James[:)]
unlike the earlier HL 210, the cylinder block for the maybach HL 230 engine was cast iron. it was surely painted to prevent rust. the Littlefield restorations are pretty much on the money. From what I have read much of the actual components were shades of gray and grey-green–just as many pieces of machinery are painted in ‘industrial colors’ to this day. Only aluminum castings were left unpainted.
--------tread[8D]
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. And bare metal in that environment would go bronzy brown very quickly, aluminium would go white, and a good old painted block would get dirty. Its hard to type and eat turkey at the same time, ha…ha… I hate turkey.
the operating environment of the engine would be very warm, greasy,oily and very wet,damp.
In the end its up to how James interprets what ever info is available to him.
I only speak from experience there.
Terry.
I do have two of these big kittens! I should have three, but can get no response from modelers paradise who should be providing the third!
So I think that I will look at painting the second kits engine differently. I do really appreciate everyone’s input.
I would also like to know what treadwell and firecaptains’ take on this kit is.
James
Here’s some more pics of the engine
I’ve also included a pic of the main parts that make up one of the cylinderhead and exhaust outlet. There are another couple of pieces to go on before they are fixed to the engine. I have some more painting to do, but until I work out what glue to use on sprues S & T I’ve more or less ground to a halt here and I shall either move on to the turret, or back to the lower hull.
So far all the parts fit well together, and despite severe lack of painting instructions in the assembly steps (very notable for most Trumpeter armour kits) and sometimes confusing assembly steps (try before glueing and make sure you’ve got all the parts on) It’s a very pleasing, enjoyable and fun build. (This hobby is meant to be fun isn’t it??) I’ve not encounted much in the way of “How the hell does this…” apart from a couple of pieces in the engine.
I am looking forwards to seeing what treadwell and Firecaptain make of this kit, which I personally rate as kit of the year!
James
James, I am toying with getting a second one (heck I have 3 T-34’s!), as one would be built factory fresh and pristine and the second heavily worn, grimey and weathered.
One option for the one you are working on is just grime up the engine and its surroundings.
One dissapointment to me is those rubbery vinyl parts, especially the larger intake pipes. I am brainstorming as to what I can use as a substitute, and what it will entail to get that ribbed look to the tube.
I can almost here that Maybach engine firing up. [bow] Heck, after seeing this I may even have to build one of my 1/16 T34’s as a static model instead of R/Cing both of them. I just have to build an engine now!
You and Tread’s builds are inspiring. [;)]
I think that those vinyl sprues are done on purpose so when it comes to fixing them round various aspects and holes round the engine and engine compartment you have some leeway and movement.
What glue do I need… I’ll give it a go!
Thanks PantherF for the kind words. These kits are (for me) really and worth the money. What I’d like to see now is there “Porsche” krupp initial turret on this hull, then the Jagdtiger and maybe if we’re really lucky their German Geschützwagen Tiger für 17cm K72 kit scaled up to 1/16.
I’d also like them to do the Tiger 1 with Full interior, panther Panzer IV both long and short barrels and the Panzer III
It’s not too much to ask is it???
James, be sure to degrease these parts thoroughly, and try cyanoacrolate (hot stuff, crazy glue) type of an adhesive sparingly, accelerator helps too.
Be patient, Trumpy will answer our requests, it’s just going to take a while. I am sure the next release will be the Porsche turret for our KT (I will just get one of those!) as they get a little more bank for the bucks spent on the mold tooling.
I’ll wait till the shopping and gift return madness subsides and hit the craft store next week to search for “stuff” to use in plumbing the beast and fiddly bits to use in other areas throughout the tank. Always surprising to find craft stuff that looks like something we can use for a handle, hole, line etc in all types of scale modeling.
Well James I have spent two days in work pulling one of these around and all I can say is I think is excellent. Great value for money.
Lke your progress so far.
Terry.
OH NOOOOOOOOO! not cyanowhatsit glue!!! AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! [XX]
Oh well. I suppose that I’ll be spending most of my evening/night sat in the local A&E room with a maybach engine stuck to my fingers!
I’ll freely admit to not being very good at scratchbuilding or weathering so I’ll make do with what’s in the kit. They must have done sprues S & T this way for a reason!
James
James;
It’s not very important how you paint these things because they got discoloured quickly. I don’t know about Tiger II, but the Tiger 1 and Panther had fire suppression systems in the engine room because it would catch fire in there occasionally. The manual basically said to check that the automatic extinguisher was working, and drive on!
