Cornish Scale Modeller: Model Build - Tamiya 1/35 Tiger I Sd.kfz.181

Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II deployed from 1942 in Africa and Europe usually in independent heavy tank battalions. Its final designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E often shortened to Tiger. The Tiger I gave the Wehrmacht its first armored fighting vehicle that mounted the KwK 36 88-mm gun (not to be confused with the 8.8 cm Flak 36). Only 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944.

So, here we go.... straight into another build. Been putting this one off for a while as I wanted to do something a little more special than just go all guns blazing and see what happens. I wanted to plan this one a little more..... After much thought I decided to treat this kit to it's own diorama. Question is Summer? Winter? Town? Village? Kursk? At the time of deciding I had a flashback to a time earlier in December last year when I was sat watching a documentary on the Battle of the Bulge. An American Sherman crew (and tank) had lost it's group, was alone and desperate to return to their allied lines after the Germans pushed them back. There came a period when the Sherman came to a cross roads early in the morning and to it's immediate right was a Tiger and a couple Panthers. The crew though they were doomed but no one opened fire. presumably asleep? Infact, It was the Sherman who got a round off before they fled into the opposite direction. The shot (rather obviously) doing no harm to the Tiger. This is where inspiration hit. Imagine the fear installed upon these men as they clocked eyes on the sleeping Tiger. No movement, just stillness. That's what I wanted to re-create.

The kit in question is Tamiya's and I must say... Straight out of the box it's a dream to build. That's good as I will be adding no after market parts, You also have option to make either the Late or Final. I decided to go for the Final as the Bulge was near the end of the war.

First up was wheel and lower hull assembly.

The exhaust was tricky as each individual bar to hold the top had to be cut, smoothed and glued in place.

Lower hull with exhaust fitted.

Gun breach assembly

I usually like to add stones to the inside of my builds to give them some extra weight.

All parts assembled. Apart from the tools, tow links, tracks and spare tracks. They will all be painted and added later. I also started doing initial body damage here. Big dents, bullet holes, scratches etc..

After priming with Vallejo "Grey" the model is pre shaded with XF1. Focusing on the shadow areas and grills. Its then given its base coat XF63 paying attention to not over spray on the pre shaded areas. It's then sealed with Future and Decals applied.

Working on chipping with XF69 after sticking on the pre painted tools, tow ropes.. etc

So, we make a start on the white wash camo. There are a number of ways this can be applied. However, I went with the hairspray technique. It involves spraying the whole model with hairspray and then laying down your white wash. As hairspray is water soluble you then attack with with a brush, toothpick (finer details) revealing the basecoat underneath. giving the impression of ware..... that's the theory

As it was near the end of the war and with late winter in mind I wanted the camo to look well worn with multiple layers of white wash applied. The Germans would have ideally thrown just the one wash on.. Sometimes they may get a second coat later on if the original is too worn. In order to achieve this I applied the first layer with a mix of XF 2 - XF 57 - XF 63. With the ratio 10:5:2. This went down as the first layer and was mostly washed away. I then re applied with just XF 2 and XF 63 2:1 to give the impression of a fresher wash. They grey is added help to model stand out more against the "blizzard" conditions I had in mind. Not ideal for war time. but, It's a model. It's fake!

Rust was added in pin washes with Humbrol enamel Rust wash. I carved the inner most edge with a tooth pick to releal the basecoat to give the illusion of depth for the rust.

Streaked added with artists oil paints. Giving the illusion of bare metal and melting snow.

Track assembly

Starting to paint the tracks. This is another topic of debate for the community. I was happy to settle with a rather rusted track as my tank is supposed to have been sat stationary for some time. for the colour of deep rust i used a mixture of rust enamel, earth pigments and oil paints.

In order to enhance various areas on the model and create depth and shadow I modulate with some oil colors. You can use almost any color and they will all yield different results. Once applied you want to stub then with thinners until the desired effect is achieved.

The modulation gives the model a larger pallet of colors and sense of depth.

Pigments applied. With a custom mix of artist's chalks mixed down and dapped with PVA, Water and Matt varnish.

Before the application of "Precision Ice And Snow" It's a shame that most of the details on the left side and top will be covered with snow in order to fit with my diorama. Still, it was a great exercise in weathering and taught me a lot.