Dragon King Tiger with Henschel Turret in 1:35

[Stands24]

Hi! This is my second tank model so far, and like the last one, I will have to do a bunch of images in one post since it was mostly done when I found these forums.

This is Dragon's King Tiger with Henschel Turret in 1:35, kit # 6254. Overall I think this is a fantastic kit with great detail. Only issue I've had so far is that the power line for the front light is missing... Not sure why it wasn't included but no big deal. I bought four King Tigers from Dragon, all different kits but it's because I heard that they make amazing King Tigers. This statement holds true in my opinion; their mold quality is outstanding and fit is perfect. Instructions are a liiiiittle confusing but that's okay. Dragon has some "premium kits" (I guess this is one of them) with a bunch of cool accessories. This one has three 1:35 88mm shells, five 1:35 Fallschirmjaeger troops, a metal gun barrel, and Magic Tracks. I plan to use the middle camo scheme in this image, with the red turret numbers. I love red!


So, same as the E-75 (I have another thread on it), I started with the turret because I love the Tiger II's turret. So beastly and tanky! The track hangers are properly marked before you attach them, so the tracks will fit. The E-75 I'm making has the issue where the placement is designated all wrong. You'd have to do good guesswork if you actually want to hang tracks on the E-75!


Next was the lower hull... Wheels, wheels, and more wheels. The bars were a bit fiddly and moved around some during attachment so they aren't all EXACTLY in line but it's no issue; the tracks still go on.


Bottom of the lower hull. Great detail here too!


Then came the upper hull. I did well with the PE grills this time! No splotches of super glue are stuck in the grills!


And a close-up of the engine deck, for all you folks who looooove engine decks.


Afterwards, I began working on the tools and other stuff. I painted them before attaching using my newly bought Model Master paints! Found them at a huge hobby store with an entire aisle dedicated to model paints. Their gunmetal (apparently synonymous with the "metal black" I keep seeing instructions say) black is a bit odd in my opinion. Not very metallic-looking I guess. But their wood color is good to me! For the smaller rope, I used Vallejo's gunmetal grey. A MUCH more metallic color! The exhaust pipes were painted to look kinda rusted, and I got this color by combining MM's Rotbraun (RAL 8012) and Schokoladenbraun 1943 (RAL 8017). I think it turned out pretty great for not buying a specific rust color! It looks off because of the lighting though.


And then, the tracks! These are Dragon's Magic Tracks, and I have quite a few links left over after making these. Good to have spares! They can be dry-fitted and workable but they will disconnect somewhat easily if bent a lot. What I did was make four runs, two runs for the bottom tracks (wrapping up and over the drive sprocket and idler wheel) and two runs for the top tracks. I cemented several that would be in a flat line, then did small groups of flat lines and cemented them at angles to make the slight curves. Finally for the tracks that will curve over the drive sprockets and idler wheels, I left them dry and am hoping for the best. I had a huge issue here where my idler wheels were apparently too far backwards (the instructions were not specific at all) and a guy on Armorama pointed it out to me. I had to "de-cement" (nicer word for "rip out" ) the idler wheels from their sockets and adjust them... But it resolved the problem! I WANTED to paint these with Vallejo's gunmetal grey (as mentioned before) but it was much too gloopy to send through my airbrush... I ended up clogging it twice. Poured so much acrylic thinner in the paint before dropping some in and it STILL didn't help. So I decided to use a mixture of mostly Testors flat black and some of their silver, to add a tinge of metallic-ness. I think they turned out pretty well, and these are the first things I've ever airbrushed!


As I said before, I do like how this turret looks (DEFINITELY a lot better than the initial turret in both looks and armor effectiveness) so I'm not sure if I want to keep the spare tracks on the hangers or leave them off... What do you guys think? I'll add images of both options so y'all can see.



Finally, here we are at the present moment. Everything (except the tools and tracks and stuff) is dry fitted to see what it all looks like. I love it! Dragon's tanks are awesome.


To Do List
- Attach Side Skirts
- Prime & Paint!
- Attach Tools
- Attach Tracks
- Add Decals

Let me know what you guys think!

[mick]

great work

[Stokesy44]

Very nice. Say what you like about the Tiger II but you can't say it wasn't a beautiful thing to look at.

As for the track links on the turret. If you're going to add all the tools and cables then it probably makes sense to leave the tracks on. Also, you can go to town on them and rust them up really nice. They will look awesome against the tank's camo.

