AFV SturmTigers, I shall be using one of those ;)

The base tub and running gear is another matter, it is an early-mid production, with Feifel filters not the late production steel late wheel version, and no zimmerit either, though the Kelly's heroes Tiger does have zimmerit, so that might influence the decision too :?

So, time to research the kits I have against, what little there is out on the interweb, this is a good start to review too

part build blog

Research update,

production number of prototype

Which was produced December 1942 and delivered to SS Pz. reg I, which moves things back to an early production model, time to get back up in the attic and look at the possible donors :roll:

Another useful link

monthly productions changes for the Tiger I

The donor of the undercarriage

Revell Tiger I Tiki

Time to get stuck in and sniff some glue and cut some plastic ;)

More soon?

Steve H
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Philipp Gross
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Philipp Gross »

Excellent project Steve! :D

The prototype Sturmtiger is a fascinating vehicle, I don't think I've ever seen a model of it.

The Revell Tiger is a rebox of the Zvezda kit, which is generally very nice. It has some issues with the turret, but of course that's no problem for you. Have a look at Raoul's Tiger I posted a few days ago to see how it looks built up ;)

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Steve Hutchinson
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Steve Hutchinson »

Few days Philipp?

It was 3 weeks ago :roll:

unless there is a 2nd one :o

Raoul's T-35 is just as big if not bigger?

It looks good too, I shall have to prime the rear of all those overlapping wheels, as they will be a pain to paint otherwise :evil:

Time to tip out the boxes and see what the next few days will involve.

At least Tiki doesn't have rubber band tracks, the turret issues will be absorbed by the Kelly Heroes Tiger with T-34 running gear, but that will be for another day ;)

More soon?

regards

Steve H
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Raoul Kunz
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Raoul Kunz »

Ohhhhh nice Steve!
Now that's a cool project! :D

I have AFV's Sturmtiger lying around here and a looooooooooooooooo[...]ng time ago, back when I used Revell acrylics and brushes to paint, I did a Revell Sturmtiger which is the Italeri kit. :lol:

The Zvezda Tiger kit is quite nice, also comes with a nice amount of turret interior, even though people have told me that it has some errors on the turret.

The T-35 is definitely longer than a Tiger (excluding the big L/56 88) though it's thinner, a factor that strongly enhances the impression of a ludicrously long vehicle.


Looking forward to the proto-initial-ST :mrgreen: !


Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz
Last edited by Raoul Kunz on 17 Feb 2018, 08:50, edited 1 time in total.
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Philipp Gross
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Philipp Gross »

Yeah, some weird people with a Tiger obsession tend to tell people about that turret issue :lol:

Concerning the wheels, you might want to invest in a spray mask, it's definitely worth it. Alternatively, get a compass cutter and some masking film and do it yourself, worked for me too.

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Adam Durrant
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Adam Durrant »

Love the "QuickWheel" masks, I have been using these whenever I can lately. Slightly pricier than a traditional mask set but super fast and easy to use :D
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Steve Hutchinson »

Thanks chaps

Adam/Philipp, I shall look at the wheel mask options to see what fits best, I have been free handing tyres of late with a little success, just spinning on a cotton bud, we shall see :roll:

The victims in the boxes,
Image
That is a rusty 2 foot long ruler corner to corner!
Image
Serious box envy issues with this one, me thinks :lol:
And the top half of Frankenstein's creation ;)
Image

Guess what Raoul, Revell still give you paint and a brush
Image

Some little progress, the internals of the tub, matted out just incase
Image
And the first of what will no doubt, over the coming years, be another Tiger I, what the @*$& do you do with this/these?
The tracks, I am part way through researching, what tracks should be on the December 1042 production Tiger 1?
part 1
part 2
part 3
I still need to do some book work in the new Tiger I books I invested in, but my current understanding is, please do pitch in gents if I am going down a blind alley!
The first 20 production Tiger I's had mirrored tracks, then, up to late 1943 the tracks were just reversed on one side, as they are asymmetrical in layout due to the wheel layout and drive sprocket?

The kit tracks are reversed and have taken some time to assemble just one side, I have stuck the guide horns onto the assorted lengths of links whilst they are on the sprue, to ensure I didn't miss any
One lot done 1 to go.
Image
Image
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And finally, the primed wheels
Image

For reference, the German Tiger I maintenance bible
Tigerfibel

more soon?

Regards

Steve H
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Philipp Gross
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Philipp Gross »

Nice start Steve :D

The Sturmtiger prototype had early tracks, if this photo is any indication:

Image

You're right about the initial mirrored tracks. It was deemed impractical to have to types in storage and therefore only a single type was used afterwards, with one track being fitted in reverse. This was kept until the end of production, the only difference between early and late tracks are the cast in ice cleats. The latter were introduced in October 1943 according to the big list by Jentz & Doyle.

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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Vincent Power »

Great start to a very interesting build Steve. :)

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Raoul Kunz
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Re: 1:35 AFV SturmTiger prototype conversion

Post by Raoul Kunz »

Great start Steve!

Nothing to add to Philipp regarding the tracks really, aside from the usual fact that the two kinds of tracks really have to be dealt with in terms of flexi time, to shamefully use this mongrel sociolect called "business English" :lol: . And as we should be used to by now there where Tigers displaying the early pattern of tracks even as late (probably dug out for use from storage) as '45.


.
..
...
....Revell acrylics :roll: They're not actually bad per se, they are decently pigmented and some, like their Panzergrau, are actually really good. But they come in a viscosity somewhat resembling buttermilk...though I have to admit that I never really tried to thin them, I switched to Tamiya completely back then and from there on to ModelAir and I'm currently in the process of switching over to Mig acrylics. I still have some lying around, I could try to thin them just for the lolz, should work well theoretically since they are quite high pigment colours. ;)
The real trouble with Revell is that they tell you (at least...oh... a decade and then some ago) to use e.g. sand yellow as Dunkelgelb, ignoring the fact that some of it was more of a bright khaki tone, bottle green for German olive and so on. Alternatively they will tell you just how to mix the proper colours from their available range, which ends up with instructions like "43.6% sand yellow, 35.9% light brown, 15.7% olive green and 4.8% of dark wood brown" to get a proper Dunkelgelb :lol: . (this is of course imaginary, but it is really similar...)

Just out of curiosity: which version of horrible painting instructions does this kit come with? ;)


Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz
Last edited by Raoul Kunz on 19 Feb 2018, 20:10, edited 2 times in total.
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