Early Tiger 1 from sPzAbt 503

[cahlfors]

Thanks, Robert, for the kind words!

If you want to see it and other 1/6th models built to higher standards than mine, I recommend the Arsenalen hobby weekend in the spring.

After first wire brushing the bin and not being quite happy with the results - it came out with rather uneven finish - I decided to have a go at using a polishing wheel just a little to smooth out the unevenness and ooops! I did it again!
Looking up between the exhaust stacks:


Seen from a "bridge":


From a better photographic angle:


That pretty much concludes the bin project, although I should have a go at fitting the rubber seals in the hatches. I suspect they will make it impossible to close the hatches, but I have to try at least.

I hope you have seen how fun it is to work in brass - at least when the parts are pre-made to fit.

Thanks for following the bin project! It will probably be a while until I have decided on what to tackle next.

/Chris

[mrTyko]

It has been a pleasure to follow this project


Robert

[Chris Quick]

Great bin you have Chris!!!!

Best regards,
Chris

[Kent W]

Very nice Chris, well done!
The bin look awesome as do the rest of your Tiger.
One can spot you have a history building miniature brass trains.
Those skills and steady hands is still there even in this huge 1:6th scale.
Keep the photos coming.

Kind regards
Kent

[cahlfors]

Thanks guys!

Much appreciated!

/Chris

[Björn Johansson]

Hi Chris
Long time no hear

What a beautiful storage bin you made!

Its great fun to see it all polished up, man
you´r Tiger beats the best Hot Rod out there

[cahlfors]

Thanks, Björn!

Good to hear from you!

/Christoffer

[cahlfors]

There has been constant activity in the workshop. There just has not been any results...
I finally had a go at the smoker again. This time I had a design that would route the airflow either through the smoke chamber or past it and thereby be able to control the flow of smoke instantaneously with a servo. It did not work as intended, but I learned a couple of things that I might use later on. The easy way out to get reasonably working smoke, was to remove the mechanical gear and just have the smoke chamber always open.

We finally had some winter here and I thought it would be a great opportunity to test. You will notice that there is very little smoke on idle, but quite some when throttling up. After a while, at least. Almost so much that the tank disappears behind the smoke barrier. Maybe a bit much this time...





The clips were taken last Saturday. I left it out overnight, expecting to continue the next day, but I got a bad cold and the tiger has been sitting outdoors since then. It will be exciting to see if it starts as dependably as usual, when I'm back on my feet.

Til then,
/Chris

[mrTyko]

It is simply beautiful
But leave it outdoors!
I would take it in every night and snuggle with it

Robert

[cahlfors]

Thanks Robert!

A cold start is nothing for a tiger! I wish I had filmed it - plenty of smoke, ha ha!

Anyway, I got out today to bring it back inside again and took these videos on the journey back to the barracks.




In this vid, there is a slight tendency to rock when starting and stopping violently and I think it adds greatly to the realism. I have been checking parts for a rocking system, inspired by a fellow I met, who was working with industrial automation systems. Gonna cost and add horribly to the complexity, but isn't that what a hobby is all about?


Crossing a line of bricks from last summer in the snow:


A taller line of bricks. The snow evens things out, so the difficult obstacles from the summer can be passed without too much care:


Crossing a bridge. The near ramp is so steep, the tiger could not make it up earlier, but down is ok. You can see that it skids a little on the way down. Skidding down a slope sideways is something you really don't want to do! Maybe I will modify the ramps to improve traction some day.


Almost back at the gara...er.. barracks. Notice how the idlers collect snow when turning and how they clear themselves - no problem.


There was unusually little snow in the running gear this time. However, as usual, a lot more things on the floor got soaked than I expected from the melting snow - I'll never learn!

Thanks for joining the trip!

/Chris

[mrTyko]

It is simply wonderful

I'm just so jealous
Thank you for sharing

Robert

[Chris Quick]

Great !!

[cahlfors]

Hi again fellas!

You probably thought that I had lost interest or something, but nothing could be more wrong!
As some of you know, I have ruined so many sound cards, receivers and smoke modules that I have lost count. The reason is temporary wiring and overfilled electronics boxes. So the pledge for this year has been to tidy up the electrical installation to put an end to the unreliability.

To begin with, I have rearranged things a little bit, which has made it possible to shorten some of the power wires. Secondly, to free up some space, I have decided to replace the relays, so out they went. Here is a bunch that I though was the whole, but realized afterwards that I had missed about as much more that I put in another pile...


Meanwhile, I have learned something about MOSFETs, which would be the replacement. In the old days, when I first came in contact with them, they were so sensitive that you could not touch them without destroying them, so what I learned was to just stay away from them. These days, though, they are equipped with protective circuitry so they can be handled like any electronics and they are quite useful. One MOSFET costs about a dollar and replaces a single pole, single throw relay, so I got a couple of bags. And, better, the Brixl radio has pulse width modulation (PWM) outputs, so the MOSFETs can also be used as dimmers or rpm regulators. Now, that's nice!

Here is the resulting circuitry:


I can now control the smoke volume for idle and running from the transmitter, depending on the weather, lighting circumstances, indoor running (at exhibitions...) etc.

At full smoke, it will draw 4A@24V, which is pretty much 96W! I have spent a lot of money on the ridiculously many smokers and an incredible amount of time to get plenty of smoke, and think I have the needed capacity now. A little too much is about right! I can always turn it down...

I have totally ran out of smoke jokes in previous posts , so this time I will just say: Thanks for reading!

/Chris

[mrTyko]

Tidy work there.

Robert

[cahlfors]

Thanks Robert!

I guess it doesn't look like much, but it's a lot tidier than the old system with relays hanging in the wires all over the place.

Here is my latest project that I've been working on, on and off, for the past two years. Finally, it's beginning to look like something!


The final installation is supposed to look something like this:


It worked well on the left side, but there is not enough room on the right side, so I'll have to think of something. The fans are supposed to turn, but my idea to connect the 12V motors in series just didn't work. One is always turning slightly faster, and it takes over more and more until the other stops. Will have to think of something else there, too! Something involving MOSFETs, perhaps?

So long, fans! ;-)

/Chris