KING TIGER, OCTOPUSS CAMO 1945

[Jnewboy]

Nah, go all out on the weathering!! Do it burnt out! with the white swastika! and swap out that Henglong gun mantlet for a nice smooth Tamiya one



Ak Interactive's "The Weathering Magazine" "K.O. and Wrecks" issue has a great step by step in it on the beast!

[ALPHA]

No offense JNB...but that's an effect for a shelf queen not a runner ....I think Herman has done well capturing the KT while it was still "living"

ALPHA

[billpe]

Weathering magazine is excellent. Mig Jeminiz also does some fantastic tutorial videos. Well worth watching to learn how to do any effect.

[HERMAN BIX]

No way I'm getting in a pissing contest with Mr Jiminez, but Mr Alpha's pretty well right, I did what I could to try to get hold of the MOST enigmatic King Tiger of them all on the day before, or morning of, its demise.
I could have done it way easier & got it just out of the factory with poor paint,full guards, no tools, untrained crew, stuff all fuel & ordanance, but going to give it one last shot at the title for god and Fatherland without thought for self preservation.
Before it was somehow burnt out, and before the enemy "pot-shot" gunners had a crack at it when it could not shoot back ...........

I can hardly operate a King Tiger even for myself looking like it was derelict for some 14 years like most of the pictures depict................

[edpanzer]

Great job Herman

[jackalope]

Wow Herman I just saw this and it turned out really fantastic I think! A little bit of weathering but I agree on not making a post toasted version.

[Jnewboy]

I understand and it was meant as a joke anyway, remember I am still in the static model frame of mind

What I found interesting is if you look at the one above that Mig painted you see a different pattern of octopus under the side skirt which makes me think it was painted twice, once without the skirts and then got skirts and was re-painted?

Also as you can see above the gun mantlet on this King Tiger is smooth but Henglongs has the ridges. Dont feel bad, Mig's has ridges also. I thought it a mistake at first on Henglongs part as I only remembered only seeing smooth ones in all the Tamiya kits I have built 1/35 and 1/16 but after looking through some photos I found this one that shows ridges. So there are two types of gun mantels for the production King Tiger which I did not know and love it when I learn something new!



Does anyone know more about this? how many of each were made? and why the difference?

[billpe]

That is an earlier mantlet on a tank built in mid 1944. The later one is a simpler casting. The name in German roughly translates in to pig snout. You can get a Tamiya sprue with both types.

I wish I'd known that some years ago as mine is an earlier production with a later mantlet.

[Lord Haw-Haw]

I understand and it was meant as a joke anyway, remember I am still in the static model frame of mind

nope... have smoker set-up so smoke comes out of the turret/hull and a driver w/ shite eating grin and a commander "crispy" and slump over You'll know when it's done right when onlookers' reaction is of disgust and a little vomit in mouth And some bacon scented smoke oil to top it off, " ? is that bacon I smell ? ", "nah, it's swine"
...now this is a joke

[HERMAN BIX]

There is a very light dusting of buff over all, with slightly more on the upper surfaces, minor mud splash on the guard edges & sponson/hull joint, and heavier mud spray up the rear plate.
Doesn't really show up in the pics.
This machine being in field for 2 weeks would not really have given it time to retain the usual rain track stains etc, and I am assuming the weather was faily good during this period judging by many pictures from the similar time, so all & all, the enigmatic King of the Cats with its possible double-painted camo, and early-ish turret on a late hull, new from the factory to its end on the high ground next to the Autobahn near Kassel is close enough to make me happy I finished it.

It sure does cut an imposing sight where he sits at home.