King Tiger[Konigstiger] Production turret.

[John Glover]

That is very clever. I will be using the kits electronics as I am a dummy when it comes to electrics. I do want to create a grease wall separating the motors from the rest of the internals as you have. At this stage I am looking to build a tank of the time of the Ardennes offensive. I used a shapeways fuel vent tube but dislike its detail. There is only one fuel vent required for a mid production King Tiger not the four that is correct for a late King Tiger when the builders reconfigured the fuel tank layout and its fuel tank ventilation system. I have seen some builders build a KT which has Zimmert with four fuel vents .I mean no disrespect but a KT with Zimmert is way to early for this feature. KT 332 was built after Zimmert was discontinued and only has one vent .There are some great articles as to the time line of when the KT entered production and the features and modifications that were carried out in each month and year of its build. Some one asked me why my build was missing the other three vent tubes so I said would try to clarify. Ronnie 42 created a great one out of brass on his KT which I would like replicate but the photo in his post is not very clear. Does not look like he is still active. Shame .Regards John.

[Jofaur86]

Hello, I think that can help you, I have this in my favorites, it is a PDF from "Wecohe" quite old, but a lot of details, with dimensions, shapes etc
http://tankzone.co.uk/avi/kt_exterior_detailing.pdf
it's gifts

[Jofaur86]

also the type of front fenders, depending on whether Early or Late,
http://tankzone.co.uk/avi/kt_front_mudguard.pdf

[John Glover]

Thanks mate .The early fenders are correct for me .Great info. regards John.

[John Glover]

On to the turret guys. I cut the rear hatch up and made it open .Inserted a 1.4mm steel rod running through it to make the hatch pivot. Did this so I could locate the ON/OFF switch here and easy access if I needed to disassemble the trunnion assembly. I also did a modification to the trunnion parts to stop a lot of barrel wobble which is a known problem with this Tamiya kit. Look under [Things to fix on your new tank] and you will find this fix there .Also used a Henntec turret weight. On the outside of the turret I put a weld around the trunnion section. This I copied from the KT being restored by the Swiss armor museum. Installed Schumo track hangers with spare impact track links. A Schumo grenade launcher replaces the kit one on the top of the turret and some Schumo hatch handles.Added detail to the inside of the loaders hatch, Tamiya gives you nothing. Cut the three crane mounting brackets off the top and repositioned them as per the Swiss KT. I used 0.5 mm plasticard underneath them to get the height back after the saw cut. Welds took awhile. Drilled the gun mantlet bolts and inserted wire.
Parts used.
1 Schumo KT0011 spare track holders.
2 Schumo KT0025 detail set hull and turret.[part of]
3 Schumo KT0020 metal hand hold set[part of].
4 Schumo KT0029 close defense weapon thrower.
5 Henntec turret weight.
6 D.K.L.M steel elevation arm.

[sassgrunt]

Every bit of this build can be used as a great reference! I especially like the uniformity of the weld bead detail. I didn't realize that it made that much of a difference, but it sure does.

[John Glover]

Takes along time Mike but worth the result I think. The large photos remind me of how much it will need to be cleaned before paint. Back plate up next. John.

[HERMAN BIX]

That is simply immaculate Mr Glover, the welds are perfect. Crisp and clean. Nice job
I'd be happy to paint it for you and send it back ....... one day

[John Glover]

Mate, if I had the money I would send it to you to to have a Bix finish on it. Still amazes me how you can make honey out of dog poo on your saved from the scrap heap builds. John.

[John Glover]

Back plate guys. When I went to assemble the exhausts ,it looked like the casting were meant to have a bolt inserted before the two half's were glued together so they could bolt to the back plate .I wondered why Tamiya had mounting holes in the plate. I believe this was the original intention like their Tiger 1 kit .Installed working convoy light, welds ,drilled out the exhaust tips for brass rod inserts. Schumo armored exhaust covers[these bolt on and add such such realistic detail compared to the hunks of plastic Tamiya give you so now I have bolt on exhausts and also bolt on armored covers. So much easier for paint.] I decided not to use back guards for two reasons .These get knocked off very easily and I like the look as you can see how chunky the tracks are. Getting to the end of assembly but cant paint as it is Winter. I will sometimes stop work on one Tank and work on another one just to mix it up to keep my sanity , or some parts arrived for another .I don't work real fast but as we all know it is so satisfying when you complete a Tank with your own mods how ever small they may be. Still some small detail to do so I WILL BE BACK .John.