Tamiya 1/35 Scale Panzerkamfwagen VI Tiger I (Early Production)

I bought this model at a garage sale for $1.50. The box was crushed and water damaged, most of the parts had been twisted off the sprues and hand painted some sort of grey color that was nowhere near anything painted on a WWII German Tiger tank. I usually build AC models so my goal was to have fun building a stock armor model sans the “minutia” that can sometimes bog down a project. The only number decals left in the kit were were for an all grey tank (#332 of sPz Abt 503) that served in Russia in the summer of 1943. Well, I didn't want an all grey tank! So I painted it an overall dark yellow with olive green disruptive pattern, as per the instruction sheet, that was correct for machine S33 of the 2nd Elite Panzer division, 8th Army that fought at the battle of Kursk in 1943. The main body of the model was painted with MM panzer dark yellow overall with olive green disruptive pattern applied randomly as depicted in the instructions. The tracks were painted Floquil red oxide then dry brushed with MM steel metalizer paint followed by a burnt umber wash. Following basic painting, the main body was given a light dry brushing with the dark yellow; chipping was done with MM steel metalizer paint and a graphite pencil. Next the entire model was given a coat of Future with acrylic burnt umber added. Decals were applied and sealed with another coat of Future/burnt umber mix. The final paint coat was a combination of acrylic flat with a few drops of dust added. The final weathering is fairly light as I'm not big on totally grungy finishes. Over-all this amour project was pleasant stress free build that was a welcome departure from my normal modeling focus.

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.