I'm interested in possibly converting Tamiya's 1/16 Early Tiger I to a Late Tiger I. I know I will have to replace the cupola and move a light to the middle of the front while omiting the other one. What else would I have to do and are the parts available to do this? I am considering attempting a 1/16 diorama of a Late Tiger in the future. Before I start looking for the kit, I would like to know if the stuff is available to do so.

While superfically similar, you will have to rework or replace nearly every detail.

The turret shell itself is slightly different in detail and shape around the front overhang.

The turret roof is different in construction and details like the sight. The loaders hatch opening and hatch are different. Obviously the cupola is different.

The gun mantlet is different and the gun can have a different muzzle brake.

The engine deck details are a bit different as are the exhaust stacks. Fittings on the back of the hull are different, as are many of the tools and their locations.

The hull side extensions that form the tow hooks front and back are a different shape.

Late tanks have one head light, no Pfiel filters, no smoke bomb launchers.

The roadwheels are different. I think also the idler wheel and sprocket will have different details.

The tracks are not the same.

I've heard of them but I've never actually seen one. Would it be easier to convert an early Tiger to a mid Tiger?

You would have to make most of the same changes aside from the wheels....

Mids had other details too like a gun travel lock on the rear hull.

This is a February '43 Tiger, you'd be shoving it forwards to July at least. Any later and you'd be adding Zimmerit.

It would need:

Rear deck plate reworked to have this triangular cover added and the hook moved:


New loader's periscope added to turret;

New cupola for turret (where will you get THAT?);

7 track link holders added to turret sides;

Changed hub covers for sprocket wheels;

Support legs moved on engine hatch;

Adapter plate modified with an added hole;


Fender frames removed from rear wall;

Smoke launchers removed from turret;

Turret chin altered;

Large pistol port removed from turret and replaced with a plug;

Escape hatch altered to fill in the bevelled edges;

Bolts removed from beside hull MG;

Ventilator moved to center of turret roof.

David

Along with being increadibly expensive, I can't find the stuff I would need to make the diorama. The Tiger was going to be a mid or late production version of the Tiger I'm currently working on. It was going to be situated halfway out of a bombed out building. It was to be surrounded by the brick wall with bricks on it and in the street in front of it. I can't find any bricks or brick walls in 1/16 scale. I know I could make them but that would be a lot of bricks and I just don't have the patience to make that many bricks. I don't know if I could find the stuff for a cobblestone street in 1/16 either. I may go with AFV Club's 1/35 Late Tiger and use Italeri's brick walls.

By the way, were there any Tigers with the unit numbers T51 or T52?