Hardcore Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 (edited) So, rather than finish the poor models on the shelf of doom, I have begun working on Mengs wartoons king tiger. Overall it looks like a toy tiger and I could have built it straight oob. Problem is the influence of other skilled builders on the forum. I need to do SOME detail work for the sake of reputation and expectations. The trick is now to set for myself a reasonable limit to changes. Today I filled in the holes on the turret roof. They were for non historical handles that I won't miss. In their place I will add lifting loops. I filled in the holes using stretches sprue that I glued to place with tamiya thin cement. The side skirts cannot be removed unless you build up missing side armour in some way. The reason can be seen in the photo I may try that in another build. King tigers have nice lines without skirts. I have been thinking of applying zimmerit, but that may make the build too complex. We will see. I have also not decided on painting and weathering. Edited January 29, 2019 by Hardcore Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Go for it! I have this one too (my only egg model so far) as I love the King kitty, so I'm anxious to see what you do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 (edited) So, bought some stuff today. Sky colour for the next Bf109K-4 and a Trumpeter zimmerit tool set, plus milliput. I used plastic cards to make the hatches here. I don't plan to add the handles or other details. The risk to losing them damage is great. The plastic is a bit too uncooperative. (It doesn't respond very well to ordinary cement for example) So I sanded the surface to get a good grip for the milliput. The arrangement of the running gear is poorly designed. :-( Notice also how the sprocket is slimmer than the idler wheel. Dry fitting suggests that once all is put together it won't be very apparent, however. Here is an attempt to make things better. As an experiment I used small nuts to move the wheels, on the left side here, away from the Hull. There are cascade effect to these kinds of mods, so I may go back on them. (After all, the point of the build is to have fun.) In this case the problems are that the running gear might become too wide for the upper hull. Also there is a job widening the sprockets. Well, I'll continue tomorrow. We'll see then. Edited October 14, 2018 by Hardcore Kagemusha and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Glad you're applying zimmerit, just wouldn't look right otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 The cupola looked more like an old U-boat tower than the classic German design. It was easy to modify, but note it still has only five periscopes. The cupola hatch should be rounded but no one will notice so what the heck :-D I am happy anyway. It look more realistic now. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Some nice work! I've never counted periscopes... So I wouldn't have noticed. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 i have this lil fella in the stash as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 More work on the turret today. Historically the underside was actually flat, as can be seen in the drawing here. The kit turret is different. Maybe they wanted to make it look more cartoonish? I could have ignore this if not for the obstacle it would be to my application of zimmerit. The first idea to fix this, by using square plastic profiles to change the turret shape, was discarded because I had bought the wrong size of strips. (doh!) Rather than wait another day, and make another trip to the LHS, I picked up my cutter. Here I started to divide the base plate in three pieces. After cutting down the middle piece in size it now fits INSIDE the turret instead of under it. Problem solved. To end the days work attention was given to the turret back. In real life there was quite a complicated hatch here. The kit just has a plate with handle. It looks a lot like the Henschel design. Fixing this would be too much work this time. I decided to just add two sprue bits on either side of it. (to represent the hinges). This makes it look even more like a Henschel design. Well at least it now got those hinges that was lacking before. Gazzas and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I like it, the additions fit well, and I think in the end, if the mod lets everything else work and spin free, it will look much better than having it hovering above the deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I like your turret mods. These cute tanks look better if they look more warlike. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 Final preparation before starting with the fun was to remove the towing hooks on the back plate. Using Radu Brinzans excellent pico saws i could cut them off to be reused later. I wanted to practice somewhere and used the lower hull plate for this. The zimmerit tools work well but the milliput rather stick to my fingers than the plastic. This make it hard to flatten it out and make it thin. I have no idea if they did apply zimmerit to the lower hull. It would be suicide to try attach a magnetic mine there, but that is just my reasoning. The big surfaces are what remain to cover. Probably tomorrow. After that I need to make a decision on the running gear. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Worked on the side armour today. Hard work. Milliput would be more suited for making zimmerit if it was softer. Now it takes 5-15 minutes to work it thin enough using my fingers, water and tissue paper. After making the pattern i pressed cables and tools into the milliput. Gazzas, spacewolf and Out2gtcha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) Almost finished adding zimmerit today. Here is a shot on the glacis showing the unevenness resulting from the work to thin the milliput. The angular turret got a decent shape. The front Hull otoh need extra work around the machine gun port. Working around the rear turrer hatch and Hull. I don't feel in the mood to repeat this process soon. (I got a new panther) Of course, it would help if it was easier. Any suggestions welcome. :-) Edited October 20, 2018 by Hardcore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Use flour and water to make the paste. If you mess up, wash off and start again. Sincerely, Mark Hardcore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 I am on a diet, so flour and sugar is out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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