Hi all,

just a quick visit to post pics of my Kingtiger full option, lots of additinal detailing and hand scuplted zimmeritt, in all 5 mnths work.

any comments welcome,

Cheers,

Stu

Great looking detailing.

What is that on the rear of the turret? Looks like something rolled up?

Very Nice work Stu. Now That looks like a Tank


Semper Fi!

A Beauty!!

Dennis

That tank looks amazing. [sm=thumbup.gif] It seems that it saw a lot of action....and war is hell.

Great job on the zimmeritt!

Jason

Nice tank! Are the wheels metal? What upgrades did you make?

Very well done, I want a KT aswell lol.

The rolled up item is meant to be a camo net, additional work included many metal parts such as track hanger brackets, mudflaps, a zinc metal commanders cupola replacing the old one, metal conical antennae, photo etched engine grilles and scale bolt heads. hand made steel real wire tow ropes, commanders blade sight, gas detection panel on gun mantlet, lifting lugs on armored exhaust covers, added weld beads and armor plate texturing, wire around gun mantlet bolts to stop them from loosening on the real thing, attention to detailing tool box and tools with careful painting, wire replacement hatch handles and tool box carrying handle.and much more ...

The commander is a great item from Forces of Valor Kingtiger (now sold separately)

i also added a hidden recharging jack for nicad battery, a hidden toggle on/off switch and i fitted an LED in the headlamp with 2 resistors going straight to the DMD.

A labour of love indeed, fancy a late war steel wheel Tiger 1 conversion next.

love looking at all the other work posted here, very inspiring stuff, makes me realise how far i have left to go before im happy with my work

the 3 tone paint is a generic late war scheme typical of KT's (i hope?) and i tried the new filtering techniques with general battle damage, scratches and wear and tear.

i think its important not to go too mad on KT battle damage as most saw action for just a few weeks if they were lucky!

Great work, thanks for sharing it with us!

More photos please, and some close-ups. This is one of the best KT's I've seen.

-Harq

That is one fine King Tiger, Stu.

The work on the zimmeritt is outstanding. And all those added details make it stand out. Just incredible!

panther44,
really great stuff. congratulations. i guess lots of time involved.

Ron, his kingtiger beat yours and mine!!

by the way, what brand is this?

The rolled up camo net is a great idea, thanks.

Your comments about too much battle damage made me think that perhaps I might have gotten a bit carried away on how much battle damage I put on my KT.

I think I'll make some repairs to make it look a bit less damaged. This should be fun -- I've wanted to try Bondo, so I'll see how it works.

Also, is there a good web site to research specific King Tigers, perhaps cross referencing the numbers on the tank turrets, tank unit identities, etc? Most of what I've found is in bits and pieces.

Thanks,

Thanks for all the kind words guys, dont think im deserving as there are many very talented modellers out there who far surpass anything i can do.

Cap n crunch 43 for instance, your KT looks so lifelike, if it was photographed with a wintery scenic backdrop i would think it was 100% the real thing, Awesome work!!!

just a quick note, the zimmerit was applied with a very cheap household product, known in the UK as "no more nails" used for fixing skirting boards and architrave around the home, i bought a tube for about $5 make certain its the Non-solvent variety or you'll have molten plastic on your hands! one tube did the entire tank.

i then got the serated blade out of a sticky parcel tape gun and fitted it into a wooden handle and "trowelled" throught the zimmeritt pattern, make certain to keep the blade clean by washing under a tap frequently.

As fo specific research material on Kingtiger tanks on the Web im not aware of any, the best referance material for these monsters are the books "Tigers in Combat" volume 1 and 2 by Wolfgang Schneider now available to purchase in paperback form . my copies are the hard to find hardbacks .
As for detail referance i used "schwere Panzer in detail" by Culver and Feist another excellant book.

will be working on a second hand Tamiya Tiger 1 next, i will try to post more detailed photos of the KT soon.

Cheers,

Stu

Stu,
you deserve!!

by the way, where did you get that cammo pattern, I like it a lot, I may try to put it on my later tiger 1.

can you post 5 side poto?

thanks,tom

Tom,

the inspiration for this pattern came from watching a superb piece of cine-film footage filmed at the assembly area for the newly equipped 503rd Heavy tank battalion at Padderborn in sept 1944 (i think) just prior to the battalions deployment to Hungary into action against the Soviets forcing there way into the West.

The battalion was a truly organic Tiger battalion with 45 brand new KT's, the battalion was the first of its kind initially equipped with Tiger 1 and later Tiger 2 Porsche, most of which were destroyed in Normandy.

Stills from the Paderborn footage can be found in many books including "konigstiger" volumes 1 and 2 by Waldemar Trojca, the footage itself is normally included on DVDS about the Tiger tanks and its stunningly impressive to watch.

interestingly the tanks sport a variety of camouflage schemes such as the late war "Ambush" pattern and the 3 tone zimmeritted patterns i like to call "cloud pattern"

Can anyone answer me, why Tamiya include an MG42 in the kit as anti-aircraft machine gun on commanders cupola? i have only ever seen photos of MG-34 used in this role.

it would be a great aftermarket accessory to make, a detaile AA MG-34 with turned metal 7.92 mm machine gun link, photo etched ring sight and an MG Ammunition bag.

Any one listening? these tanks are crying out for such things!

Sorry to rant on, Tamiya get rolling on After market Hop up accessories for your tanks, your losing money by not making them, Late version Tiger 1 please also.

Stu, thanks for the compliment, but your tank looks like the one I originally wanted to model!

I chickened out on the zimmeritt, and went with a later model from the 509th. Your tank is just plain incredible! That camo pattern is very accurate and looks just like in the book! Also, I agree on the MG-42.

BTW, Does the F.O. KT kit come with a choice of main gun mantles (early or late)?

Ron, fo kt does come with two manlets, but u only can use the smooth one. the step mantlet was design for old kt. but you can use it with some modification.

do you have scanner? i would like to see the commo pattern on 5 side.

Stu, when are you going to take some photo of 5 sides of your tank?

thanks,tom

Stu: Thanks for the book references -- I've ordered them from amazon.

Tom,

i will post more photos as soon as i can, i did not photograph other sides as i had one track off at the time and felt too lazy to put it back on.ha ha

Lads check out the uk tank club for photos of a real combat vet SS Konigstiger captured in Nrmandy by the Brits, it was displayed at the Bovington tankfest on Sunday. it belongs to the tank museum but has been hidden from public view on an Army base for sixty years!

not very public spirited, apparently it was studied by the British Army for some reason, bovington also ran the Tiger and a genuine Jagdpanther.

wished i'd been thee, i guess i'll have to order the Tanfest dvd.