Bobs Tamiya 1/16 Tiger 1

[kingbob]

So, even though i havent finished my M1070 yet (waiting for parts), its time for another build.

Browsing ebay recently i came across someone selling an unbuilt Tamiya 1/16 Tiger 1 kit, along with an Aber photo etch super detail set. The tank itself can go for $300-400, and the photo etch set is about $250. The guy wanted $250 for both so i snapped that up quick smart!

The tank

The detal set

It isnt the RC version, but the model version, the only difference is the RC system though. All i need is the dual gearbox and speed controller to make it go, and thats easy enough on ebay elsewhere.

For anyone not familiar with Aber, and their photo etch sets, they are absolutely freaking insane. Each brass fret may contain dozens of parts, which are bent/glued/soldered together for ridiculous levels of detail. All of the clasps are workable, as are all the hinges on mudflaps etc.

It only comes with plastic tracks, and there are some details in the kit that are plastic that would benefit from aftermarket parts like the barrel/muzzle break, which are available in aluminium or brass.

So i've ordered metal tracks, ali barrel, brass muzzle break, brass machine gun barrels, and about a dozen other small detail sets to upgrade it. Still comes in cheaper than buying the kit/etch set retail.

I'll basically be giving it the attention to detail that i gave my Optimus Prime build, and do have a specific tank in mind (down to the level of specific month of production during WWII, including barrel mantlet casting numbers), so this may drive me slightly insane! (moreso anyway)

[kingbob]

Bling has been arriving all week, its been like christmas!

First up, brass machine gun barrels for turret and hull. And proper wooden barrel cleaning rods with threaded connectors:


Steel towing cables, and textured air cleaner pipes:


External fire extinguisher, and machined multi part brass muzzle.


Which has some stunning detail:



The HUGE ABER detail set to end all detail sets:


To put the set in detail, the sprue in the upper right, is about 12cm wide!


Cast wing nuts, cast spare tracks, and machined brass turret and hull smoke/grenade launchers. There are also some towing shackles, but im not happy with them, will make some new ones.


Some heavy a$$ cast steel, individually linked, hollow guide horn, tracks. These weigh about 1kg per side of the tank!


Aluminium barrel (i've already started fitting the muzzle fittings).



Some of the details on these parts are awesome:

[Jakyat]

Ive been watching the tow cable set on ebay. Need some for my bed truck build. Very curious to see them assembled and a true assembled measurement of length. Can the supplied steel cable be substituted for the steel cable available in the average hardware store so i could build to my specific length or do you have to stick with the supplied cable?
Pretty expensive for us canucks with shipping and exchange, it worked out to $40-some bucks

[kingbob]

Originally Posted by Jakyat

Ive been watching the tow cable set on ebay. Need some for my bed truck build. Very curious to see them assembled and a true assembled measurement of length. Can the supplied steel cable be substituted for the steel cable available in the average hardware store so i could build to my specific length or do you have to stick with the supplied cable?
Pretty expensive for us canucks with shipping and exchange, it worked out to $40-some bucks

Yeah its a fairly flexible steel cable, there shouldnt be any reason you cant replace the cable with a longer one, as long as its the same diameter. Because of the way the sleeve on the loops work, anything bigger will be a problem.
The main cable is 120cm long, obviously intended to be cut in half for the 2 cables, and i'd guess you'd lose around 3cm from each end at the loop.

[kaptain Jack]

That's a SUPER DEAL,Bob. How come I never find deals like that?
You don't have time for it Bob, should focus on previous commitments and sell the tiger to me....

[kingbob]

Yeah it was a score, the guy said he just didnt have time for it, so said hed rather pass it on that let it gather dust.

[Gibbs98]

Bob I have to say some of detail on the parts are amazing. I like the Tamiya rc tanks but I don't have enough to assemble an unit. I saw a cool 1/16 Tiger 1 at http://www.thehobbyworx.com/rc-tanks...and-sound.html at exceptionally sensible price $94.99. At present its out of stock. But when I called them they said it can be Pre Ordered. What do you think ? I was thinking of ordering this and down the line to purchase the tamiya parts and keep adding them every now and again.

[kingbob]

Before i scored this Tamiya id looked at the various chinese clones, and to be fair most are carbon copies of the Tamiya, but with a few parts tweaked to avoid being sued. The quality tends to be a bit less, detail not as fine etc, butas a base to work from, if you plan to slowly replace parts, theyre not too bad.

That particular one looks like it will need a lot of work. All the upper hull detail looks moulded on, so would need to be stripped right back. There are other cheap ones by Marui, Torro, Heng Long, Taigen, and Trumpeter/WSN that have better details and would need less work.

Check out www.tankzone.co.uk for some ideas. Expensive from the UK but will give you an idea what to look for on ebay or elsewhere.

[kaptain Jack]

Hey, Gibbs. This is very old version with a.m. radio. Heng Long has new models with metal gearbox and 2.4 spectrum radio,also the very latest will have volume and smoke generator controlled via radio.Heng Long has many models of tanks and in last five years quality improved exponentially.Few more years and they'll catch up to Tamiya,their selection already surpasses everyone else.

[kingbob]

Yeah i'm actually planning to get a Heng Long King Tiger, after the Tiger 1 is done. I can get almost the same kinds of detail sets for it, so as long as its basically right, i can replace all the details with correct ones.

[kingbob]

Much progress!

Being a Tamiya kit, most of the tank practically assembles itself, so a lot is done.

The lower hull is pretty much assembled, just adding all the details to it. I had to plug up loads of mounting holes in the top of the hull, and hull rear, and cut/sand off some details since they're getting photo etch replacements.

Most of the fittings on the hull top are done, except shovel mount, and mounts for the main towing cables. Also need to add some wiring to the smoke grenade dischargers, and add extra antenna mounts (this will be a Befehlswagen command tiger).



The tools arent glued in, because i'll remove them to paint seperately.


The light towing cable is mounted, and all the side skirts. The 4 skirts per side are each made of a main piece, 3 braces underneath, 4 bolts, and 4 bolt retainers. The road wheels are actually rubber wheels mounted to the plastic wheels.


The rear end was filled/sanded/primed etc, used actual screw/bolt details to replace the soft plastic details. The jack, toolbox, heat shields, and air cleaners arent mounted because they'll be painted separately, but you can see the various little holes where they mount.


The front fenders are fully workable! I managed to make all the hinges properly, so the side pieces can fold up, or the whole fender can be raised. I also made correct bolts for the towing shackles, soldered a small ring onto a screw for the right part, also corrected the towing shackles themselves. The real ones were made of a square stock bent to the U shape on this version, but the ones in the kit were round.



Also made a start on the interior fittings for the commanders cupola:


And heres some of the various parts made, but not attached.
Barrel, jack, rear fenders, air cleaner tubes, barrel cleaning rods, heat shields, and air cleaners.

[Panther F]

Whoa! You really scored the 'mother load' on that! That and you were lucky I wasn't on at the same time. Not a being big Tiger I fan (I have 2 of them) but a $1,000.00 value at 250 bucks I never would have turned it down!

Congrats and great start!




Jeff

[kingbob]

I know, at that pric, even with what I've spent on after market stuff, it's still cost me half what the tank and aber set retail for.