Tom's King Tiger Build 2019 Hull 53

[Phil Young]

Hi Tom,
Ah, seems like “great minds think alike”! Good to know that we are “on the same track”!!
Phil.

[Phil Young]

Hi Simon
Thanks for the information and advice. There’s slightly slack, which is acceptable.... and undriveable slack! Just needed that little bit more available adjustment!
Phil.

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

Your model is awesome looking, Tom!

[Tom Miller]

Back with the turret report. Got it all together but not without some......adjustments. I had an issue with the right side of the turret. It was .140 higher than the left side. I managed to get the part in the mill and take off .140 from the bottom edge. Some more filing and fitting on several other parts and it finally went together.
I decided I did not want all the countersunk holes on the roof parts so I milled pockets in the bottom of the roof pieces and epoxied in four super magnets to hold the roof down. Works great. Now I can putty the holes and apply the horizontal welds between the roof pieces. Now the entire roof comes off as one piece.
Got the elevation and recoil mechanisms installed and working. One change I made was to the counterbalance to the gun barrel. The part Armortek supplies weighed 5.3oz and the elevation motor could not raise the barrel. I made a new counterbalance that weighs 17oz. Now the motor can raise the barrel. The counterbalance can not be much heavier than this or the barrel flops around when driving the tank over rough terrain. The barrel relies on the front heavy weight to hold it in place when driving.
Next is to disassemble, paint, camo and weather the turret. Back with final pictures in a couple weeks.

Turret right side in the mill

Had to tilt the head to get the proper milling angle

Supplied counterweight and new heavier part

Installed new counterweight

Roof pieces with magnets installed

Magnets are 1/2" dia 1/8 thick

[Phil Woollard]

Looking good Tom! I have one to build very soon. Keep up the good work.

[Phil Young]

Hi Tom
Very nice! I had to make exactly the same ..adjustments.. to my turret, also the barrel counter weight too!
Phil.

[Vince Cutajar]

Nice update Tom.

Just out of curiosity, what's the purpose of those six round head copper rivets on the turret ventilator?

Vince

[Tom Miller]

Hi Vince,
I am not a tank expert but my opinion is that on the prototype those rivets were actually bolts used to jack the vent up and down. Maybe some of the tank experts on the board can clarify further. I just build them, I can't explain them.

[Tom Miller]

Hello All,
IT IS DONE. Finished painting and weathering the KT. Got all the option paks working too. Very impressive model.
Only problem I am having is keeping the tracks on while making turns especially in reverse. The tracks climb off the sprocket when I turn. Works great in a straight line. The track adjustment is at max tightness but the tracks are still very loose. If I remove a tracks set the links are still 1 inch away from joining up. I am hoping with some running time the tracks will loosen up and stretch so I can remove a tracks set and get the adjustment tighter. Any other suggestions are welcome.
Next project is a PAK 43/41 arriving tomorrow.
Tom

[simon_manning]

Excellent finish and a great looking model, kingtiger's always take a time to bed in, and driven carefully, regards simon manning.

[Brian Ostlind]

Nice work. I am a fan. Now if I can just slap my KT JT and Famo together we could have an epic meet.

[Robert E Morey]

Excellent KT, your paint and weathering on it is very nice. Really nice collection of AT's.
Best regards,
B

[Allan Shannon]

Tom

Loving the paintwork! I'm in the process of painting my late Tiger 1 and was curios as to whet6her you put a filter on or did you apply a overall wash instead on the KT?

Regards Allan

[Tom Miller]

Hi Allan,
I applied a coat of MIG tan for 3 tome camo over the entire model then applied a coat of MIG brown wash for German dark yellow diluted down some.
Both coats were partially removed while still wet with a dry lint free rag. Final weathering streaks, rust etc were done with Bragdon weathering powders.
Good luck
Tom

[Allan Shannon]

Thanks for the fast response Tom, greatly appreciated.

Regards Allan