But hey, its your kit Dude, go with what you want.

[Stands24]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. ^_^

Stokesy, the Tiger II was a gorgeous beast. It's my favorite tank. Should I remove the little extension above the gunner sight port though? The instructions say to but I'm not sure if that is correct.

As far as weathering goes... For now, I plan to make my tanks look factory-fresh and clean. This is because I love clean camos and smooth textures, even though these tanks probably got banged up soon after being sent off. Vibrant colors are pleasing to my eye. I will probably do weathering on future tanks though! I have three more Tiger IIs to go through after all, as well as a Panther II and G, Leopard 1A3/4 and Leopard 2A6, IS-3...

[MarkVerploeg]

If you mean the upside down U shaped part thenit is up to you
That was part of the KT design from October or November of '44 as a result of the complaints of gunners who had trouble seeing anything due to glare from the sun wich is lower later in the year
If you are making a Ardennes offensive or later tank you can just leave it on there

[Madmattmodels89]

Oh nice now I wanna build a King Tiger!!! Awesome progress so far!!!

[Stokesy44]

If you mean the upside down U shaped part thenit is up to you
That was part of the KT design from October or November of '44 as a result of the complaints of gunners who had trouble seeing anything due to glare from the sun wich is lower later in the year
If you are making a Ardennes offensive or later tank you can just leave it on there

Thanks Mark. I wouldn't have had a clue!

So we've got a lot more Tiger IIs to look at soon? That's excellent. I prefer it to the Tiger 1 but I never say so. Could find myself on the wrong end of a 'care package' from the Tiger 1 Mafia!

Mind you I've got 2 Tiger 1s in my stash so I'm a traitor to myself!

[MarkVerploeg]

I have 9 Tigers in the stash and 2 more on their way to me
But those are rare kits and i couldn't let that pass me by
I actually prefer the look of King Tiger
The Porsche turret is the best looking tank from the entire war if you ask me
I just decided to make the complete range of Tiger 1's and King Tigers
But with only 450 tanks made and in just 2 main versions there is no need for a huge pile of them
I have several in the stash including the Porsche with zimmerit and the final productions with the narrow tracks
And the only real difference between the Henschel production versions and the final production version where the sprockets and the tracks
The rest was still the same
But i do have the book from Osprey about this tank and there is a timeline in there wich explains all the small changes that where made during the production of these tanks
As well as the reason there even where Porsche turrets
Of mr Porsche wasn't so stuburn and made 50 turrets there wouldn't even be any of them
They just adapted the hull to those turrets and placed them
As they where ready to be used anyway

[Stands24]

If you mean the upside down U shaped part thenit is up to you
That was part of the KT design from October or November of '44 as a result of the complaints of gunners who had trouble seeing anything due to glare from the sun wich is lower later in the year
If you are making a Ardennes offensive or later tank you can just leave it on there

Oh I see. Thank you! The box says Battle of the Bulge so I assume it's supposed to be on there. If that's the case though, I dunno why the instructions say to remove it...

Thanks Mark. I wouldn't have had a clue!

So we've got a lot more Tiger IIs to look at soon? That's excellent. I prefer it to the Tiger 1 but I never say so. Could find myself on the wrong end of a 'care package' from the Tiger 1 Mafia!

Mind you I've got 2 Tiger 1s in my stash so I'm a traitor to myself!

Yep, three more Tiger IIs. c: I like the Tiger I and all but... it's too square-like to me. I like the Tiger II's angles and curves; they make it look more menacing.

A couple more pictures to come today! Side skirts are going on...

[felisbarcinonensis]

Great progress That's a very very very cool kit

[Stands24]

Side skirts are on! It already looks so much cooler.


Love the way this tank looks from the front. Such an intimidating profile!


Here is the rear panel, forgot to include it earlier. You can see a slight bend on the right side. The upper hull came like this and I dunno how to fix it... So how should I attach the exhaust pipes and their covers? Can I fit the pipes in after attaching & painting the covers, or should I cover them with masking tape and attach them at the same time? Also, does anyone know what color the pipes were after coming from the factory? I should probably repaint them; I contradicted myself when saying I wanted a factory-fresh look yet I painted them rust color...

