"PRODUCTION" TURRET KING TIGER

[HERMAN BIX]

Into it a bit more.
Primed the lower hull after doing the obligatory flame cutting & welding on the necessary bits with my Jamie Oliver butane chefs burner & the right sized screwdriver !!
Set about the guard removal. Now this tank has the famour picture of the front glacis with the backward swastika, and a profiled right side showing only the front quarter guard missing. The other side has no guard remaining at all.
Again, the supposition.
Machine was destroyed/abandoned not far from its assembly plant in Kassel.
Assume it was close enough to completion to get fueled & armed then crewed in the factory & sent to the fight.?
Could it be that the guards really were not yet fitted on one side ?
How to explain the paint ?................why would it be painted THAT colour, but not have guards fitted at all , ex works ?

All this lost to history...........................

Did the 'welds' on the upper hull & set about removing the guards.
Had the "holy-shit moment when it dawned on me that as these are moulded to the hull, the upper section of the guard forms the hull side plate. With this gone I have a gaping wound in the side.
This will require an entire run of added material down the left side of the hull if I am to stick to the picture & remove the entire run of guard
Or, remove a section & leave the rest with minor damage etc.....................
Thoughts ?

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Herman,
The missing plastic is the reason that I left the entire run of track guards in place when I got the Porsche turret HL King Tiger. When the redo comes around, I will still leave them but will separate them and add mounting hardware\mini bolts so that they look more realistic. I have seen where bang up jobs have been done replacing the plastic side armor that would normally be there when a guard is removed. It depends on how much work that you want to get into. It can be done with flat styrene and patience. ( and a lot of sanding )
regards,
Painless

[SovereignZuul]

Same, I vote flat styrene and sanding. It will come out alright in the end. I do like the welds and cut marks.

[HERMAN BIX]

If I can find the correct material to use - then removal it will be.
After looking at a load more pictures, I looked closer at one that had a straight shot down the length of the machine. It seems to show the rear sections/section of guard actually still attached but twisted up.
Other shots of the same tank are much later & vegetation covers the area I need to see !
I might be only having to remove three sections of guard leaving the rest .
Still a pain to blend, but necessary evil to endure.

I will get hold of suitable replacement material & hook in.

[ALPHA]

Patching those holes should be no problem Herman... a little plastic dust + crazy glue+ the plastic you cut away works great
do it all the time... in fact all my tanks have patches done with that method
this is the KV... there were gaping holes behind the armor plates mounted to the side of the hull

Measured and cut the removed armor to fit the holes... couldn't even tell they were there afterwards
This is my Sherman...the shot is from when I transformed the bustle to the low profiled version

Closed the loader's hatch using the same method ...no putty...working with the plastic dust and crazy glue makes rebuilding these things very fast



ALPHA

[HERMAN BIX]

Got up'er.
Secured the replacement material and remembered to cut out the sponson to accept the added profile. I will take a leap of faith once hes all together & weld the side plate to the sponson. Yes, will make life tough if the hull has to come apart, but there's where the faith comes in
Took Mr Alphas advice & gathered up all the plastic shavings(which lets just say I was already under pressure to remove or have it anatomically implanted )and combined it with slow cure super glue along the joint.
Bunged the putty over top while still tacky & poured a drink to watch it dry
While I was at the glue thing, used a lot of it on the other side plate to see how it looked for rolled armour texture. Jury is out on that just now.
Confident it will end up ok, but the sanding is going to be a bitch

[PainlessWolf]

Herman,
You are making great progress! Thanks for the photo set. It explains your results better than words would have.
regards,
Painless

[HERMAN BIX]

Cheers Mr Painless, I have conveniently skipped further progress on the upper hull in favour of (da da-da-daaaa........DAAAA)
the turret
Leaving the patch to set properly , I got on with the fundamentals of the turret detailing, welds, welds.........um- welds, plate cut marks, hatch handle, welds, sanding(dont go there) , MG ring with welds....you get the picture.

Still making my mind up whether to execute the real late turret track hangers or the standard production ones, but really as this is supposed to be a late-late one(without transport tracks & 18 tooth sproket mind you)it should have the late style spare track hangers. Can I deal with the added sanding of yet more tamiya putty and the welds that go along with it !!

Getting pretty good at correct jewelers screwdriver blade size selection and heat/duration on the various sections that need the beads & fillets placing................no way I could do the putty beads & fillets I have gawked at in here, thats a gimme.
I do want to carry out the commanders aiming marker on the roof in front of the forward periscope, picking a red hot wire will do the trick.
Quite happy with the super glue texture method on the armour so will do this on the turret sides as well.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
It is looking grand! Your technique for welds and plate cuts produces some desirable results. Following along!
regards,
Painless

[HERMAN BIX]

Cheers Mr Painless..............only a minor update.
House is filled with the aroma of curing putty
I am covered in sanding dust, so is the computer, and the surounding environs !!
Our cleaning lady came today & passed on a message about not touching my area due to the "chemical smell" sitting around
She cant be that concerned though as she does clean my toilet and that gents I can assure you puts her far more at risk of harmfull pathogens

The patch is coming along ok.
Did some more welds around the commanders cupola periscope housings etc etc. Will decide on the track hangers over the next few days & fill/place accordingly.