I have some black-and-white wartime photos of HL230s. They suggest a few of the smaller components were bare aluminium. I’ll send them to you if you mail me at : dave - (at) - tiger1.info
David
Well I finally got around to opening my KT up this afternoon (it wasn’t will power, it was the Boss telling me what I had to do and where I had to go yesterday, last night and today). Like James said in his initial KT post the packaging is phenominal, NO broken parts / pieces.
In typical Trumpy fashion, they like to take a part that Tamiya would mold in 1 or 2 pieces and do it in 5…typical Trumpeter. This thing has got some parts guys! I can see how you want to jump around the assembly sequence, and also to build up in componants. The clear parts are crystal clear and will pop if they are coated with Future. I was under the impression that some of the rubbery vinyl parts were 1 piece molds, but see now that in one case 2 halfs. I am thinking these would have been better in plain old plastic, at lest for the large intake hoses versus the other small diameter plumbing.
Tread, I take it you still have one coming? You will have a heyday on this one if you decide to keep it. Definately a keeper in my book!
Well that’s all I can report on now as it’s off to a holiday dinner with family friends. What I thought would have been a good 4 days to play with it turns into less than an hour!
Yeah, tread… show me how this SHOULD be built!
James
james[:D]
from what I have seen in your posts, it looks great!–I don’t have my kit in hand yet, so I cannot really see up close how it is (or give advice on what adhesive to use on the vinyl/rubber parts since i can’t actually tell what they are made of)— I am anxious to get mine. as far as how I am going to paint and weather it, well I am sure there is plenty of time to think that through. I don’t worry or think much about it till towards the end anyway. I undestand what Mr. Byrden is saying in his post, and I am well aware that he is a great authority on the Tiger, but I must respectfully disagree. If one models on the ‘clean’ side of things as I do, (and by that I mean a vehicle that has seen less use than a vehicle at the front) the color of components becomes very critical for accuracy. (IMHO)
My main concern is that while so far it looks to be a beauty, I hope Trumpeter did thier homework on this one![(-D] By all means, keep the posts comming and ENJOY the model!!-----That is the whole point of doing it!!-- looking forward to your next post----tread[8D]
Awwwwww!
Thanks for that tread. Your 1/16 trumpeter T-34 is a beaut! I wish that I could produce a result like that though!
you got a website with your pics up?
James
James[:D]
this is the most I have on line–no personal website or anything —most pics have been published here, but check it out anyway if you desire— large file-- 69 pics–view as a slide show for best results----- http://public.fotki.com/HVHMG/hvhmg_shows/best-in-show-2008-t-34/ let me know what ya think----tread[8D]
Simply stunning Tread! I wish I was at your level of building! I can only wish that my Tiger II comes out anywhere close to your superb T-34 build. I’m sure that when you get your Tiger II you’ll see that there’s lots to play with and add I reckon! I’m very bad at scratch building and weathering so I don’t bother. I know… no sense of adventure!
Still, I think that you’ll find that this kit has plenty to offer you and I look forwards to seeing your build.
James
Hello all,
I have been lurking about for the last few years admiring all your work and finally decided to join up. Just received my trumpeter KT and wanted to join the forum.
Thanks James for the review. Very well done.
As for the flexible hoses and what glue works, the stuff is rubber and I used CA on a couple of bits cut from the sprue and it works very well on this rubber material.
Plus the CA is very good with the PE parts in the kit.
A bit bummed with some of the pin marks, no armor plate cover for the rear vent hole, no dials for the driver… and wish that Trumpeter had not made the muzzle brake, MG ball, and gun tube shroud in two parts just for the “seam” sake. But very happy with the kit over all. I mean even the driver’s seat raises and lowers…
(question, anyone have a good picture of the control panel gages on a Tiger II)
Welcome to the forum Yoxford and the kind words about my review of this big cat.
I must confess to hating CA. But 'm going to have to use it!!!
No kit is perfect and I did note on the abundence of pin marks. They do take extra work to get rid of and most - but not all - will be hidden on this kit. I did remark on the lack of decals for the driver ( I think). It’s easy to get round the seams for the muzzle brake, MG ball and gun tube shroud. You just have to be very very careful when putting them together and be very good with a sharp knife.
I’ll be interested to see your progress on this big cat on the forum
James
hey yoxford[:)] as far as the dials go, aren’t items 8 and 9 on the decal sheet with the stenciling for the shell casings them? in James earlier pics (on page 4 here) he shows the decals and it looks very clearly to me that those are the drivers gauges? pleas ,let me know.—tread[8D] save to my pictures and enlarge
