1:35 SD.Kfz.181 TIGER I

Interleaved wheels are the dread of modelers

The Tiger I had its suspension arranged so that the discs on each side overlapped one another in three rows. It gave the designers an even distribution of the weight of a machine of almost fifty-five tons, gave the crews on the Eastern Front frozen mud between the wheels, and gives modelers a task that in 1:35 scale runs to dozens of separate discs. Each of them has a rubber tire around its rim that has to be set apart from the green or sand finish.

What die-cut film does about it

Outlining the tires by hand on that many wheels is an evening's work and the inaccuracies add up precisely where the wheels are most visible, that is in the outer row. Circular masks let all the discs be applied and sprayed at once. The edge then comes out the same even on those a brush can barely reach.

Set contents

• circular masks for the rubber tires of the suspension discs
• two sets of masks for the national insignia and turret markings
• die-cut shapes that are transferred from the carrier layer
• suitable for a single-color as well as a multi-color finish

The last step deserves attention: the masks should be taken off the interleaved wheels gradually, not once the whole suspension is assembled. As soon as the discs are fitted to the axles, neither fingers nor tweezers reach the inner row properly and the remaining film stays there for good. Anyone building a Tiger for the first time should number the wheels in order according to the drawing in the kit.