1st Large Scale, 1st RC, "Finish"

[DPStanks]

Getting back into the hobby trying to escape my mildly impaired vision and fingertips proved to be well worth this mostly relaxing approach.  Although the same aspects that lend to the "ease" of working in larger scale, as I'm sure you guys know, make every result more apparent to the critical eye.  Pulling apart the HL 1/16th Tiger 1 was an empowering education accompanied by the many online references to technique and upgrade.  My Tiger is now complete save for an improved smoke unit, speaker, and powerpack, a general redo of markings, and a mildly darkening "filter," as I approach this finishing technique new to me.  My camouflage striping is simply a crumped tape application of Model Master Light Sea Grey on the supplied panzer grey finish.  I dry brushed with Floquil Railroad Colors F110083 (or "mud" I think) after a bit of silver highlighting on worn metal.  A simple flat black over coating of the bare metal tracks gave the expected satisfying result after running on the concrete breezeway the following morning.  My pictures display my attempt at the kit supplied markings that certainly would have benefited from their placement on a gloss underlayment, but the grandkids and I were ready to get things moving (such are excuses).  Actually, trimming the transparent sheet from around the image on the crosses and then covering with Model Master flat finish gave the crosses a reasonable effect but this was not practical for the turret numbers, and the flat finish I think only made their transparent adhesive carrier sheet even more apparent.  The kit supplied "3181" was trimmed to "381," the three digit system more familiar to me, although I don't believe any heavy tank companies had eight platoons, in my limited study.  I cropped the cross by the hull m.g. about  3/16ths on the ends.  This looked more realistic and probably should have done this for all used.  I don't know where this, my new forum, comes down on RC vs. static display modeling but, the smoke unit made disagreeable (loud) noise, and when I discovered I could inexpensively replace it with one more quiet and proportional to the engine power supplied, I opted for this, that and a fuller range sound effect speaker remain to be received and applied.  The 7.2v, 1700mAh NiCD battery just ain't gettin' it!  I've ordered a replacement 3000mAh NiMH and smart charger.  I'll probably replace  the Airsoft bb shooting main gun with one that depicts actual barrel recoil and muzzle flash.  The bb gun is more fun that it is realistically depicting of the mighty 88 and if I'm grinding around with the kids there's just less potential for regret.  This upgrade is a bit costly though, such as I've yet found.

This was fun, and I can expect that it will continue to be so with upgrades and repairs(?). I know that there are sets of this genre' more costly and presumably of higher quality but I found my Heng Long Tiger quite satisfying in my inexpert approach. Sorry for the rushed images. This whole event is education for me. I pray I remain teachable.

 

 

  

 

[JeroenPeters]

Thats a beast! Great work.

Now for some action photo's??

 

Cheers,

Jeroen

[efrick]

Thats a beast! Great work.

Now for some action photo's??

 

Cheers,

Jeroen

I second the motion! Let's see a Tiger on the move!

 

Beautiful work!

[Dave J]

Great Stuff! Totally agree! Lets see it in action!

[Jamme]

Really beautiful!

Like Jeroen Rick and Dave........

Pictures on the move.

Congrats,

Jamme

[One-Oh-Four]

Impressive model! I hope you'll post some videos of it on YouTube or similar!

 

Cheers,

Erik.

[DPStanks]

The kind comments are empowering. I honestly don't have the technology for moving pictures at the moment -maybe my next upgrade. I upgraded the speaker and ended up having to mount it in the turret. I removed the Airsoft unit (and so lost the gun elevation). I also upgraded the noisy smoke unit with two (one at a time) that, when running, are much quieter and realistically (I guess) rhythmic. They both require push starting, however, and won't run at the prompt of the switch. A 3000mAh battery improved general performance but not this. So like much else of the world today, my Tiger is currently smokeless.

Yeah, some headaches in my intro to RCing. I'm still looking forward to more with this relatively inexpensive jaunt out of static display, but my next project is the Dragon 1/6th "SAS 4X4 Desert Raider" (Willys Jeep), that I intend to build still as the night!