SPA Modeler

The Bf109G-5 was losing mojo so I thought I would skip over to another side project that didn’t present any real obstacles and had a lengthy lead time. Each year (for the last three anyway) my club has instituted a “Panzer Tracks” competition as part of the NSW Scale Model show in May. This year it is the Tamiya 1/48 Tiger family. More details can be found here: http://ipmamodels.net/IPMA-Events.html

I haven’t settled on a final scheme yet but it is likely to be one of Wittman’s late Tigers. So here are the first few shots:















The AA MG34 got a new barrel:



The kit is incorrect in that the binocular gun sight was replaced with a monocular one so the two holes were filled with sprue rod and smoothed over. The single hole will be drilled after the Zimmerit is attached. The turret roof was thickened and stood proud 15mm from the turret sides. I thinned the turret roof edges to give it a more scale appearance:





There should also be jib mounts on the roof of the turret as indicated in red here:



I will only add the Commander figure, so all the other hatches have been closed. It is now ready for the application of the Zimmerit stickers from Tamiya:



Regards,

Those Tamiya 1/48 Armor kits are great. They practically fall together, and are just what one needs to recharge the modeling mojo batteries.

speedgraflex wrote:Subscribed! Kent, is the Zimmerit paper pre-cut or do you have to cut out the sections. I am unable to tell. The detailing looks exquisite!

To be 100% honest, I am learning on the fly. I have googled them and they appear to be peel and stick that you have to cut out (the lines are printed). One source suggested cutting a little on the big side, coating the plastic with alight detergent/water (5/95) mix so you can get the sticker in the exact position then gently squeegee the water out. Once totally dry, trim the excess. It sounds plausible but I have to do more research.

Regards,

Stikpusher wrote:Those Tamiya 1/48 Armor kits are great. They practically fall together, and are just what one needs to recharge the modeling mojo batteries.

They are sublime litttle units, the fit is.....Tamiya like! I have added some others to the stash for modelling mojo emergencies!

Regards,

Very nice Kent. I'm always leery of peel and stick items from a longevity stand point. Do these have some strong adhesive or are they low tack? I noticed those four metallic sections in the hull of the tank. I'm assuming that is for weight?

kahunaminor wrote:

Stikpusher wrote:Those Tamiya 1/48 Armor kits are great. They practically fall together, and are just what one needs to recharge the modeling mojo batteries.

They are sublime litttle units, the fit is.....Tamiya like! I have added some others to the stash for modelling mojo emergencies!

Regards,

Right! I loved the 48th Panther G of theirs that I built. I don’t want to start a new collection of AFVs in that scale. But I am buying the wheeled stuff of theirs that works as airfield support stuff to pose with aircraft. Seeing how that is my primary scale for aircraft.

I am curious to see how the stick on zimmerit turns out. They make that for their 1/35 kits also.

mustang1989 wrote:Very nice Kent. I'm always leery of peel and stick items from a longevity stand point. Do these have some strong adhesive or are they low tack? I noticed those four metallic sections in the hull of the tank. I'm assuming that is for weight?

I have similar concerns about longevity but we shall see. They are indeed weights. The earlier kits, like the Pzkpfw IV I did a couple of years ago had a full cast lower hull. The weights are a cost saving measure I assume.

Regards,

kahunaminor wrote:

mustang1989 wrote:Very nice Kent. I'm always leery of peel and stick items from a longevity stand point. Do these have some strong adhesive or are they low tack? I noticed those four metallic sections in the hull of the tank. I'm assuming that is for weight?

I have similar concerns about longevity but we shall see. They are indeed weights. The earlier kits, like the Pzkpfw IV I did a couple of years ago had a full cast lower hull. The weights are a cost saving measure I assume.

Regards,

Most of the YouTube tutorials I have viewed seem to use CA on the edges to ensure permanence and putty to blend the corners. Only one uses the water/detergent method and most dislike the fact that you have to cut out the detail areas such as mounting points and raised details. Stay tuned for more riveting details!

Regards,