Tiger Headlight Restoration

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 07:25 PM

Firstly, I received some bits from a destroyed Panzer front headlight..

Panzer Headlight & Parts
Panzer Headlight cover
Bosch Armoured glass

Got them all together in a box... and sent them off to be cleaned and some TLC

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 10-07-2016 07:25 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 07:34 PM

The main rusty parts were given a Electronic cleaning, Electrolysis I believe

The other parts were given a "Dry Run" to make sure they were the correct fit..

Getting the Bosch Armoured glass was a nightmare

The rubbers were too damaged and out of shape, so were kept to make templates

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 07:39 PM

All the parts now shown nice and clean, we could now see the poor state of this lovely headlight after being in the ground for Seventy odd years.

The parts were put together to see what was needed to complete the restoration.

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 07:47 PM

I wanted to try and get this superb artifact working again, I think it will be well worth it.

Different parts where acquired from all over Europe.

Some of the very rare pieces were impossible to find, so, other parts were adapted to fit inside the light.

It looked so much better after the clean up

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 07:54 PM

Next Stage, was putting it back together with new screws and giving it a coat of paint.

A new base had to be made, the original housing is impossible to find.

So, another Panzer part was adapted to take on the Headlight.

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 08:00 PM

I wanted desperately to see if we could light it up?

New Electronic parts were added, and it lit up first time around

It was beyond any thing that I could imagine at the start of this project.

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 08:04 PM

Now to get it painted properly and add it's front cover..

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 08:11 PM

So we now see it as a every day Lamp, to be used once again after all those years in the ground.

The out come is wonderful and I'm delighted with it.

It's still a bit fragile, but the metal is still strong, no more rust!

It was quite a hard job getting the parts, some were impossible to find.

This Headlight came from a Tiger kill, in Latvia and other Tiger parts were found with it, confirming it as a Tiger.

**The Devil's Bank** · 10-07-2016, 08:20 PM

So, from this, to this..

The camouflage pattern probably isn't every body's cup of Tea, but it does show the Head Light off really well.

Some completely untouched examples are going between £1500 - £2000

Mine never cost a quarter of that, Mine was on a Tiger, that was destroyed in battle.