Border IJA tiger I 1/35.

[Ron2]

Started this kit tonight waiting for paint to dry. This is the best system I've built yet when it comes to axle arms lining up. Cant really screw it up. Nice detail on this kit.

 

[Ron2]

I realized I screwed these hatches up last night. Everything is glued solid I'm not going to be able to unglue and adjust. I must have gotten confused looking at the diagram and installed the hatches from the wrong side. I'll figure something out. Suggestions? I installed the hatches from the inside so they're a bit low.

 

[Jakko]

Oh, the driver and radio operator's hatches? I was looking at the engine deck to see what was wrong

Do you have the tools to make plastic card discs the diameter of the hatches? Because if you do, that's a relatively easy way out: those hatches are really just discs with a bevelled edge and a slight flat on one side, plus a blocky periscope guard on top. The hard part is making the discs, everything else is straightforward.

 

[Ron2]

Oh, the driver and radio operator's hatches? I was looking at the engine deck to see what was wrong

Do you have the tools to make plastic card discs the diameter of the hatches? Because if you do, that's a relatively easy way out: those hatches are really just discs with a bevelled edge and a slight flat on one side, plus a blocky periscope guard on top. The hard part is making the discs, everything else is straightforward.

Well that's what I was trying to figure out. There's tools to make discs? I was picturing me trying to free hand a circle and thought that would look awful. I can easily pop the scope out but I just couldn't figure out how to make perfect circle cuts.

 

[Jakko]

The number one tool for it is a lathe, of course Lacking one of those (or knowing someone who does), this is a good alternative:

… though rather expensive if you just need two discs There's also hollow punches like these:

(source)

… but they don't work well on plastic card, is my experience, especially not with the thickness you need for those Tiger hatches.

Using a compass cutter or a regular drawing compass is really a last resort, IMHO. It can be done, but it's difficult to do well. I usually draw spirals with a compass cutter instead of circles

Perhaps your best bet is to ask around if anyone has these hatches spare. For all I know, there's a Sturmtiger kit that also includes the regular Tiger's hatches?

 

[Ron2]

The number one tool for it is a lathe, of course Lacking one of those (or knowing someone who does), this is a good alternative:

… though rather expensive if you just need two discs There's also hollow punches like these:

(source)

… but they don't work well on plastic card, is my experience, especially not with the thickness you need for those Tiger hatches.

Using a compass cutter or a regular drawing compass is really a last resort, IMHO. It can be done, but it's difficult to do well. I usually draw spirals with a compass cutter instead of circles

Perhaps your best bet is to ask around if anyone has these hatches spare. For all I know, there's a Sturmtiger kit that also includes the regular Tiger's hatches?

I ordered a dspiae circle cutter. This should be a fairly straight forward fix. I'm learning to slow down and pay closer attention - can't believe I got confused with this one.

 

[Jakko]

I must admit it's one of the more unlikely mistakes I've seen made

 

[Ron2]

Some of these parts are ridiculously small. I spent 15 mins on this simply because my tweezers kept sending the part into oblivion and then I was searching for it. 14 mins searching 1 min building. It'll be nice detail provided I don't knock them off before I'm done. Need to order a wax pen.

 

[Jakko]

Cheaper and always-available solution: lick your finger and pick up the part that way

 

[Ron2]

Cheaper and always-available solution: lick your finger and pick up the part that way

Question. As is my habit I'm into the build so now I was searching for pics and imagine my surprise when I learned Japan never received this tank! So my question is, would this have been painted camouflage? I would think it would be sent to them with factory paint, im assuming panzer grey, and they would have painted the camo in Japan. The box directions call for camo.

 

[kevin]

The video doesn't answer your question about paint scheme, but its still interesting.

 

[Jakko]

imagine my surprise when I learned Japan never received this tank!

It's a straight-from-the-box what-if There was talk of Japan importing a Tiger and a Panther (IIRC) as well as the drawings etc. so they could make them, but that never happened.

Off the top of my head, Japan did own one Tiger, though. It was purchased by a Japanese delegation in Germany for the reason I mentioned above, but never left the country.

So my question is, would this have been painted camouflage?

That depends on how you view the tank. If you see it as a German-built machine exported to Japan for trials, it would almost certainly have left the factory in German paint. Not sure what timeframe of Tiger this particular model represents, but it could have been dark grey or dark yellow. OTOH, if you view it as a licence-produced tank, so made in Japan, it would almost certainly have had Japanese three-colour camouflage (which was a greenish tan, dark green and red-brown). And, of course, a trials tank in Japan would probably have been repainted in those as well, or at least in the greenish tan base colour.