Tankmad's kt rebuild

[tankmad]

Done some more work on the kt I have rubbed away the original spare track hangers and I will put on the correct detail ones I also made the opening for the rear hatch to go on and made the gunners hatch open with internal detail on it. I have finnished it off with a coat of dark yellow to cover the filler on the tank and check it is ok before progressing.







Stevie

[[ICE]monkey]

shes coming together nicely

[tankmad]

Done some more work on the Kt fixed the problem with the front gear casing rubbing against the track by fitting a bar across the front pulling the sides into place. I also made the exhausts up by using brass tubing and bending it with a steel cable inside it to prevent it from creasing I hope there will be a decent smoker available soon and I will stick it in and this will give me smoking exhausts. I have also done the welding seams on the tank by using both milliput and caulk for the smaller detail like the track hangers. The track hangers are the schumo ones and look a lot better quality than the ones I put on my Jagdtiger a couple of years ago you even get a template to help with the positioning of them but you need the orginal track hangers on the hull as a guide I sanded them off weeks ago so it meant trial and error the first one I did as you can see in the picture the hull looked like a teabag with the holes on it just when i thought I got it right third time lucky I noticed the track was upside down . I will hopefully get the exhausts and the rear door fitted soon.









Stevie

[Gunshy]

Nice welds, OOO glittery exhausts i like that.


For reference how many millimetres long and thick are your track hanger hooks?
I've a sheet of aluminium for bending into shape.
Thanks.

[tankmad]

I have done more work guys first I managed to get sealed bearings for the wheels as I was not happy with the amount of movement on the wheels it would defenetly fail a MOT test. I was hoping to put one in either side of the wheel but I was not happy the way the end caps were sitting on the wheel and thought some of them might fall off and get lost as they normally fit into the outer Tamiya bearing so I replaced the inner one and kept the original outer one as it is a better fit for the cap when you spin the wheels they will spin for twice as long as the standard bearing wheels and there seems to be a lot less play. I noticed that most of the play in the wheels come from the fact the suspension arms have a lot of play in them. I have added a lot of small detail that you don't get with the Tamiya kt such as small hooks and clips etc. I decided to keep some of the track guards on and put the odd dent in them the ones that were left off had the hangers put on instead with the odd bold still in the holes as well for added effect. I also added the Wecohe rear door this comes with the door the hinges and a couple of bolt snibs but no pistol port bung just a hole in the middle of the door. If you want this door to open and shut you have to drill out the hinges and add your own brass tube as the hinge the metal is quite soft and easily grabs the drill bits and breaks them and as you know once the drill bit is broken you will not be able to get it out, This door has two broken 1mm drill bits in it. I made the cover for the pistol port out of milliput and added a small chain so it danglels out the back, There is no instructions with this door so I used my Forces of Valor kt as referance as to what it should look like. Lastly I put the Schumo engine grills on these look quite nice but its quite easy to make your own ones up I would normally not bother with this kit.















Stevie

[tankmad]

Right guys done a bit more on the kt I got the exhausts on I made them out of brass tubing so in the future I will probably put a smoker in. The exhaust guards are the Wecohe metal ones they are a closer shape than the Tamiya ones but you don't get the bolt detail so you have to drill the holes in it and use real nuts and bolts to hold it on to the back plate. I used 2mm nuts and bolts for this as they are the closest to the scale. I also put on the Schumo front light and used a brass tube for the for the wiring trunk and I also added the Schumo front u clamps and metal tools I will take these back off to paint the tank next up will be the cable hangers and cables. I added in a picture of one of my sons xmas from me a bearded dragon it is less than three months old and looks interested in my tanks already sticking his head out for a better look could be a future member here.













Stevie

[[ICE]monkey]

looking great, matt will like the beardy

[tankman]

Looking great so far Steive mate. Just love the lizard.
Alan

[Saxondog]

Excellent King Tiger, the track holder brackets you installed were designed to be used with the turret track detail on the turret or after using the detail to position the brackets the detail needs to be removed? Not sure if I am asking this the right way but I think you see my point. I have applied the Zimmerite film,cut out so the track details on my turret are not covered so should I remove them in order to install the brackets, or should the brackets be attached on these details?

The conduit on the front light is a nice detail. and the grills on the rear deck look really good as well. Really surprised about the tracks,they should of been perfect because of the cost,instead they created another problem. A real masterclass King Tiger under construction.

Saxondog

[tankmad]

Glad you like it guys saxondog if its the schumo track hangers you are putting on you get a template and you use the original track hangrs as guides to possition the new ones when you drill the holes for the new ones then you can rub them down that is the way it is meant to be done. I wish I read the instructions before I started as I done it arse to elbow and made the job a lot harder. If you are putting zim on put the track holders on first then put the zim on unless its the Tamiya sheets hope this helps.