Wheels & Tracks
The wheels were assembled, pretty straightforward, there’s just lots of them. I had noticed in some of the reference pics that some Tigers had the odd missing wheel here and there. I thought this would add a bit of interest, and as the Voyager Model detail set included some resin wheel hubs I decided to leave off a couple of wheels with just the hubs on show.
The tracks were individual metal links from Friulmodel. These tracks are simply superb. Very realistic and perfectly cast from soft(ish) white metal. They need to be individually pinned together using the supplied brass wire. As there are about a hundred links per side, it’s a very time consuming process but ultimately worth it for that perfect look.
The completed track lengths were then sprayed with a gun metal colour and a wash was added using AK Interactive Track Wash. They were then weathered using the same method described for the hull. Pigments mixed with flat varnish and just splatted on (more mess!)
Before the pigment/varnish mix fully dries, the track surface is wiped clean to expose the metal colour underneath.
Once the wheels, resin hubs & tracks were fitted to the vehicle, this completed the build.
For a finishing touch, I hung some German helmets off the turret and a metal bucket off the rear.
Conclusion
This is the first time I have tried to make something so dirty and muddy. I think it turned out OK and was pretty happy with the results. Took a while to clean up all the pigments I had spread all over my work bench though…!
Chris E.
Gallery
Below are a series of images of the completed model. Click on a thumbnail to see the enlarged image.
