King Tiger WIP

Hey, Tojo. thanks for your response. If Tamiya had supplied the screens, I'm sure I would have put them on. They do provide some loosely woven black cloth that can be cut in the appropriate shapes and placed over grates, but I felt like it was worse than having no screens, and as I said, they don't supply a frame for the vents over the fans or the rear grates to even be able to use the black cloth on. All they really intend a person to do is put screens on those grates under the turret. The cloth really is a very poor solution, and they should be embarrassed by it. I do wonder, however, if they are trying to model a later version of the KT. Perhaps, there was a point at which the Germans stopped making screens for all those openings on the rear deck. I don't know. Like I said, though, of the few pictures there are of KT rear decks, many do not appear to have had the screens on the back grates, or if they did, they weren't there for long. :-/

BarrettDuke

Tojo, thanks for the compliments. I'm not sure about your last statement, though. I think you're saying that adding the screens on the rear grates would have been easy to do and inexpensive. Not inexpensive enough to me. I built screens for the under-turret grates because Tamiya provided a frame. They didn't provide a frame for the rear grates. Additionally, I looked at as many pics of King Tigers in the field as I could and I saw a lot of them without the screens on the rear grates. I don't think those screens lasted long in the field. They did have the buildup of dirt around them, though, so that's why I gave each grate a shot of flat black with an AB.

Cool,I wasn't aware of your research,every Dragon KT that I built had the PE screens included so I assumed.As far as the cost of AM you are right,but as I said a very nice build.

Tojo, thanks for the compliments. I'm not sure about your last statement, though. I think you're saying that adding the screens on the rear grates would have been easy to do and inexpensive. Not inexpensive enough to me. I built screens for the under-turret grates because Tamiya provided a frame. They didn't provide a frame for the rear grates. Additionally, I looked at as many pics of King Tigers in the field as I could and I saw a lot of them without the screens on the rear grates. I don't think those screens lasted long in the field. They did have the buildup of dirt around them, though, so that's why I gave each grate a shot of flat black with an AB.

Nice technique with your painting and weathering,looks real good,no screens for the grates,it really adds to a build at not much work or cost

Thanks, Zach. I think what you're seeing on the edges is a change in lighting. I put a lot more light on the model for the later pictures and I think the camera picked up the differences in the way the light reflected off of opposing surfaces. It may be that you are also seeing some of the edges where I applied some dark grey paint to simulate places that would have had the paint worn/knocked off. If you're seeing something else, let me know, and I'll be happy to describe what I did there. I can tell you there are multiple filters and washes on this thing.

Hi Barrett,

Great Camo - great finish!

Great tips and tricks :)

The edges look more defined in the later pictures - how did you create that effect?

Nice one - Happy modelling!

Zack

Thanks much, garzonh. I really appreciate it. I am feeling pretty good about it.

Oh WOW, that camo paint looks amazing. I wish I could made some like this. Looks ready for display and be proud of. Good job.

Thanks, Bruce. I enjoyed the build and learned a lot from it.

It looks outstanding! Great job!

Here's my next installment of pictures. The ones after these will be of the finished model. I have most of the weathering done and attached all the accessories. I still need to do some touch up, do some final dirtying up and dusting, and put in the periscopes. You'll notice screens on the forward engine vents. I made those myself. The cloth stuff provided by Tamiya just didn't seem adequate, and I didn't want to spend any more money on add-ons, $20 for tracks was enough. I know the pictures are dark. I'm trying to figure out how to address that with my little camera on my phone without washing out all the detail with too much light. I hope you see something you like.

Thanks, Bill. This is my second attempt to build this model. I'm glad I learned something from the first effort! :-)

Looks like you're following a good strategy in terms of tying this one all together, always love a nice KT project.

Thanks, DM. Good eye! I was wondering if anyone would notice they were missing. On my first attempt to build this model, I inserted the scopes early and by the time I got to painting and weathering, the lenses were completely covered up with paint, and there was no way to get in there and fix them without making a mess. So this time, I'm going to insert them at the end. It's a  bit of a challenge though, because they must be placed from underneath. I tacked on the covers so I can remove them, and use some tweezers to help pull them up snuggly into position. That's the plan, anyway. :-\

It's a coming along......

      Don't forget the scopes.

OK, I've finished the fading on the body of my King Tiger, applied the gloss coat, and started weathering and washes. The gloss coat darkened the model some and made the camo stand out more than it will when I finish up. Here are some new pics:

Thanks, Tojo. I'm enjoying the build, but I'll be glad to be done. This one has really taxed me, and there aren't even really that many parts. I still don't feel like I have a good base color for tank tracks. I think they should be a lot lighter in color than most people paint them. They collect a film of dirt, dust, and oxidation pretty fast once they get in the field from what I can tell. But, what color best represents that? I haven't found it yet.

Thanks, DM. We'll know soon enough. :-|

Moving along nicely,camo looks good

 The fading and weathering will bring it in line with the finish on those tracks. 

  Should look great!

Thanks Panzerwerk. I appreciate it. I have tried doing it without masking and just don't like all the overspray. And to avoid the overspray by going really slowly up close takes me longer than simply masking the thing with silly putty. I need to tone it all down now, but that's a pretty simple process as well.

Thanks, Jibber. I appreciate your comments. I just can't get myself to spend that kind of money on tracks. It was bad enough shelling out $20 for the set I did use!

You're right, I still have to do the fading and weathering. Thanks for the great tips. Hopefully, I'll get the effect you're talking about.

Looks Nice , Liking the hard edge camo !

BD, I think the tracks lay perfectly, a really nice choice and cheaper than a $40 set of Fruils.

Just a suggestion I would do an oil based wash over the entire vehicle to tone down some of the yellow and that would help to fill in the panel lines and add contrast. Then an over spray with a thinned coat of your base paint over the entire model, I think that would really help blend in your nice camo. I think if you did those two things then some general weathering you'll be very happy and it won't be a frustrating and stressful build anymore. I love the wheels and tracks, just a few more steps and your home. BD this isn't a complaint we're all here to make us better modelers. Love the King Tigers….Terry

She's looking fine thus far!! Keep at it and keep the stress out of it. We enjoy this hobby for it's relaxation...I do anyway...