King Tiger[Konigstiger] Production turret.

[John Glover]

Hi Guys, this is a Full option Tamiya KT 56018 .The hull/chassis i have added 2mm Aluminum plate to the bottom with hex drive bolts, replaced all chassis side plate screws with bolts, Schumo rear idler kits [ a special note here] Schumo and Henntec offer improved idler systems, both great but why I used the Schumo parts is Tamiya's idler wheel axles are machined to short. This allows the idler wheels to have excessive wheel wobble. Schumo kit KT0033 fixes this problem. Still a great fix for the awful kit idler assembly with using the Henntec ,but you still have the same problem with the idler wheels .I also added improved torsion bars, Schumo metal sprocket wheel guides and Schumo transmission output/axle shaft support bearings. I have reconfigured the transmissions with a full length bronze bushing in the final brass drive gear before the output shaft and shimmed all gears for matching drive faces . I did a post a while ago called [Tamiya transmission fix] which showed what I used to reconfigure the transmissions. Added reduction gears and I also replaced the motors with Igarashi 5 pole units. Added a D.K.L.M transmission brace. You can see I am trying to make this as bullet proof as possible and the hull/chassis is now rock solid with no flex.
Chassis/Hull Components used.
1. Schumo KT0014L Improved track idler system.[Drums]
2. Schumo KT0033 Upgraded idler wheel axles and main axle.
3. Schumo KT0040 Metal sprocket wheel guides
4. Schumo KT0027AL Driveshaft support bearings.
5. Schumo ZUH19 3.1 Reduction gears.
6. Schumo KT0022 Improved torsion bars.
7. D.K.L.M Transmission support brace
8. Irarashi N2738-51 5 pole motors
9. 2mm Alloy belly plate.[home made]
10. Knupfer 2mmx6mm bolts and Knupfer 2mmx4mm bolts
11. Reworked Kit tow shackles with steel nut and bolt.
12 Bearings and shims for wheel assemblies.
13 Impact tracks


The chassis and wheel assembly's have been painted in Tamiya XF88,Tamiyas replacement for XF60. Chassis has been clear coated but not wheels yet .Chipping to come. Added bearings and a shim to these before assembly for a very effective modification that is also easy and cheap for a tighter tolerance. Look for a post of mine [King Tiger wobbly axle fix]all is explained in there.
Upper hull next

[sassgrunt]

You've obviously been planning and working on this for several years, as I haven't seen any of those Schumo parts in quite awhile. And, I can certainly vouch for your KT wobbly axle fix, as it was the perfect (and cheap) solution to the problem. A great engineering fix!

[John Glover]

Thanks Mike. My wife thinks I am nuts as I will sit there for ages thinking how the hell can I fix a problem. Plus means a lot from some one I believe to be the most generous person on this forum. We all try to help out how we can but you go above and beyond. Regards John.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

"I will sit there for ages thinking how the hell can I fix a problem." And you are skilled! Imagine what it's like for me. Thank you for putting up the close-up photos, John. I will keep watching and also check out the fix you mention.

[Meter rat]

Thanks Mike. My wife thinks I am nuts as I will sit there for ages thinking how the hell can I fix a problem.

My wife just asks how much it will cost to fix the problem. I will have probably caused in the first place.

[John Glover]

Yes dear has saved me so many times, I think it is automated. Bless her John.

[John Glover]

Back again guys .Upper deck. You will see by these photos that I had to straighten the deck out as it had so much twist in it from front to back the turret in rotation would have caught a certain place. The deck is very solid and straight now with my brass work[Would use a 2mm alloy plate in future] and the turret rotates perfectly. I purchased this brand new kit from a private seller in Australia for $500.00 AU so I am not complaining. If you look at one of the photos of the inside of the deck you will see four ABS strips which allowed me to use 1.2mm bolts, washes and nuts to bolt the four engine deck vents to the deck .I replaced the front hatch stops with two section of brass rods for a more realistic look instead of the little stubs Tamiya gives you. Added a shortened down engine hatch retaining hook from a Tamiya Tiger 1 kit. Filled the Tamiya fender mounting holes and used bolt assemblies to attach .I thinned the leading edge of the fenders down on the inside of the fender by about 10mm of length so when you look at front edge of the fender it looks the same thickness. Did this to the back fenders as well. Tamiya has the fenders thin where they attach to the body then they become twice the thickness .Looks strange to me . Lots of welds and detail. All the tools and tow cable ends are pinned so can still be removed for paint. Added some wing nuts to tow cable brackets . Still have some fenders to remove as I decided to build Ardennes KT 332.Still have the grenade screens, aerial tube and small lifting hooks for fan assemblies to add.
Parts used
1 Schumo KT0025 detail set. Hull and turret[part of].
3 Schumo ZUH 30 larger turret rollers.
4 Schumo ZUH 07 2mm steel cable flexible.
2 Schumo KT0020 metal hand hold set[part of].
5 Aber 16.034 grill set.
6 Knupfer 1mm x 5mm bolts, washers and nuts[fenders].
7 Knupfer 1.2mm bolts, washers. and nuts[grilles].

Turret and back plate to come.
Could any one post a good photo of fuel system vent pipe .Located loaders side ,rear corner of tank. Thanks John.

[Jofaur86]

Good morning,
superb work, congratulations. Personally I reinforced with a 1.5 mm aluminum plate, yours is super strong, I also replaced the 3 plastic wheels of the turret with 3 bearings, I look forward to the rest of this work

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[John Glover]

Thanks for the complement mate. I purchased a Panther kit at the same time as this from the same seller and you have no idea how much flex that deck had with even a worse twist from back to front than this KT deck. I did the brass work on the KT deck about five year's ago .If you have a look at the photos in this post you will see I had to put a brace on the inside of the back plate just to get it straight. May be the kits I had purchased had been poorly stored and the Aussie heat had got to them. When I started work on the Panther, which is a lot later and went to strengthen and straighten the Panther deck I used 2mm alloy plate instead of brass tubing which worked great and solved the problem. That idea came from your KT build. regards John.

[Jofaur86]

I admire your neat, precise, clean welding lines, you have golden hands, do you have an idea of ​​the type of camouflage to come? or what era is represented? no doubt if the painting looks like the current work, it will be a marvel
do you keep Tamiya electronics? I personally did this for mine
a removable plate, in order to be able to easily remove the electronic part? in case of trouble
Best wishes

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