King Tiger build 1/35 Tamiya - Final Update 6-3

[Leon]

Nice work on the weathering Bob! Almost home.

[wbill76]

Tied everything together nicely Bob! Should look right at home on the club table.

[afvfan]

Thanks Anthony. Yeah, I think the guy doing the dots at the factory that day probably should have laid off the Red Bulls!

Deano and Marc - Appreciate the comments. I actually added a little too much dust when you compare it to the guide photo I'm working with. I couldn't help it though ... it just looked too plain otherwise.

Leon - Almost home? Yeah, I thought so too, until I tried fitting the tracks tonight. I'm having to use the band tracks that came in the kit and, of course, they're too short. They're going to take a bit of fiddling to get them to work properly.

Bill - Thanks. Like I said, at an IPMS event it probably won't take any awards, but at least I can say I entered something. The real prize comes when the guy who commisioned it pays for it!

[wbill76]

Jun 2, 2015 20:51:11 GMT -5 afvfan said:

Bill - Thanks. Like I said, at an IPMS event it probably won't take any awards, but at least I can say I entered something. The real prize comes when the guy who commisioned it pays for it!

The only payout that matters for this type of project for sure!

[reserve]

And a fine look it is too, I think it's just right.

Regards,
Mark

[afvfan]

Jun 3, 2015 17:01:47 GMT -5 reserve said:

And a fine look it is too, I think it's just right.

For what I was doing it worked well, but it's no where near reality. Take a gander at the final picture in this post.

FINAL UPDATE!

It was a very long day at the bench today, but the KT's finally finished. I ended up taking the hair dryer to the tracks to stretch them out enough to fit. It's a real trick getting them to just the right length. Pull them too much and you have a real problem, as it's even harder going back. On top of that, I had a lot of touch up work to do on them. I already had them painted and rubbed a lot of the finish off with all of the handling. Anyway, it all worked out. I also got the tow cable mounted and a final dusting to blend it all. Here's how it turned out.









And finally this angle, which can be compared to the working print after it. I think I came pretty close to it.






....and on a little historical closing note, here's proof that not all war art can't be trusted as a guide. The picture below is Dier's actual KT on the streets of Berlin. It was disabled when it hit a mine and the crew abandoned it where it sat. Believe it or not, under all that dirt and dust is a 3 tone camo scheme.



Hope you enjoyed this little outing.

[Tojo72]

Great finish

[afvfan]

Thanks Anthony!

[mrversatile]

I like it alot. Let us know how you do in the contest. Can't wait to see it completed. I love these large German Tanks. It seems they are what tanks should like.

[dierk]

Great finish, I'm liking it a lot Thumbs Up! The person who commissioned it should be very happy with it. Excellent job on the lazzie band tracks - got something similar waiting in the wings: I'm planning a ZIS-22 (basically an early ZIS-42) and the tracks are not only stiff, but so tight they'll never fit...I've already ruined one set by either using too much heat or for too long (or both). Thankfully Eastern Express have replaced them free of charge.

[wbill76]

Nice work matching it up to the print Bob! I'm sure the customer will be very happy to have it on their shelf, you nailed it pretty fair IMHO! As for art vs. reality, we all know about the reliability of 'color plates' and artistic license.

[elco]

Great finish, job well done! Regarding the tracks, when I can I use metal tracks even on commision builds

[wing_nut]

Before Andy gets here and grabs her.... I love your kitty and want to marry it.

[afvfan]

Gil - Appreciate it. If it does do anything at the show I'll post it here.

Dierk - I feel your pain. I've worked with EE tracks before myself, and know how bad they can be.

Bill - Thanks again. It's actually closer than what the picture shows. For some reason I couldn't get rid of that green tint on the wheels in the comparison shot.

Elco - If a guy's willing to foot the bill, I'm willing to add metal tracks, or anything else, for that matter.

Sorry Marc, she's already spoken for, unless she gets left at the alter!

[Leon]

Great finish on the KT Bob! You nailed this one.

[afvfan]

Thanks Leon, I'm just glad to be finally done with it. For such a "simple" build, it sure was a thorn.