Changing Gears...

I know that some of my readers are probably looking forward to seeing my finished Tiger. Unfortunately, I am losing interest in that model, so I am taking a break and starting on my next one, Revell's F-18. Over the next whileI will work on two models,  the (C as I am modelling a Canadian Plane) CF-18 and the Tiger when it strikes my fancy; I will keep you updated on both as they are under progress.

Tiger I Information

I figured that some people would be interested to learn about the Tiger I tank, so I am using the best of the information from "Tiger I Information Center" http://www.alanhamby.com/history.shtml

Production was ordered to start in August 1942. It took 300,000 man hours to build one Tiger, almost twice as much time as a Panther required.

The average cost of a Tiger was 250,000 Reichsmarks. In comparison, a PzKpfw III cost RM 96,200, and a PzKpfw IV RM 103,500; all these figures do not include weapons and radios. The Tiger cost $100,000 in 1941 U.S. dollars. Adjusted for inflation, a Tiger I today would cost approximately $1,282,051. By comparison, the United States current M1A1 Abrams tank costs $4,300,000.

The new tank was officially designated Panzerkampfwagen VI H (88mm) (SdKfz 182) Ausführung H1. The design program had been known as the Tigerprogram and in March of '42 the Germans began referring to the panzer as the Tiger.The influence of the Tiger on Allied morale, known as Tigerphobia, was so powerful that British General Montgomery banned all reports mentioning it's prowess in battle. The Tiger's greatest fame was gained in a single action in Normandy where the SS Obersturmführer Michael Wittman destroyed an entire column of 25 tanks, 14 half-tracks and 14 bren-gun carriers in a few short minutes with one Tiger.

The vehicle used in this remarkable feat is the one I am currently modelling.

Taking a Break from Armour...

I'm figuring that all of my readers (the few that there are) are tired of seeing my Tiger I in progress so I figured that I would show "my few" a model in honor of "THE few". I finished my Tamiya Spitfire Mk. I a couple of weeks ago, but decided against a full story of the finishing due to a nightmarish experience with the decals (Don't even ask...). Now that its done and my blood pressure has been lowered from that whole escapade, here are a couple of pictures. As you may notice, the chap sitting on the wing is the one I made in a build a few months ago!

Painting German Armour Pt.4

Excuse my mistake on the previous post, but I painted the accessories after I finished the camouflage. I used Country Maple by Decoart for the wooden handles of the tools. All gray was painted by using a 1:1 ratio of silver and black paints, in order to create a lustrous appearance to all metal surfaces. When I looked at the metal that clamped the tools to the vehicle, I carefully matched the paint to the colour of the camouflage beneath.

Painting German Armour pt.3

I've now put on the camouflage colors. I used Decoart Burnt Sienna and Hunter Green for the stripes. I tried to make them as small as possible for historical accuracy.This was probably the easiest part to paint, and also the funnest. My Tiger actually looks like a Tiger now! The next part will be on weathering the tank. 

Painting German Armour Pt. 2

The coat of Dunkelgeb is now on. This is a very specific shade of yellow that was used by the Germans for summer camo in WW2. I used Tamiya XF-60 to paint the Tiger. I cannot stress this enough, wear a respirator when using anything other than craft acrylics. You cannot get this color in craft paints, take my word for it =(
I painted it completely but left enough black showing as to make it look worn and shadowed. The next step is doing green and brown lines.

Painting German Armour Pt.1

It's finally here! My Tamiya late war Tiger is together. Now as we all know the painting of a model is when the character of it comes out. The first thing I did was give a base coat of black. This will give the model's lines a deeper look. Also, it will add depth to the zimmerit. I used Decoart black. The next step will be to add the distinctive dunkelgeb, dark yellow(which was very hard to find).