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Jimmy Zed
20 articles

1/35 Tamiya Tiger I. The beginning of the learning curve.

August 14, 2019 · in Armor · · 16 · 2.4K

For years i had wanted to get back into modelling, so finally, in June 2018 and 30 years after finishing a very rushed Victor K2 at the age of about 13 that ended up in the cracker pit i decided i would try my hand again. I had little idea where to start and a lot of trepidation even starting as the modelling game really is in top form these days.

Type in I or any other model kit and you are met with such perfect looking specimens that you would swear they are real. This makes it quite challenging for a beginner, which i still consider myself, as we do like to compare what we have done against other builds. The big difference from 30 years ago is instant tutorials. Videos, reviews, step by step builds, painting, weathering, anything you can think of and you can learn and attempt it. So i thought, lets do this, and thus i walked out of my local toy store with a 1/35th Tamiya Tiger I, a bunch of 10ml paint bottles of various boring tank colours, a couple of rattle cans of Tamiya grey, a cheap modelling knife, some brushes and glue.

At this stage i did not know about magic products like Tamiya thin cement and decal softeners or that you should clear coat before decalling and a matte coat after. This really was a total learning build and also a build that made me decide i needed more kits in my life.

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

15 additional images. Click to enlarge.


16 responses

  1. Hey Jimmy - greetings from The Gold Coast. Great job on the Tiger! Enjoyed the figure, too! Looking forward to your next one!

  2. Good lookin' build, Jimmy...nice work.

  3. terrific like everything you do

  4. Outstanding Panzer, Jimmy!

  5. That looks great by any standards. Good you are back. Tamiya can't be beat for ease of assembly.

  6. A great-looking Tiger. I think my wife would bemoan the "I think I need more kits in my life" sentiment...she's kinda aghast at my closet(s)...

  7. Great work, Jimmy. I understand your airbrush problems since I live in south central Texas where the temperature and the humidity race every summer day to see who gets to 100 first. Keep the builds coming!

    • Sounds like my type of state George, i'd love to get to Texas one day. Had a mate do a week there last year and he loved it!

      Over here I just keep thinning 'til she sprays and lays nice and spray more coats. I'll take the heat and humidity over winters any day off the week!

  8. Looking fab, Jimmy! Good you are modeling again and thanks for sharing your results with us!

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