[MarkVerploeg]

Looks good so far
What i tend to do is glue the exhausts in place and place the covers aswell
They aren't attached anywhere else then on the bottom so you don't have worry about any brackets and stuff like that
I then just paint the model and do the rust paints when i start detailpainting
At the end you can use pigments to further weather the exhausts

[NorthernModeller]

Coming along nicely

[Stands24]

Looks good so far
What i tend to do is glue the exhausts in place and place the covers aswell
They aren't attached anywhere else then on the bottom so you don't have worry about any brackets and stuff like that
I then just paint the model and do the rust paints when i start detailpainting
At the end you can use pigments to further weather the exhausts

I suppose I'll repaint them and cover them with masking tape, then attach. What color were the pipes from the factory?

[MarkVerploeg]

Looks good so far
What i tend to do is glue the exhausts in place and place the covers aswell
They aren't attached anywhere else then on the bottom so you don't have worry about any brackets and stuff like that
I then just paint the model and do the rust paints when i start detailpainting
At the end you can use pigments to further weather the exhausts

I suppose I'll repaint them and cover them with masking tape, then attach. What color were the pipes from the factory?

I wouldn't know
They where made from some cheap metal as they would start to rust after the first use of the tank

[digger303]

[quote="Stands24"]Side skirts are on! It already looks so much cooler.




Here is the rear panel, forgot to include it earlier. You can see a slight bend on the right side. The upper hull came like this and I dunno how to fix it...

Before it is glued. Cut a section of striping, flatten the hull deck then glue the cut strip on it's edge to the inside of deck so to hold it straight. Like a typical piece of reinforcing.

[Stands24]

Thank y'all for the compliments! ^_^ I suppose my experience with many many LEGO sets as a kid helps me build these models easier than someone who's never done much "construction." I remember watching a video where the guy said "For your first model, get something cheap and easy because chances are, you WILL destroy your first model." My first was the E-75 (in another thread), and it turned out pretty great to me.

Anyways, here is the kitty, now primed and ready for painting!


A shot of the rear. I decided to keep the rust color since my research concluded that these pipes began to rust after just a few hours of running. I covered them with masking tape, attached them, primed the model, and the tape will be removed after painting. c:


Upper glacis! It's still astonishing how thick the armor was here. I covered the MG with masking tape, same as the exhaust pipes.


Aaaand a mess-up... I almost dropped the turret when I was priming it so my fingers touched the sides. It left these bumps. I suppose I'll just sand them down later...


So, any tips on which color to paint first? I believe Tiger IIs manufactured in late 1944 were first painted all over with Dunkelgelb, then the Schokoladenbraun (sometimes replaced with Rotbraun, better known to us as their "red primer") and Olivgrun were added later to finish the camo.

[Tiger213]

What unit will your Tiger be from? I am right now working on the 222, from sSSPzAbt 501 from Ardennes. It had specific cammo. Generally, I believe they had "hard edge" camo pattern. I have lots of pictures, drop me a line, I can send them to you

[Stands24]

What unit will your Tiger be from? I am right now working on the 222, from sSSPzAbt 501 from Ardennes. It had specific cammo. Generally, I believe they had "hard edge" camo pattern. I have lots of pictures, drop me a line, I can send them to you

Hey! I believe I have a kit similar to that one. I have one for Battle of the Bulge, and another with the late pattern track in the Ardennes, 1944. I guess both are sPzAbt. 501. The one I'm working on is the one that says Battle of the Bulge, kit 6254. The other that says Ardennes 1944 is kit 6232.

[Bissyboat]

Looking good.

[Stands24]

Dunkelgelb is on!!







The wheels were a pain... Note to self, attach wheels next time AFTER painting them separately...



Next is schokoladenbraun and then olivgrun!! Then decals and whatever else... It will have a matte finish.

[spock1701]

What paint did you use for the dunkelgelb?

[Stands24]

What paint did you use for the dunkelgelb?

Model Master's Panzer Dunkelgelb 1943, # 4796. It looks odd in different lightings.

[Eusi]

Great build so far. Tiger 2 is a long time favorite of mine so will be following this build closely. The kit itself is also a nice one, packed with goodies.

[Stands24]

Got the camo pattern on the turret, for the most part. Used a method I found where you section off areas with sticky tack, then mask those areas and paint the unmasked areas. I found that paper towel works better as a "masker" instead of masking tape... Masking tape sticks to the tack too much and pulls the tack off when you try to remove it to paint a new area. Nonetheless, I think it came out well. I chose to do turret number 204, seen below. I'll post my versions after the originals for comparison. I tried to copy the camo pattern as close as I could. Model Master paints were used, Panzer Olivgrun (RAL 6003) for the green. Also, I used rotbraun (RAL 8012) instead of schokoladenbraun because most Ardennes Tiger II models I've seen used rotbraun...

