Bryans' Trumpeter King Tiger 1:16 (2 in 1)

[monica]

this is turning out real well,Bryan,like what your doing,

[Guest]

Thanks guys, your comments - and compliments - are genuinely very much appreciated! I've seen far more professional builds of this same kit, but no one has more enthuisiasm I assure you! I'm very much enjoying doing the build - and the thread Robert, so thank you.

[Guest]

The build continues apace; the lower hull interior smaller pieces went in, including the checker plate floor tread which I didn’t fit as well as I would have liked, but which I made up for by nicely weathering - using the kitchen foil technique.

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The radio had been previously built and was now positioned. There are meant to be decals positioned for the dials and so on, but I couldn’t find any of the bigger ones in the kit (though I’ve no doubt it was me that misplaced them), and the smaller ones are just too tiny for me to work with! (I’m old enough to remember when “decals” were called “transfers” - back in the day).

I would have loved to have constructed a proper framework around the radio kit, but without proper direction it was a little beyond me. The original is actually suspended from above within a framework, Trumpeter cheated somewhat here, to make it easier. It’s worth pointing out on my previous and first tank build, the Medium German tank, also by Trumpeter, they did position the radio as it was originally built, and it was the most awkward piece of the kit, not only to construct (out of the hated photo etched pieces), but to be fitted.

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But my piece de resistance I consider to be the rear panel assembly. I’m sure I’ve overdone the weathering, but I love it. My proposed colour scheme now reveals itself; a white “winter camouflage” which consists of a rough coat of white painted over the base colour green, this was common practice on the real thing; factory painted camouflage hastily and badly painted over when the vehicles were shipped to the wintery Russian front. Obviously it weathered very quickly under such circumstances – although possibly not as quickly as mine has! I hope I can duplicate the quality of weathering elsewhere when the time comes.

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I’ve an admission to make here; so obsessed was I working on the weathering of the rear panel, I totally forgot about the Zimmerit coating on the vehicle generally, until it was too late. No mention is made of it in the manual, although I was perfectly aware of the option to use it that one has. In my case it will now not be used. I wasn’t relishing the idea anyway.

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I omitted several items that were intended to be fitted on the rear panel assembly, notably the huge tank jack which is meant to be suspended for transport at the bottom of the panel. It just looked wrong. I’ll find somewhere else for it.

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The upper hull brackets were positioned, prior to the next job; constructing and fitting the ammunition racks, which frankly look boring to make, but no doubt not as boring as cutting out and cleaning up all the shells to go within them! There’s tiny decals intended to go on each shell as well…