Hello! My name is Jon, and I am new to modelling and Armorama.

My history is mainly in gaming, and I have painted many miniatures in my time. I always stayed away from large scale modelling because I didn't have the room to store or display models, but I am finally at a point in my life where I can.

So, I decided to start with a project that interested me, and keep a running "blog" of my progress, hoping that people would be willing to comment and assist through the process. I also believe this will keep me motivated through the process and (hopefully) avoid some amount of frustration.

I am jumping into this world with the Dragon 6303 Kingtiger. I realize this is a pretty big first step, but I think with my history of miniatures, I should be able to handle it if I take my time.

Here is the box:


And here is my worktable with the parts laid out:


I started yesterday with step 1 and gluing some of the wheels together. So, a couple of noob questions:

1) In the instructions, it points out parts of the wheels with a paint color number. Is that suggesting that I paint now, before assembling, or is that just a way to show as you go what it will be painted down the road?

2) I am a bit confused about the tracks. Some of the research I did stated that there were "Magic Tracks", but the only "Magic Tracks" in the box are 9 tracks that look to be glued on the turret. The actual tracks that will be used are 1-piece soft plastic. I have seen that a lot of people have purchased after-market tracks for this kit. Why? Should I?

I appreciate all of your help, and look forward to your feedback. If there is anything you think I should know for the next step, please don't hesitate to tell me.

Thanks!

Hey Jon!!

First...welcome aboard!! Always good to see new people!! Second, nice choice out of the gate! KT's just look cool!!

A couple things to remember getting your feet wet...don't be too concerned on accuracy issues right now. Name of the game is building and having some fun! There are always going to be things that folks will let you know can and should be replaced but being early on in the larger scale build...just have fun!!

As for painting...clean up parts and dry fit as much as you can. Items like wheels can be painted prior but if you like. Just remember to clear coat to protect them while handling.

Yup, the "magic tracks" as the spare links in the kit...the actual tracks are called DS. Some folks despise them while others think they are great. Take your time and anything will look great in the end.

Looking forward to seeing you have at the Big Girl...bring on the building!!

That is a very nice kit to get started on armor with.When I built this 6 years ago,they provided a whole set of Magic Tracks.Now they are cheaping out.

That being said,for your first armor I suggest using the DS,they can be painted and weathered to look pretty good.Metal Fruil tracks look great and provide a nice sag,but they aint cheap !! On this build,the sag on the upper run will be hidden by the fenders,so save your money unless you are leaving the fenders off.

Ditto to both of the above. For now focus on your building skills and techniques. Above all have fun. All the bells and whistles i.e. the plethora of aftermarket items, will come in time.

kool, i built this kit. It is a very nice kit from Dragon. Have fun!

Very nice kit and welcome.

Yeah, the Magic tracks are only for the turret pieces. King Tigers don't have much track sag, so there's not much need to get metal tracks (unless you really want to). Besides, the side skirts will most of it anyway.

You can paint the wheels now or later. I usually paint them late in the game (as well as attaching schurzen late in the game also.

I'm not aware of any accuracy issues...but then again, I don't build for accuracy. So, just enjoy it, try out some techniques, and don't start pulling your hair out.

I'm not familiar with this particular kit, but here's a word of warning. Dragon instructions are not generally known to be totally user friendly. Be prepared for hiccups along the way. You may want to go on line and search up some reviews and build logs that others have for this kit.

Have fun with the build.

Hello again. Thank you everyone for your comments so far. Very helpful and encouraging.

Alright, next step happened last night. Finished gluing all of the wheels together, and began assembly of the body.

The current status:


The one issue I had here was that the little "legs" that the wheels slip onto move pretty significantly back and forth. I decided to glue them at the furthest down position, and kept them all consistent. Not sure if this was right or not.

Before I put the outside wheels on, I think I am going to paint these. When I fit them on without glue, it leaves absolutely no room to paint them. Think that will be best.

The other issue that I am wondering about:
The wheel in this picture can be rotated 360 degrees, but the pin is offset, so the change in where it sits can be pretty significant. Here it is next to the hole it belongs in.


Here it is in its furthest "inside" position.


Here it is in its furthest "outside" position.


What is the right way? Do I wait to glue it until I put the tracks on so that I know what position it should be in? That would make the tracks easier to put on...

Thanks for your help so far, and I look forward to more comments.

Welcome to the site, Jon! You picked a nice kit to get your feet wet. As to your last question, that wheel is called the idler and on many German & Russian WWII tanks, that wheel is moveable to allow the crew to adjust the tension of the tracks. On some kits there will actually be parts that mount behind that wheel which represents the track adjustment feature. Most times it's best to NOT GLUE that wheel till your tracks are ready to be installed cause having it glued in the wrong position may result in your tracks not fitting properly. Hope this helps and good luck on your first Tiger!

Thank you Jack for that explanation. Makes total sense!

Alright, next steps completed:

I primed the inside wheels as I mentioned yesterday. Figured that would at least get a good coat on them, and then I will airbrush the paint on before weathering.



Also assembled and installed the rear of the tank.



Here is where I had an issue. The instructions show a part in them that is unlabeled. I'm trying to figure out what part to use. I looked through all of the sprues with no luck. Here is the instruction sheet with the part highlighted.



Here is my tank with the same part highlighted.



I know it isn't a big deal, but just one of those things that will bug me if I can't find it. Could always green-stuff something, but would obviously prefer the part.

Thanks for your continued comments and encouragement!

A little clear tube should go in there,thats a light.Think it should be clear blue.

Check on the "S" fret of the clear parts. It looks like it's located right under the "S".

Jon, here's a couple of reviews you may refer to:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr6303.html

http://www.network54.com/Forum/477322/thread/1188071711/Kit,+DML+6303,+Sd.Kfz.182+Kingtiger+Henschel+Turret+w-Zimmerit

The first link has a pic of the S fret and if I my eyes don't fail me, the part you need is S1.

Cheers

Tat