Left side...



Right side...


I noticed the green part in the middle was noticeably not the proper pattern so I'll fix that later.

Top view for you guys. No images exist of the top obviously so I went free here.


After removing the tack, I found very faded edges (the airbrush effect I guess) so I had to do touch-ups with a precision detail brush to get the hard-edge camo. I also got paint bumps from the paint building up along the tack borders... How do I remove these? Sanding?

Also, my tack was not sticking well to the gun barrel. How do I get the wavy vision distortion pattern on the barrel as seen in the first image?

Last question, what should I use to apply the dots in the ambush pattern?

[Kevthemodeller]

looking good

[AdamLuscombe]

Looks great so far

[Stands24]

So, I got the preliminary big area painting done!!

I used that same sticky tack and masking tape method I found earlier, but I replaced the tape with paper towel since the tape stuck to the tack way too much, pulling off the tack when I wanted to pull off just the tape.

Here's the hull before masking...


After masking and with brown painted...


And a somewhat walkaround view of the full tank.







Now I have to fill those yellow lines left by the tack and touch up some spots! The turret's paint is done aside from the dots for the ambush pattern. I'll add those to the turret after filling up the hull paint job. I think it came out wonderfully. c:

Side note, ordered a Badger airbrush! Can't wait to use it when my adapter comes in.

What do y'all think so far?

[Stands24]

Small update. Been too preoccupied with work and some other kits. I am refining the hard edge pattern, filling in the gaps left by the tack.

[chalkyw]

Nice build , I've got one witing in the wings so will watch with interest

[Stands24]

Base camo pattern is done! Took a while... As I said, work has been sucking up my time and energy. ): In short, I basically went from this...


...to this, all around the tank. Hopefully my following gloss coat will even out the reflective properties of random paint spots. It's not as bad as the camera makes it look, I swear!


I have done my best to match the camo with the original photos (originals first).


Other side.


And a semi-walkaround.






Now I've begun adding the dots to complete the ambush scheme, using a snipped-off sprue section cemented to a circular sprue end, whittled and sanded to make a small point. Improvisation!

[Stands24]

Turret has received the full dot treatment!

[InitialProduction1]

Cool build, I've always tried to paint that camouflage scheme, it just never came out right, might have to try this. Again nice.

[Stands24]

Cool build, I've always tried to paint that camouflage scheme, it just never came out right, might have to try this. Again nice.

Thank you. ^_^

Do you mean trouble painting this particular tank's camouflage scheme? Or ambush schemes in general? Either way, have a look earlier in the post where I demonstrated the usage of sticky tack & masking tape/paper towel to lay out borders for each color area. (:

[InitialProduction1]

Ambush scheme in general those little dots are a pain.

[Stands24]

Ambush scheme in general those little dots are a pain.

Haha, I get what you mean! I suggest doing what I did with the sprue section. Cutting it off and whittling the edge down to a small point. I finished dotting the tank and will post an update soon. The solid point of the sprue piece makes it easier to work with than brushes for dots!

[Stands24]

Alright, dots are done and I got the barrel done! I loooove how this turned out. I am very happy with this paintjob for it being the first paintjob I've done for a model.

In order to get the wavy pattern on the barrel correct, I took a tip from someone. I got some parchment paper at work, applied a strip of masking tape to it...


...then cut wavy patterns into the tape/paper.


It took me three tries to get it right. How Goldilocks-esque. The first one was too small, the second too big... The third just right.


Then I applied it to the barrel's underside and airbrushed sections using the tack-nique!


Next, the color areas were trimmed up, made all nice and neat... And done! The wave pattern isn't even and seems rather hand-made instead of stenciled on, as I think it would have in reality.



And, here we go! Basic all-over paint job is DONE! Just gotta paint the rubber rims of the wheels and I'll throw on the gloss coat. Then decals and panel lines! Here's a profile, then walkaround.







Please post your thoughts! This came out so much better than I thought.

To Do List
- Paint Rims
- Gloss Coat
- Decals & Lines
- Matte Coat

[digger303]

Damn nice job !

[Madmattmodels89]

Can't wait to see this beast finished! I like the camo paint!!!

