Taigen King Tiger

[wibblywobbly]

Ok, I just got one delivered. I won't say where I got it yet as I awaiting their Customer Services response to the undocumented modification that it came with.... I will be happy with a replacement part, though the broken one is easy to repair....but that's not the point is it?

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In case anyone else is befuddled by the various blurb that vendors who don't know what they are selling describe them as, here is a quick rundown.

It's a very heavy beast of a tank, and the model designation is TG3888-B. It's a BB tank with the Porsche turret.

Metal parts that I have identified so far:
Tracks
Roadwheels
Sprockets
Idlers
Shackles front and rear
Barrel
Exhausts

It also has brass etch vents on the engine deck. I can't see anything else that is metal at the moment.

I gave it a test run and the gearboxes are silky smooth and very quiet, so I am assuming that these are black steel ones, rather than white metal. I can't take it apart until I know what the solution is to the broken mantlet problem. The accessories are not prefitted which is a bonus for me as I need a bare hull to airbrush, it saves taking them all off, however the tow ropes and barrel cleaning rods are attached, and should pop off easily.

The plan is to give it some battle damage, remove a couple of track guards, and airbrush it to match my Panther. It will also need new electrics for sound and IR, so probably an Elmod board.

If I can fit aftermarket electrics and keep the original battery box, I will be able to keep the upper/lower hulls screwed together. It is this that keeps the hull as a box section and stops anything flexing, so fingers crossed that this will be possible.

All in all, for the money, it's pretty good. Nothing to buy for it except a PCB, it's all there!

[PainlessWolf]

W.W.,
Following along. Taigen top drawer stuff is really superb with almost every metal add-on that they have attached. How shipping managed to break that monster of a mantlet is crazy to think about.
regards,
Painless

[Spartan tracks]

If the upper hull is similar to HENGLONG it's not as simple as just cutting the guards of as it leaves a whole showing about 10mm deep .you then have to get the plasti card and filler out!!!!!!

[jackalope]

And don't forget it you do remove the fenders yes you need plastic card to make up the sides of the upper hull but you need to trim 2mm off the sides of the lower hull that extend out over the tracks. The sloped sides of the upper will not line up properly unless the 2mm is removed. Once you trim the 2mm off you can then add the plastic card to the sides to continue them down to where they should be.

[wibblywobbly]

Been having a quick hack about with the fenders, I took out the overhangs, and that doesn't leave a gap, but yes, when I remove the plate that is left on the hull...a tad too much plastic is going to disappear. The other question of course is that strip that goes between them. Is that attached to the front or the back of each section, as strictly speaking I should remove one of them?

[jackalope]

That bit you left is part of the fender, if the fender is gone that bit should be gone to. That's where you'll need the plastic card for not to mention when you remove that bit of fender you'll need to trim 2mm off the lower hull that is above the tracks so you can continue the correct angle for the upper hull behind where the fender would be.

I'm sure you'll see what I mean once you remove the rest of the fender, just giving you a heads up. Wish I could be of more help to you.

[HERMAN BIX]

I had to trim a section off the upper sponson on my octopus when I removed the left guard.
The sponsons are wider than the true hull width as the guard profile is moulded over them rather than to them.
Once you remove the section of guard there will be an open gap. To attach a new section of armour to fill this gap will mean trimming clearance on the sponson in that area to allow the new armour section to fit flush with the hull profile/angle.

You've built a Chieftain out of hope and thin air, so I don't think you will have any difficulty with this
My Matorro jagd hull is already moulded with no guards in place so no nasty gaps to fill.

[wibblywobbly]

No worries chaps, I know where I am going with this, it's all pretty simple once the plastic gets removed. A strip of 2mm styrene fills the gap and brings the hull back out flush with the back of the fenders each side. By cutting it longer than the gap it can be glued securely each side. It will all be covered with zimmerit anyway as the coating was applied to the hull before the genders were attached, at the factory.

Looking at archive pics the raised 'lip' between the sections is seperate from the fenders themselves, so I will have to sand those off.

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[tiger tiger]

Hi wibbly, nice looking beast your KT there, good to meet ya at the yorkshire war experience show. Hope your journey home was ok mine was a nightmare . Anyway look forward to seeing the finished tank m8. All the best.

Regards stuart

[wibblywobbly]

My drive home was way better than the drive up, about 2 hours better to be precise, lol. 220 miles each way, 6.5 hours getting there and 4.5 hours getting back. If I never see another traffic cone or 50mph sign again it would make my life complete.