King Tiger 1946

[tankman]

This is a full option Tamiya King Tiger remodeled to represent a 1946 spec model. There have been quite a few modifications done to the chassis and running gear to make her a reliable runner and battler. Here's a list of what was done.

Reinforced standard Tamiya gearboxes ( drive cogs bushed out to remove excess play on shafts ). engineering done by Nigel I hasten to add
Improved Shumo torsion bars fitted to last 6 whee l stations on both sides for softer ride.
Gear box output shaft supports ( bushing type ) fitted externally to reduce strain on gear train.
Shumo rear idler fitted to improve track tension and reduce rear hull flex.
Bearings in all 16 road wheels.
Custom built battery, electronics and speaker holder.
MG ball removed and filled in.

The upper hull has had HL rotation added with faster motor to improve turret rotation speed. Scratch built rear 3 piece engine access hatch and vents. Added fuel vent lines.
Turret now has HL Stug elevation unit fitted ( needs a little more work to lock things down things a tad as the barrel is still a bit wobbly )
IR emitter fitted to front face on turret
Range finders added to turret sides.

Now for the good bit a couple of pictures . The tracke in the picture are single link tracks to run on the 18 tooth sprockets, since then I have shredded a set of tamiya gear boxes ( hence the bushing upgrade mentioned above ) and gone back to HL King Tiger plastic tracks and 9 tooth sprockets on which she runs much better and with far less stress on all the automotive components
Tankman

[HERMAN BIX]

The Cat-King looks so much better with no guards fitted.
A 1946 version must be quite liberating to do - no photos or facts to stop the progress

I suppose night vision gear would also have been the goods in the next year of the war, with the western allies joining forces against the 'Red Hordes'.............

Trust me................the "Octopus Ring" paint scheme was dropped in November '45 in favour of the one you are doing (just to hard & variable)

[HERMAN BIX]

May I also suggest that with the threat of the Sturmoviks still being a clear and present danger, despite Allied air equivalence, that turret roof and engine deck armour would be significant & increased

Actually, your build has given me new ideas for project #7 !!

[billpe]

Looks good. Did you put anything to cover up the gap where the screw is to hold on the front mudguard and side fender? Doing a KT myself without any fenders or guards and wondering what to do about that gap.

[SovereignZuul]

I'd totally drop a 105mm L/68 on that beast to really make it a 1946 model.

[tankman]

Thank you for the comments Gents, some intresting thoughts on things so I will try and answer things in order

First Herman, you are dead right about the turret roof and engine AA armour and I may go back and add it on later. At the moment she's my best battler and will have to do for one more season at least before she's back for updating. May even add the night fighting gear during a refurb.
HI billpe all I did to cover up the holes for the fender mounts was to use scrap model sprew and filed it roughly to fit the hole then cut a length off and glued it in place with a couple of mm spare either side. After a couple of days I removed the excess either side of the hull then sanded smooth. By using this method you get a good solid fix that will not crack or fall out. Once again not my idea got it off a clever guy called majordisaster on rctankregiment.
Last but by no means least SovereignZuul you have got me thinking I can now sort my gun barrel issues out by removing the metal 88mm barrel and getting a composite 105 made. My thanks to you for making me think outside the box.
All the best for now gents
Tankman

[Lert]

Wouldn't the tracks have a bit more slack than that, though? Shouldn't they touch the tops of the middle 4 or 5 road wheels?

[tankman]

You are right Lert in real life the tracks did indeed run very slack. Unfortunately I had to put more tension on them as they kept skipping on the sprocket when running in grass, the tension in the picture was a compromise between reliability in battling on grass and reality. The plastic tracks have to have even more tension to be reliable in battle. All the best for now.
Alan

[Lert]

You are right Lert in real life the tracks did indeed run very slack. Unfortunately I had to put more tension on them as they kept skipping on the sprocket when running in grass

Well, as long as it works!

I really like the rangefinders on your turret. Are they part of the original kit or did you scratchbuild them?

[PainlessWolf]

Tankman,
I think that Lert was mentioning the tracks in the third picture where the tank is on the counter and appears to me to be up on a stand. In the fourth picture where the KT is outside, it's tracks appear fine and are correct in slack.
regards,
Painless