[Stands24]

Sorry it's been a while, I've been busy with several projects. ^_^ I'll be updating a few other of my threads as well as this one.

Got a lot done I think! I got all the tools onto the tank, unmasked the wooden box and the exhaust pipes, added rubber rims (the color obviously) to the wheels, and put on the gloss coat.

First, a walkaround.





Rubber wheel rims! This took a while; was a very tedious process.


Gloooossssss.


Next up will be decals. I dearly hope I don't mess these up... I'll be doing turret number 204, as stated before. Post your thoughts!

[OliveDrab]

Nice work on the King Tiger and cool build thread. Nice job on the ambush camo scheme too
If your concerned about accuracy, the King Tigers roadwheels were all steel, no rubber, and to be honest they look good as you have them as the bare steel would be rather dark from wear. If your not to far along in construction, the dark base coat you already applied to the wheels would look just fine with some graphite rubbed over them, or drybrushing a gun metal or dark steel color would do the trick also.

[Stands24]

Nice work on the King Tiger and cool build thread. Nice job on the ambush camo scheme too
If your concerned about accuracy, the King Tigers roadwheels were all steel, no rubber, and to be honest they look good as you have them as the bare steel would be rather dark from wear. If your not to far along in construction, the dark base coat you already applied to the wheels would look just fine with some graphite rubbed over them, or drybrushing a gun metal or dark steel color would do the trick also.

They didn't??? I swear I saw a 3D render of one of their road wheels dismantled... The midsection was rubber mashed between the steel hubs, kinda like what I see in that image. In fact I referenced that image when painting... xD But, I dunno...

[OliveDrab]

I'm no expert either, I'm just going off my limited research (and sometimes very limited knowledge ). Perhaps a real expert will educate us.

Technically, there was rubber used in the construction of the roadwheels which was sandwiched between the steel plates, but none of the rubber would have been easily visible and the actual outer roadwheel material was all steel.

As an example, heres a late style Tiger I roadwheel. I'm just guessing that the Tiger II roadwheels were similar.
http://tiger1.info/EN/Steel-wheel-clamps.html

[Stands24]

Hi guys! The beast is done.

First, my decal work. I did a couple tests before the real thing to acquaint myself with the process. I did a full three-number decal (222) with no individual numbers. Next was 204 in black so still I had all available red numbers. There wasn't enough room for the 4 in line so I moved it around.





Both decal sets on.



Some teases before the grand reveal... The panel lines I did for the hatch panel thing and the engine deck. The panel for engine access was hard to do since in some spots, it was level with the hull. No gap for the paint to sink into. Then the turret numbers with the matte finish.





Now the moment you've all been waiting for! Turret number 204, Schwere Panzer Abteilung 501, Ardennes 1944. As I said in the beginning of this post, I was going for a factory-fresh look the best I could. There are some little specks of random stuff like dust from my room that were caught in the gloss/matte coats, but they're very minor. First a profile view, then a walkaround.







Ahhh, the tracks... I had them assembled in halves the best I could, two halves of a run per side. I hoped they would stay together with few issues. I cemented the straight segments and left the curved segments uncemented but attached so I could manipulate them into place. Little did I know I'd spend 4 or 5 hours filled with very colorful language fiddling with these little demons. I was calm at first but after re-attaching the SAME LINK 20 times over, you get frustrated. I had much less trouble with the vinyl tracks for my E-75; I wonder how Dragon's DS tracks will work for me in future kits. After all this I'm not too fond of their Magic Tracks; perhaps I'll just use Friulmodel in the future.


Finally, the comparisons between the original tank and my model. I think I did a very accurate paint job!



Thanks for following, and I hope you guys like it! I am VERY VERY happy with how the camo turned out considering it's my very first camo pattern ever! So happy with this build, and I have three more King Tigers to go. One is already in another build log. Follow that one, it has zimmerit. c:

See you later! Post your thoughts!

[Madmattmodels89]

Impressive work my friend!!!

[OliveDrab]

Wow that's a very impressive job recreating the paint scheme, the big cat sure does look nice

[chalkyw]

She looks fantastic, great job

[Bissyboat]

Wonderful execution on your King Tiger.

[Stands24]

Thanks all!! ^_^ My next non-zimmerit KT will be much better. Am working on a Panther II and Jagdtiger at the moment.

[OneSmallStep1966]

Very nice painting, well done