Wow ... that is really nice looking.


- Jeff

Hello ...
Beautifully made model - congratulations ... My Kingtiger long wait in the box, I am not yet ready .....
Yours - Andy

http://bigtank120.blogspot.com/

Matt, this looks really impressive. But it sounds like a bit of an ordeal to build.

I have the first Trumpeter 1/16 KT (Henschel w/ interior and optional clear turret & hull) that they brought out at the tail end of 2008 stashed away in the attic "for a rainy day". I made the mistake of snapping one up more or less straight away before anyone had actually built one and written build reviews, and now I'm beginning to wonder if it was a wise investment given all the problems that folks seem to be having with these beasts.

I fell for all the "limited availability" spin (sales guff doesn't usually faze me and I'm a tad annoyed with myself about that) and it cost me about GBP 300, which is by a country mile the most I've ever spent on a single kit. It's especially galling given that the current release with the Henschel/Porsche turret options is (I'd guess) essentially the same kit and can be had for around GBP 200.

As Darren also said, I don't think I've seen one of these fully completed yet (yours looks like being the first) and when I spoke to the editor of AFV Modeller at a show earlier in the year (he's doing a monthly build log of his in the mag) I got the distinct impression that even he was finding parts of it a bit of a chore. So I tilt my optivisor to you for sticking at it and look forward to seeing the end result.

Interesting thread - thanks for sharing.

- Steve

Jeff, Andy, thanks for your kind comments

Steve, I can imagine how annoying it must be to be mislead like that. I almost bought the original kit last christmas time but luckily I didn't as the 2 in 1 came out just a couple of months later! You do however now have a rare kit as I only see them coming up on ebay now, the Hencshel version being particuarly hard to find. You also have some of the extras like the clear hulls, metal barrel, pre assembled tracks etc.

The kit itself isn't awful but just takes a lot of dedication to overcome all the problems. I've seen many installments of the AFV modeller editor's build and theres no way I could of gone to that amount of detail. My tip for building it would be to take your time and build other kits inbetween. It helps to stop loosing interest and it makes me feel fresh and wanting to continue.

As for my build, I finally got some more done after taking a few weeks break.

I have finished the tracks and running gear, done a few washes and oil fading on the upper hull and some pin washes.

First the lower hull got a coating of tamiya dark earth texture paint (good stuff). This was also applied to the wheels and tracks. Next I added Mig dark mud and light dust pigements to the lower hull, tracks and wheels. Next i drybrushed the contact points of the tracks with grey and ran a 6b pencil over the tracks to create a metal sheen. Finally I very lightly drybrushed silver over the cleats.

For the upper hull I first gave it a wash of burnt sienna oil. I then used the oil filter method using white, yellow orche and burnt sienna oils. Finally I did some pin washes around the detail areas with raw umber. The paint chips were added using a sponge and grey and black enamel paints.



















Still a fair amount to do but i'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel

Cheers
Matt

Hi Guys,

Well after 7 months of highs and lows and over 220 hours of work it is finally finished! I just need to glue the antenna and add some front periscopes but it is pretty much finished. Just want to say thanks to everyone that followed this thread and give input, It is much appreciated

These are basic photos but I will be taking some decent photos once some lights I ordered have arrived and I figure out how my new camera works!

So, have I done a good job on this kit?

Nice job so far on the King. It reminds me that I want to get back to my 1:16 Jagdtiger conversion, (one of these days).

Just came across this thread Mark .Superb build and an excellent paint job. You've ended up with one serioulsy sexy Big Cat.

Fanatstic job! The hard work really paid off.

- Steve