Dragons Bergepanzer tiger (p) build log *finished*

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Hi guys, here,s what i have been working on this week beside finishing up the paint work on the ones i had on the bench this is a beauty of a build it is just easy and fun and i enjoyed it imensly much more so that i thought i would.

Dragons Bergepanzer Tiger 1 (P)

I was having a hard time deciding what kit to build next so my attention was drawn to this one. This vehicle has always been one that i wanted on the shelf but it constantly got pushed down the pile because of other vehicles i was more excited about building but not this time. This is the Dragon Bergepanzer Tiger (P) and i have to admit i just like this chassis and all the varients that were built from it.
So on with the build,

There are four options in the kit two being early versions and two late and i will be going with the “1st company, sPzJgAbt 653, early” with the three colour camo to avoid having to do zim as i have a few builds coming up which will need zimming so im saving myself.

Step 1 as always involves cleaning and putting together the wheels and bogies which clean and fit together very nicely and look great when done.

Step 2 covers putting together the lower hull and removing some details which i assume are there from the elephant/ferdinand kits but are not needed for this one but its no big deal just a quick swipe with the knife and a little sanding. Another thing to take of is you need to drill out a couple of locating holes for later on in the build so keep a close eye out for these.

Steps 3 through 6 involve attaching the bogies and wheels and adding the tracks which is very simple and goes well but i was a little worried about the tracks, when i first removed them from the card they had very stubborn fold marks and i didnt think they would be usable so i took a bowl of water and began heating it in the microwave, at several points i dipped the tracks in it but to no avail right up until i got the water so hot small bubbles began appearing on the bottom of the bowl but it wasnt quite boiling, i dipped them in and out came the folds so i quickly placed them on the model so they could form nicely around the wheels and i now i believe they will work just fine.

Step 7 and 8 consists of the front plate, upper deck and fenders which again go together very well the only note to make is i had to spread the tub a little to get the deck in but once its in it holds together perfectly.

step 9, consists mainly of the front hull and upper deck details and hatches.

Step 10, continues on with the upper deck details.

step 11, this is the front side of the turret (not sure what to call it but turret gets the point across)

step 12, covers the rear of the turret.

And the turret mounted.

step 12 continued, finishing up the detail on and around the rear lower hull.

Step 13,began with the jack assembly which is comprised of 5 parts plus a PE clasp, here you should ignore the placement marker on the deck for the PE clasp because it is to far to the rear and the jack wont fit i had to remove it and move it forward.

Step 13 continued, the deck vent cover and handles

And the final steps are 14, 15 and 16 and this is the boom and what a nice piece of work it, is it took me a few minutes goin over the instructions but if you go slowly and keep to the steps there are no problems at all the only thing is the chains are too long and do need trimming down once you know exactly how where you want everything to be.

The instructions for step 14.

This goes together great without problem the booms themself are also very clean and easy to assemble, once the chains and pullys were done it was a simple case of setting the booms in their mounts, attaching the pully’s and chains then gluing the whole thing down and here is the result.




I also added a tow cable the kit supply’s wire and ends for two but one would have gotten in the way so i left it off.

up next is Painting Dragons Bergepanzer Tiger 1 (P) stay tuned,

Thanks for looking and feel free to ask any questions or comments.

Ron.

2

EEERRRRTTTTTT! (brakes slamming on)

Please back up to the tracks. Card? Fold? Paper???

3

LoL yes these tracks are the one piece DS (Dragon styrene) type which glue with regular cement and when packed in the box they are taped to the goodie card with the PE and decals and so on, so when they are removed the folds in the tracks are very stubborn and will not straighten out without heating them up somehow, a hairdryer might work but i opted for the water approach.

Ron.

4

I see, I’ve yet to purchase a kit that had that type. My experience is limited to the rubber band and the dragon magic track.

By the way, your build looks great!

5

THis will definitely be an interesting one to watch.

6

Back to your usual pace of things Ron, look forward to seeing this one completed.

7

[:O] Man, you’re spittin out kits faster than a MG42. [8D] Yeah I know, it’s “what you do”. #15 is gonna be beautiful [tup] I can tell already. Gee, it seems every day I tune in to the forum, there’s [D)] biffa with a new build. [:D] It’s a ray of sunshine to me.

I see that you are now [BG] cookin’ your models… well if you noticed, [yuck] I been saltin’ mine.

Steve

8

The things we have to endure in the name of fun and relaxation heh if the missus ever finds out i can cook ill be in trouble [:)] “whats for supper honey?”, “Boiled salted Dragon tracks dear”

I believe this one will be #16 for i have one in the final stages of completion just a couple of finishing touches and it’ll be done, i wont say what it is but i will say this is my oldest project ever, its a very old kit that i am sure most everyone as built at some time and it will probably raise a smile from one or two of you as well, i have had the nessesary items for this build a long time and finally got around to doin it, it was done for fun but also i needed it for the collection, i will probably wait a couple of days before posting it because im starting to feel like im spamming the forums [(-D] with all my posts.

