Bovington Tiger II build on indefinite hold! No pix! (ancient post) Currently discussing KT tracks!

Modeling Subjects Armor
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Hi, folks! [:)]

I finally got started on the Tiger II as it appeared on display at the Tank Museum at Camp Bovington in the 80’s (it’s still there, but I’m doing the 80’s version). I’m using the Tamiya 1/35 scale kit, Verlinden resin full interior, Friulmodel Tiger II Late tracks, FineMolds aluminum barrel, and a variety of PE, mostly Eduard and Royal Model. Plus a lot of sheet styrene!

One of the main points in converting the Tamiya kit into the King of Bovington is the removal of a LOT of stuff, like the fenders, commander’s cupola, turret rear hatch, the access panel that contains the driver’s and radioman’s hatches, a coupla wheels, and other minor stuff.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

I’m not very good at cutting out straight and even shapes, so this was the most daunting aspect of the build for me. After drillng, sawing, filing, and sanding sanding sanding, I sorta got the shapes I was looking for.

Here’s the forward panel that holds the driver’s and radioman’s hatches:

I used two kits for this. I cut the panel from a spare, and cut the hole in this one. No way I could cut one hull without destroying one part or the other!

The cupola was the easiest. Just sawed it off, and sanded it down:

The hardest cutting and sanding job was the huge hole in the rear of the turret that is exposed when the hatch assembly is removed. I sanded forever trying to get the shape somewhere close to symmetrical (the real one is roughly cut, but very symmetrical). Here’s what I ended up with:

The little white strip at the bottom is styrene to fill in the kit’s mounting hole.

I still have some sanding to do, then the next step is creating the mounting flanges for the cupola and rear hatch holes.

More cutting, sanding, and shaping! [V]

I reckon it may be kinda premature to posts pix at such an early stage of the build, but I just got the digicam and I’m dying to use it!

Also, any tips on cutting and shaping holes (particulatly perfectly round ones) would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, the deadline for this project is October 25.
I think I may be in trouble!!![:0]

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Looks like a good start Brian. You’re doing a very clean revamp so far. Good luck on the deadline!! [:D] [:p]

Eric

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Brian, I wouldn’t say these pics are premature at all. I really enjoy seeing a project from the beginning. I think it’s great. Thanks for sharing it with us. Best of luck on this one, especially the time frame. I could never do that much surgery on a kit!

Also, thanks for posting the other pic with your 1/16 “Tiger II”! LOL
Looks like you’ve got a pretty neat collection of armor there. I’m a little envious, but not too much. I’ve really got more of my own than I’ll ever get built. (So my wife says!!)

Have a great day.

Bill

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I agree with Bill … it’s nice to see a project from the beginning to end.

Nice work so far Brian !! And great pics too by the way.

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Thanks, fellas![:)]

I’ll keep snappin’ and postin’!

I’m worried about the time frame too, but I have the most worrisome part of the conversion out of the way, so a month and a half of solid building oughta do it. That Verlinden interior is quite extensive, though…but that’s also stripped in the Bovington Beastie, so I can leave some of it out.

The painting and weathering shouldn’t be too hard; solid Dark Yellow and a bit of grunge washing, with no no “dirt” weathering at all. It’s just kinda grimy in all my ref pix.

Well, back to it, Gents! [:D]

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I like the pics, keep 'em coming!

for circles, if you can’t get a template the right size, you can use a draftsman’s dividers. They are like a drafting compass but have a metal point in both sides. Use them to scribe the circle until it is deep enough to cut out with a knife or just use them to cut all the way through.
Use ones that are adjusted with a screw or that lock in position and be patient, it can take a while but it works.
As with all new methods, practice on scrap first!

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looking good
like the others said its great to see the photos of the build
did you see this photo?

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Hi, folks![:)]

Derek,
Thanks! That’s what I was thinking of doing. I do have some decent circular templates, but I also have a “compass” which holds an X-Acto blade, so I might give that a try. Won’t know if I can do it unless I try it! [^]

Jon,
I looked at Ron’s gallery for the other KT pix you took , but I couldn’t fing 'em. Are they still there? If so, can ya point me in the right direction?
Thanks! They’ve helped a lot.

In this particular pic, did ya’ll notice Bovington T-II has that panel on backwards? To this day, it’s on backwards. Perhaps there is some reason for this, but the result was that I had to cut and sand sand sand for hours to replicate it!
Heck, makes it fun though, don’t it?[:D]

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heres you link to the ones ive got on the web http://rongeorge.com/modules/Gallery/cavemanwork?&page=2 and on page 1
about the photo, i thought there was something odd about it[:D]

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You may want to go backwards with the blade as if you were using it to scribe a panel line.

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Thanks, Derek. Good advice.

Thanks, Caveman. Those pix help out a lot!
I thought I looked at that site before, but didn’t see 'em. Thanks for pointing them out!

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Brian,

I also enjoy looking at the steps you have posted. It’s interesting to see how a project like this, comes to life.

Keep up the good work!

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Thanx, Erock!
The build’s rolling right along (shall post more pix here soon) but I’m having a bit of a hard time finding the right size diamond mesh to cover the hatches as you can see in the picture by Caveman. I have two types, but one is a bit too small, while the other is a bit too large. Does anyone know of any suppliers of this kinda stuff? With the deadline, mail-ordering is out of the question, but a local shop owner might be able to help me.
Also, is there any kind of standardized numbering system for this kind of mesh, like “Aluminum Mesh, Daimond, #9” or something?
I don’t expert there to be, but ya never know!

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Hi, J-hulk. It would be good to see this one. Just like watching a blow-by-blow account of a boxing match. I should be able to learn from this one. So please keep posting the pic as you go along.

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J-hulk, Very nice pictures. What tools did use to get those clean cuts in the plastic?

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Very nice… I just got myself the same kit, however I’m probably going to do mine SOB since I don’t have the money for all the aftermarket parts… as much as I would like them… keep us posted with the progress

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You are a much braver man than I, Brian. I don’t know if I could bring myself to cut up 2 kits just to make the one. Cutting out panels in aircraft is terrifying enough to me. Looks really good, so far. Deadline is approaching… (tick, tick, tick…)

demono69

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Hi, folks![:)]

Mark, to make the holes I used a Tamiya pin vise drill, Hasegawa Tritool photoetched razor saws (the teeth are so tiny, you can get incredibly smooth cuts), an OLFA hobby knife (Japanese equivalent of an X-Acto), Hasegawa files, and varying grades of Tamiya sandpaper. In that order, actually!

Ricky, I was lucky to find a bunch of the AM stuff I needed half-off at my local hobby shop, so it wasn’t all that expensive.

Demono, I had already bought a Henschel Tiger II to cannibalize for my recently completed E-100 project, so I actually got 2 models out of it! Plus, I had picked it up secondhand for about 10 bucks, so no big expenditure there. I still had to take a few deep breaths before starting all that cutting, though!
Now, the deadline…I just spent a week in Saipan, which has seriously delayed any building! Just over a month to go…if I do finish, it will certainly be a record for me!

I’ll post more pix as soon as I’ve made some progress.

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Sorry Brian [}:)]
is it done yet

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Well, I’d like to see it, but I’m not able to open the windows. Poop![BH]