Quick update on current projects

Taking on a temporary work contract really put the breaks on my model making, but with the contract fulfilled it's time to get back to the real work!

So, here's a quick update on what's going on at the moment...

• Zvezda 1/100 M3 Stuart - Number 2
This is the second of these diddy little tanks for my TANKS! game (early Pacific scenario). It'll end up with the same ad hoc 'mud camo' as the first, ready to hunt Nips!

• Zvezda 1/100 Tiger I
And for my TANKS! Battle of Kursk scenario I am adding the formidable Tiger I model which I have gotten to the weathering stage. It's a bit of a dirty kitty!

This'll compliment my Elefant for the planned game, and I will be adding a couple of Panzer IVs to finish off the German force.

Zvezda 1/100 Tiger I - Part 2

Before I got down to priming the model I decided to have a go at drilling out the model's muzzle break as that feature (or rather lack of feature) is the one major gripe I have with this kit. The tracks are a bit oversimplified as well, but I can live with them as this is pretty standard for Zvezda.

Anyway, muzzle improvement done, I primed the Tiger with Flames of War's 'Panther Yellow'...

I was really pleased with how this primer goes on, for a rattle can it lays down quite a thin and smooth coat. That said, i'll be glad when I have an airbrush again as it's a lot more cost effective than the Flames of War spray can at £7.50 a pop.

Tiger Stripes?
OK, now what camo scheme? Since this Tiger is intended for my planned 'Battle of Kursk' GF9 TANKS game, it won't be one of the more familiar post-D-Day 3-colour patterns (or popular 'Ambush' pattern). I want a pattern that's specifically not D-Day-ish.

Something like this...

And NOT because it's Michael Wittmann's tank, by the way! I just fancy a simpler 'tiger stripe' pattern...Because, it's a tiger! (I won't go as far as making it black and orange though.) Here's another example of green 'stripes'...

The only issue, if you can call it that, is that I will be using a brush to apply these stripes, whereas it would normally be tempting to reach for an airbrush for these stripes. However, the second example I have (above) looks like it is hard-edged, so a brush should be perfectly fine.

Finally, my choice of green will be Vallejo's German Cam. Dark Green [979].

Keeping Track
I'd like to get the tracks out the way before I launch into the hull painting. With this Tiger - as it is for a 'Russian Front' game - I want to produce a similar reddish coloured mud effect that I did for my recent 'Ferdinand' (which is for the same game). I may be wrong but I equate the eastern front with a redder mud, I admit this may just be my false impression (as I guess mud is mud really).

I used Vallejo pigments for my Ferdinand's tracks but I am trying something different this time and I'm following a tutorial from the Flames of War website called: 'Changing A Tiger's Stripes'.

Not the tidiest job - those road wheel edges were a nightmare - but it should
all smooth out once I apply a wash. I'm still not sure about starting with a
brown base for tracks, but let's see how it turns out.

The Zvezda tracks are very simple 'slats' and this is where - as mentioned previously - where Battlefront's (and possibly the 15mm models of the Plastic Soldier Company) have the advantage in the level of detail. How much this will mean if you are primarily a gamer and not a modeller is something each buyer will have to decide for themselves...I had my gamer hat on when I bought this.

The Tiger Onesie!
Back to camouflage now and the striped scheme should be, technically, a pretty simple pattern to reproduce. I'm not a confident freehand painter but in this case sketching out the pattern lightly using a pencil seems a little unnecessary, so I'm jumping straight in with a slightly random pattern...

Next: Hopefully this Tiger will have all its stripes and I can move on to the decals!

Zvezda 1/100 Tiger I

Another quick weekend project, this time the mighty Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger for my Kursk scenario (and another M3 Stuart for my Pacific Tanks game scenario project). This is Zvezda's 1/100 scale Tiger I and like all Zvezda's models in it's 'Art of Tactic' series it's detail is simplified as it is intended as a gaming piece.

I won't go through the construction as it will probably take longer for me to type out the process than it actually took me to put the kit together (there were only 12 component parts). Instead, here's a picture of the instructions which tells you all you need to know...

Once again, Zvezda's 1/100 kits are a bit more
complicated than they perhaps should be because
they are 'snap together'.

I've done a few of these Zvezda 1/100 kits now - and, indeed, made a second example of their M3 Stuart while I was making this Tiger - and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed in this take on the legendary 'big cat'.

It's not a horrendous and neither is it hard to put together - in fact, the fit quality is very good - but the combination of Zvezda's usual oversimplified tracks together with a turret with a prominent moulding seam (and an awful mussel break).

In short, it's my least favourite Zvezda so far...

Muzzle break, what muzzle break? (And, oh, isn't the Stuart small!)

Zvezda's Tiger is a bit soft looking and although it's a small thing that excuse for a muzzle break really spoils the infamous '88'. That said, there is some nice detail on the engine deck, it's just a shame that they didn't carry that on to the turret and the tracks.

A nice level of detail on the Tiger's engine deck. Tow cables
are moulded on, but at this scale that is more usual.

Still, it is a wargame model and meant to be seen at tabletop distance, so let's see how she paints up.

Note price: Zvezda 1/100 models are usually very competitively priced - I just bought one of their mighty KV-1s for just £3.50 - but the Tiger I is one of their more expensive kits, at £6.50. Now, this negates the advantage of buying Zvezda's kits instead of the official Galeforce 9 (Battlefront) ones. The Galeforce Tiger I is exactly the same price. I only bought the Zvezda version because my local model shop had it (so I benefitted from not having to pay shipping). But at this price level Zvezda has less of an advantage over the Galeforce 9 kits (which are generally better quality anyway).