Scratch Built Initial production Tiger I Project

[armourguy]

Hi Guys, With the M4A3 105 out of the way I have started on my next project which will be an early initial production Tiger I. For the build I have dug out this old partially started Tiger I.



The tank hull is all constructed out of 1/4 inch thick plywood. and the turret is constructed out of layers of plywood and sheet metal. The tank's hull and turret was started back in 2001, but never progressed passed the rough shape point that you see below and has been in storage ever since.





After about a week and a half of tweaking, altering, and refining the tank's hull and turret is now ready for build up.



All of the tank's wooden panels were thoroughly coated in Fiberglass resin and sanded to a smooth finish. As I mentioned in my past builds the fiberglass resin coating makes the model stronger, weatherproof, and transforms the wooden surface into plastic by removing wood grain.





On the original hull the upper and lower hull were designed to be two separate pieces, during the refinement the these two halves were mounted together creating one unit.







The lower hull tow shackle mounts were added. The final drive guard strip will be next.





On the tank's turret The roof was added. More progress will be added to the turret as the build progresses.







I have built one of these hulls before in my last tiger I project so I have some of the detail parts on hand which will save time

1/6th scale Tiger I 406



With the basic hull complete I will now be focusing on the tank's lower hull detailing. These would include the final drive guards, final drives, angle brace, welds and ilder mounts. Once complete I will be working on the tank's suspension.

I have a lot of special plans for this build as well as some very special detail parts in mind to produce. More progress and info to follow!

[viaad]

Very nice! Its always fun to watch your builds. Will you be making your own road wheels for the tiger?

[redball]

Oh Boy!!!! Does this bring back memories the first 1/6th scale model I thought of building around 45 years ago was a Tiger from plywood. But what did I know back then other than I had several old GI Joe's and the Tiger was the coolest. So to see your rendition of this tank will be a joy to watch and who knows perhaps it will inspire me to once again try another one myself.

[theseeker]

You are an artist!

[k ration]

Nice! note book in hand.

[Eddie Acosta]

Awesome beginning. Cool!!!

[Reef12]

Beautiful Tiger I that is John wow I don't remember that one.

If recent then blame it on age. LOL

Jeff

[armourguy]

Thanks Guys,

Jeff, the other Tiger I build was done about two years ago, and was one of my first armorama build blogs.

Progress has been slow this week due to my hectic schedule, but some small progress has been made to the model.



The tank's lower hull welds were completed. The lower hull support angles were also added complete with dome rivet detailing. On the tiger I only the top sponson portion of the angle had the rivet heads exposed, On the side hull portion of the angle a hole would be visible. In addition to the angle the shock absorber mounts were added to the lower hull sides.



Because this tank will not be receiving the side skirts, the support angle and other lower hull details will be visible



On the tank's front portion the resin final drive transmission hub and the final drive armor collar were mounted.



On the tank's rear portion I have mounted the tank's idler mount system.



All of these parts have been added to the Tiger I product line. East Coast Armory -- 1/6th Scale Tiger I Detail Upgrades

New tooling Resin Tiger I track aligner blocks.



Resin Adjustable Tiger I rear idler mount system set. This set allows you to adjust the track tension on the tiger's rear idler mount via a wrench. The mount also allows the idler to hang properly from the rear hull.












A youtube video was made with the new progress
1/6th scale Scratch built German Tiger I Tank project video #1 (project Start) - YouTube

With the final drives and the idler mount system out of the way I can now start on the tank's functional Torsion bar suspension. My schedule will be clearing up this week which will allow for more work time and faster build progress. More progress to follow.

[johnro6659]

Can't wait to see what you do for your functional torsion bar system. One of the roadblocks I hit when building my FAO Tiger is the torsion bar set up. Diewerkstat came up with a good design and mine is pretty much the same but I am open for anything that might make it easier. I can't really build any of my tanks without a working suspension system. It's not like I'll push the them around but when using tanks in shoots IMO the suspension has to be functional it looks like a toy when tracks and suspension don't follow the contours of the terrain. All your work is very inspiring and keeping me interested in this part of the vehicle hobby. If it wasn't for my screwed up wrist I would be trying to keep up, right along, I doubt I could ever do stuff at light speed you seem to be able to go.

Love the vids, sometimes seeing it like that I pick up stuff I seem to miss in the pics.

[armourguy]

Thanks Johnro, I agree about how the suspension can enhance the realism on a model.

I have completed the tank's functional suspension.









The torsion bars have also been added to the product line.
East Coast Armory -- 1/6th Scale Tiger I Detail Upgrades







To make the torsion bars functional I used a similar system that I developed on the Jadgpanther.







In addition to the suspension I also added a set of my resin bump stops.





The suspension can hold up the tank's weight when placed on the ground.









Note the swing arms are that are located on the left hand side swing to the front, while the arms on the right hand side swing to the rear.





Now with the suspension out of the way I can now focus on tooling up the tanks early wheels. More progress to follow.