This is the Tamiya 1/35 King Tiger Production Turret. This was the first armor model I built after returning to the hobby after a few years absence. Also the first model I used my then new airbrush and compressor on.
The first step was to remove the tracks, side skirts and tools. Everything came off pretty easy with no damage.
When I originally built this kit I did a poor job gluing the tracks together as can be seen here. Not much of a problem I’ll just stable the tracks it will be hidden by the side skirts.
The turret number decals came up with some scotch tape. There really wasn’t anything to remove from the turret. I would have liked to get the commanders machine gun removed but it’s really glued in and don’t care to mangle it.
Thankfully the gun barrel didn’t have a strong join and came off with some gentle pulling. This is going to make it much easier to sand versus being attached to the turret.
Next I turned my attention to the upper hull and was in for a surprise. I always wash my models before painting; just to remove the sanding dust. Well I was in a rush to paint that morning and used the misses’ hair dryer and applied too much heat. You can see where the hull has some warping. The engine deck was also sunk in some preventing the turret from sitting correctly. No idea why I never noticed it till now. With some work the upper and lower hull came free.
Luckily I have a spare King Tiger upper hull that I was using to practice zimmerit (anti-magnetic mine paste.) So I went ahead and cleaned up the putty and it’s good to go.
On the old hull there were a handful of pieces I couldn’t remove. I just cut the hull apart till I got to said parts and used a blade to free them. With a little sanding and trimming to remove the extra plastic and the parts will fit like new.
I've gone ahead and glue the upper and lower hull together and letting the parts dry.
My next steps are to make replacement grab handles for the drivers and machine gunners hatches. There’s also a few lifting hooks on the engine deck that will need replacement. Luckily I have a couple Dragon King Tigers that have extra hooks I can use.