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Tamiya 1/16 Tiger I - saved by the bell!

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Quite literally, and saved by Nigel!

I found this Tamiya Tiger I listed on eBay incorrectly and thought it worth a punt. Ended up winning the thing!

Upon collecting it I was a bit disappointed, looked a bit tatty, broken/snapped off bits in a plastic tub and home made zimmerit falling off.

Futaba radio good but missing battery cover, nothing major. Thought to myself, may as well move it on, don't want too much work.

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I get it home and start poking around - **** it's heavy! Metal tracks, and they look to be Kenny Kong or Impact. Result number one.

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Open her up and it's on great working order, sounds fine, batteries will most likely need replacing.

I happen to notice odd looking suspension, nothing like my old Tamiya Tiger I stuff.

Jump on the phone to Nigel, goes a bit like this:

"Don't sell it, that's Wecohe suspension and like hens teeth"

Result number two.

Waiting for some more time to strip and rebuild it and do her some justice.!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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You have found a thing of beauty. Those tracks and the Wecohe suspension really set it off. Congratulations on an absolute score.

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Selling the metal tracks, don't like metal tracks and they're wasted on me as this will be a shelf queen with the occasional regional meet indoors and on grass.

Now to find someone who wants a set of tracks :)

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Stripped most of the major components and revealed the suspension.

I think some of them are fixed at the wrong angle giving a lopsided ride.

Dmd and mf all seem in good condition and work well upon thorough testing [emoji12]

Now, do I remove the zimmerit or leave it on? It's done quite well, whole tank needs a repaint.

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Zimmerit close up, opinions welcome :D

It has had some damage applied to the zimm which looks ok.

Made my shopping list - makes the bargain a bit more expensive lol

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A really good find ! Can you work out what the zimmerit is made of and if it will keep deteriorating ? Personally it its stable I would repaint it, especially if you still don't want too much work. Even in rough shape it looks more the part than my plain grey Heng Long :P

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The Wecohe suspension is a nightmare to set up.

I originally used it in my King Tiger build but found it too fiddly. It also gets loose after some driving so you will find yourself having to empty the chassis out to re-tighten the springs. In the end I ditched it and went for an improved torsion bar set up I found which is exactly like the original, just softer and more progressive. 100% maintenance free.

If I were you I would sell the suspension but I would keep the tracks. Metal just sags and ages far better to plastic IMHO.

Re the Zim, I think it does look well done.

I guess it depends on whether you enjoy the painting and weathering part of the hobby. From the look of your Leopard, you know your way around an airbrush so if I were you I would keep the Zim but repaint it and convert the tank to a Mid and make it one of te Pz Abt 505 Tigers with the unpainted barrel and the spare links on the turret.

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Thanks for the comments guys :)

Yep, not quite sure what to do yet, I need a lot of detail parts so may as well buy a hobbyboss mid production to 'steal' some parts!

Going to fiddle with the suspension tonight and see what I can do.

Tracks I'm not keen on, heavy old buggars and would require additional reinforcing to stop twisting surely? Maybe that's why the suspension needs adjusting due to the weight.

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Tracks I'm not keen on, heavy old buggars and would require additional reinforcing to stop twisting surely? Maybe that's why the suspension needs adjusting due to the weight.

You wont need any upgrades to the Tiger 1 to handle metal tracks. It is the best of all the Tamiya chassis and both the gearboxes and chassis can handle the weight.

The tracks are also not sprung weight so would have no effect at all on the suspension.

I believe the Wecohe was originally designed for the Panther which is quite a lot lighter. It is also un-prototype in design which always annoyed me. Nothing wrong with old fashioned torsion bars in my mind.

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I think you're right, it's probably a bit too good for the tank.

I need to sit down and work out what to do with the tracks and suspension.

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And here lies the problem - must have been fitted by a chimp!

The swing arms are supposed to be under tension and two or three aren't... Hence why I thought it looked wonky!!

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Suspension all adjusted, pig of a job. Two hour strip down and rebuild.

Don't fancy doing that again in a hurry!!

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Suspension all adjusted, pig of a job. Two hour strip down and rebuild.

Don't fancy doing that again in a hurry!!

And that is why I sold mine on. Too clever for its own good!

Have you decided what to do about the Zim and paint?

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I think I'll keep the zimmerit and give it a nice new paint job once I've bought new parts for it.

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Looking through books and photos on the net I've found several early Tiger I with zimmerit, around October 1943, the only field modification done was relocation of the headlights to a single centre one.

So I'm doing Tiger #218 of pz abt 502.

I think... :D

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Think it was that issue of Tamiya Model Magazine that convinced my to buy a full option Tiger 1 😉 I still have the mag (sadly not the tank) but it's extremely well thumbed!

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Looking good mate, keep the tracks as they make it ride much better.

Here is mine [emoji16]

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Good looking Tiger James!

I will be most likely selling the metal tracks I think, got some plastics coming next week from a mate in the club.

Nick, it's a great issue, they don't make them like that anymore!!

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Deleted the Tigers smoke dischargers, shaded the kill marks off the barrel, ordered some spare parts (engine grills and new headlights) need to get some spare track links and brackets for the turret next.

White wash be going on in the next week or so.

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Bits turned up so I can move along a bit with the build.

Metal headlights to replace the missing ones.

Engine grills.

Scratch built a track holder for the front hull.

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It's amazing how a little bit of PE can transform the look of a model, it's a shame Tamiya don't include it with the kit given the pricing they set.

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Managed to bag another Tamiya Tiger I although minus dmd and speaker. This one is complete and in very good condition.

Not sure what to do now lol :D

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You ought to see a doctor about this strange addiction you have Adam! 😉

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