Hi all
Here is my first WWII tank, and 4th over all, Tamiya’s Tiger 1 Early Production.
I would appreciate comments/criticism on the finish/weathering etc as opposed to accuracy.
I added Tamiya’s photo-etched grille set and painted with Tamiya’s German Grey. Wash of Flat Black/Flat Brown (although not enough brown imho) was used.
Also made use of Tamiya’s Weathering Master Sets and Sticks - Mud, Rust,Orange Rust,Silver and Soot.
Thanks for looking
looking great, great weathering, great job man!
I think overall it looks good. The decals look great except for the balkenkruze(sp?) on the right where you can see the decal backing material. I would have added more rust effect to the tow cables. And the color and distribution of the mud on the road wheels just doesn’t look right. Maybe add a little more brown to it and spread it out a little more?
If you were shooting for a new tank, with little battle field “experience” then you have done a great job! Nicely done. You can tone down the mud effect by going back and toning down the “rubber” on the road wheels before adding your mud. You can do this by dry brushing with a slighty lighter tone that the black or you can use buff color. This will eliminate the stark contrast between the solid black rubber and the brown of the mud! Also if you don’t already have some get some Micro Sol/Set solution to help soften the decals and eliminate the “shine” of the left over decal film. Nice work!
On the whole quite good. The main thing that jumped out at me was the mud on the wheels seemed a little stark. I would expect there to me some more spatter on the wheels given the size of the blobs. In that context, the rubber looks a little clean as well. I would expect that there would be a least a light coating of mud or dirt over most of the tire, not necessarily so thick that the tire becomes pure mud color, but enough that the tire losed its deep black.
The other thing that strikes me is that the white on the markings seems a little pure white given the overall weathering on the vehicle. Just the lightest coating of a tan or brown dust to take the starkenss from pure white and make it look a bit dusty.
Those items aside, it’s a fine Tiger.
John,you did a good job for your 1st one.There are things you can do to livin it up little.1.paint your cables steel then dry brush rust on them also the same for the tracks.To age them once they dry use a very thined out mixture of flat black as a wash.Other then that a great job on your first,Digger.
P.S. 2.the iron crosses on the turret are not needed as most tanks used there numbers.Also so the flim on the decals can be toned down with a flat brown or sand wash.
I think this is a fantastic result for a first tank. There are no obvious blemishes or construction mistakes. Well done.
As for the weathering: the most important key of weathering is to keep it subtle. I remember I used to thrown on a crap-load of mud, spray it everywhere and what not. What you want to do is practice washing and drybrushing techniques a bit more. As for adding the mud, you have to be careful. See how you have a lot of hard edges. That tends to look kind of un-natural. YOu want to ‘layer’ it on. For your next one, try to first create several mud-coloured washes, then apply them to the entire set of roadwheels, under the hull, the undercarriage, and the tracks, and I mean cover it all. Allow to dry, and add several more. This will give you a nice faded dusty/muddy look. If you have an airbrush, you can use Tamiya Buff, thin it a lot, like 10% paint and 90% thinner, then just lightly spray it all over the lower parts of the tank. You’ll see how a nice pleasant dusty effect can be achieved. Once you get this down pat, then you can look to add heavier mud effects, as they will look more realistic on a subtle background. Hope that makes sense.
Hi all
Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations.
I will attempt to do the following on this kit:
Used Tamiya’s weathering stick for the mud - gonna take awhile to get used to using it.
Maybe I should thin it with water and then brush it on
Must try the airbrushing technique in future.
For my next Tiger (will be Dark Yellow) how dirty should it be?
Thanks again for all the feedback - it helps
A really good job on the #1!
My [2c] it would be:
Leave the tow cables and any other bolt on’s off until after the black wash.
Make sure that the weight of the track is represented. The track could not come of the drive sprocket in positive tan angular to horizontal.
I like the dark finish, looks like a cool cat to me!
John, make it as dirty or as clean as you want. Whether you want to model it like it like it just came out of the factory or just finished driving through a mile of foot deep mud, it’s all good. There are many different opinions on how much weathering should be done. As far as I’m concerned, it’s up to the individual modeler. Personally, I prefer light weathering. Others like tons of mud, grass, twigs, etc. But like I said, it’s all good. And if you have a question on certain techniques, post a question here and you’ll be sure to get lots of direction.
And most of all, have fun!
That really is the best advice. We are all individuals and no two of us do things the same.
Well done Tiger. This will be a great entry into WW II for you to build on.
For your next tiger, I have a recomendation for your mud. I also use the tamiya weathering sets alot, but havent tried the weathering stick yet. What I do to make my mud cover the tank evenly is to use an exacto knife and scrape off some of the powder from the weathering set (usually a small corner). I scrape it off into a cup, mixing different colors for different shades of mud. Then I mix it with a bit of water (very small amount) This allows me to apply it like real wet mud, but it dries to a realistic effect. It also is easyer to cover a larger area then it is to do with the stick. You can also apply the mud colors dry on to the tank bottom, to blend in all of the colors. Good job on your first armor.
Think it looks pretty darn good =)
One thing jumps out at me. The tracks look like they are floating back onto the drive sprocket. The vynal tracks can do that. Might try thread or something to pull it down a little.
Again nice build =)
looks damm nice ,good job
Your first tank looks great. Everybody gave you great advice and if you want to correct some of the issues, that will be a fantastic model. I agree that the mud doesn’t look real and Zokissima gave you great advice on how to correct it. I did it once with wonderfull results.
I never used Tamiya’s weathering stick, I now use MIG pigments and if you want to invest in some new material to work with, I would suggest you to get some of them. You’ll achieve outstanding results with these pigments. I think it is easier to control than the weathering sticks…and it’s not expensive.
For your first Tiger i think you did a pretty good job on the whole. A little more wear and tear and it would be perfect Imo. Either way great job osjohnm.
I agree with Yann. Great job, for a first tank it is very well done. Keep building!
Looks like a very nice, clean build. I agree with all previous comments-remember that (as someone on here accurately said) that weathering starts from the ground up–a light airbrushing of a light dusty tan over the lower hull and wheels; then a wash of burnt umber oils–would really give a nice overall impression of an accurate dust coating; then the mud could be applied sparsely and it would blend in a bit better against the background.
A great start though, for a first kit! What’s next, osjohnm??
Its a good looking job, and I wouldn’t worry so much about what other people think you should do or should’ve done. As long as you are happy with it and learn from it.
Thanks again to everyone for all the comments and suggestions.
Have a long weekend starting tomorrow so hopefully I can try some of the suggestions on the kit.
Also need to clear something up, seems to be some confusion. This is my 4th completed tank, but my first WWII tank. First 3 were modern “desert” schemed vehicles, which were used to see if I enjoyed the subject. Built planes and helicopters on/off for about a year and a half before the armour bug bit.
Out of the 4 finished kits, I would have to say that this is the first one I’m actually happy with/proud of.
Really enjoyed this build, so much so that I want to dive into my Otto Carius version. Although I’m ordering the Eduard PE Zimmerit set for it - skills aren’t ready for making my own zimmerit coating.
Maybe you guys could make some recommendations on other WWII kits I should think of adding to my stash? Stash is pretty full of modern tanks but no WWII collection. Maybe if I list what I might be interested in you guys could recommend a brand/kit # that would suit my skill level?
Tiger 1 Late
Tiger 1 (Africa) - suppose Tamiya Initial would be best?
Panther
KingTiger - saw a premium version 6312(i think) although not sure i’m ready for it
M4
T-34
Glad I tried a WWII subject, definitely need to build more!
Thanks again, will post some more pics after the weekend.