9

#11 Building Dragons JSU-122
04-08-2007 11:28 PM

#12 Tamiya Pershing finished
05-02-2007 8:47 PM

#13 Italeri’s 6Rad finished
06-02-2007 2:26 PM

#14 Dragons premium Nashorn finished
06-05-2007 1:14 AM

#15 Dragons Bergepanzer tiger (p) build
06-08-2007 11:02 AM

[%-)] Oh, I was just goin’ by the way you post 'em.

And you aren’t spamming. [tup] I know that a lot of people are delighted with your displays.

10

Definately not spamming Ron. Yeah the Ferdy platform is one of my Fave AFV’s period. So brutish, especially with the long 88mm. These are the same tracks I ended up using for my Elefant. The kit tracks were hilarious, but well detailed. Anyway number 15-16? is looking real nice so far. You don’t see many of these built up. It’s gonna look glorious once he’s weathered up.

11

(sigh…[sigh]) I never gave a serious thought to purchasing this particular model, but I just KNOW I’m gonna want one when you’re done with it! [(-D]

Looking rrrrrrrrreal cool so far!

12

I picked this same kit up at Hobby Lobby about a month ago on clearance for like 15 bucks. I can’t wait to see this one when its done. You can always count on a first class build from biffa!

13

very good,been a waitin for someone to come up with this kit looks good to me,i built the tiger p version and i just slipped the tracks on left it for acouple of days and bingo all straight.looking forward to the paint on this one.[tup]

14

Well Ron here we are again. I just don’t know where you get the time for all this building.In fact I don’t even have the space. ( I gave away loads after the annual show two weeks ago)

All aside I’m really delighted to see you back on form. Looking forward to seeing this one done…

Regards,

Terry.

15

ron-- crap man – how do you do it!!!so much great stuff in such a short time-- what are you gonna do when you have built everything!![(-D][tup][tup]-- you ARE da man-- tread[:O]

16

Hey Steve, just wondering…what do you mean by “needed it for the collection”?

I ask this because I wonder if you have a method of choosing your builds, like, “oh I don’t have a Panther D,; I need a StuG F8; I’m missing the PzIVG”–like, are you trying to get some sort of sequence or representative collection in order to fit some sort of requirements? Or are you just trying to build EVERY German tank ever built…before Christmas?![(-D]

I kinda do this, wanting to have each version of a particular chassis or purpose-built type of vehicle–those marders are getting hard to keep up with! Right now I’m filling out my “jagdpanzers” shelves with my Hetzer. What niche did this tank fill for you?

17

Thanks for the interest guys i havent been getting much done on this just a primer coat but ive been busy lately with work and home stuff, bought the missus a new car a 2007 Dodge charger Black with chrome mags and it is sweet but i had to sort out new parking arrangments and probablly be building a carport and find a new spot for the trampoline and basketball goal and yada yada yada (always got something goin on heh) anyway, Doog i think it was me who mentioned the collection and its just basically i keep all my builds for my own collection i have over sixty now it is one of the reasons i like building so much so i can put it on the shelf in its reserved spot it does help me choose builds but i dont like to build the same chassis one after the other so i try break up the vehicles and countries a bit [:)]

Ron.

18

At the rate you’re building them, you’ll soon need to be adding an addition to your home! I’ve wondered where I’d ever put all of mine if I finished every one in the stash. Well my daughter will be off to college in 7 years. Hehe

19

Well i finally got to finish this one up and must say i am quite happy with the result and once again i had a good time with this kit and i highly recommend it just as one of those easy no hassle type builds the only thing i wasnt too keen on is the one piece tracks , anyway i logged the basic paint steps up until the last of the weathering then i ran out of batteries for the camera so here goes.

Step 1 was a black primer followed by a yellow base coat which was MM rattle can mustard which i then lightened up with a light panel fading using MM acrylic tan.

Step 2 was the camo with which i was going for a rough field applied look and i used MM acrylic Dark green then lightened with MM acrylic olive drab the brown some some mix i had left from a previous build.

Step 3 i applied a yellow ochre filter in the style of a wash and using the sponge method and van dyke brown oil paint i applied some wear and tear to the edges.

Step 4 i attached the tracks and the pullies and chains which had been painted with Krylon rattle can camouflage brown then once attached i used Master series “shadowed steel” and dry brushed the entire vehicle.

That was the last of the progress shots but the weathering from here on consisted of numerous oil paint washes using van dyke brown with a couple of applications of pigments in between to create a dirty greasy look i scratched a little bit of gear, the wooden beams and the tarp and coil of rope i also replaced the two smaller chains because i didnt like the kit ones it seemed like the links were too long and didnt sit right on the pullies, after all was done i did a final light application of pigments on the tracks.

Here is the finished vehicle.

Thanks for looking and feel free the comment in any way.

Ron.

20

top notch…I think you are one of the top three armor modelers in this forum----one question: no markings?