Introduced by the Germans in 1944, this variant of the Tiger 1 had the revised steel road wheels. A necessary modification as rubber for the tyres was at this stage in the war in very short supply. Armortek introduced this model in 2007.
Originally built by the late Mr John Edwards, the model had not been run for several years. In November 2024 Mr. Edward’s widow decided it was time to find the model a good home which is where I came in!
As originally built the model had the blank firing main gun which was an interesting concept to say the least! The unit added considerably to the weight of the turret, but more importantly the legality of the ‘weapon’ was questionable. There was no recoil for the barrel. Immediately on purchase the firing pin was removed & put in the bin. The rest of the unit was consigned to the scrap yard as soon as I got the model home. The instructions & associated disclaimer from Armortek make interesting reading. Geometrotec ceased trading in 2017.
Entering my workshop in November 2024 a thorough inspection, consultations with my Tiger expert (thank you Chris) and a foray through the Armortek forum it became apparent the model could do with a complete makeover. These enquiries indicated the original model detail was ‘ok’, but one or two glaring errors could be corrected. Mr Edwards did a fine job, but standing idle in a garage hadn’t done the mechanics or paintwork any good.
Modifications were:
1) Correcting the level of the rear engine deck.
2) Moving the air intake
3) Replacing the barrel elevation worm drive with the system used on the Panther & Pershing.
4) Replacing the commander’s cupola with the one the DID Corp. supply with their Panther diorama. https://www.did.co/product/e60077/. This gave me the MG 34 & mount too.
5) Add interior detail to the loaders hatch.
6) Replace the ventilator at the front with a more scale one.
7) Purchase from East Coast Armory the rear bin. This was more detailed & saved 1.5kg in weight!
8) Add Zimmerit & camouflage to represent one that had served in Normandy after D-Day. I chose Tiger 222 as depicted on page 109 of the book ‘Tiger 1 on the Western front’ by Jean Restayn.
9) Updated the Benedini sound system to his TBS mini. http://www.benedini.de/TBSMini_13_E.pdf
10) Added movement to the machine gun.
11) Recoil to the main gun.
12) Rebuilt the turret glacis trunnions & bearings as they were too loose meaning it ‘galled’ & jammed during elevation or depression.
The electronics, although now superseded by digital, work well & I reworked the set up. I quite like to hear the relays clicking away! I did add an ‘at battery’ fuse plus a 100 amp on/off switch, battery life indicator & voltmeter. At the rear I added an additional internal deck to which I fixed the speakers (second one added), main power board etc. All decking can be very quickly removed for ease of access.
Mechanically it required a good clean, lubrication & reassembly. The only defect I had to resolve was to the left-hand drive sprocket where the taper lock bearing seemed to have chewed the threads in the sprocket. These I recut which was an interesting exercise in machining a suitable blank in order to tap the holes. You can’t thread half a hole!
One modification was to adapt the cover over the Snorkel to become the filler for the smoke unit. First I had to repair the hinge. This had broken due to a badly fitting casting not closing properly thus forcing the hinge. Judicious filing soon rectified the error and a suitable copper pipe / silicon hose completed the connection to the fluid tank.
The project took me four months & was very enjoyable. I fitted a plaque inside the turret in memory of John Edwards, the original builder.
This YouTube slide show illustrates the level of work undertaken.