Dragon has the King Tiger with the 18th teeth spoket. Eight of them, where used in BOB, with the 3-ton ambush camo and without zimerit.

This is what confuses me. This kit has been put out by Dragon as a BoB tank. However, the new pattern track and 18 tooth spoke came out in 1945...how did they manage to get them on 8 tanks for Dec. 1944?

I recently bought the Dragon King Tiger kit (6232).
I also bought the Osprey King Tiger book so I could do some general research on the vehicle, but now I seem to have more questions than answers.

From what I have read both in the book and online, the 6232 kit should have zimmerit, if modeled OOB as a BOB vehicle. Not that I am afraid of trying zimmerit (ok, maybe a little), but I noticed a version in the king tiger book that really caught my eye. It belonged to sPzAbt 511 and has the 18 tooth drive sprocket and new pattern tracks, no zimmerit and octopus camo.

If I wanted to represent one of these vehicles, what changes would I have to make to the base kit to achieve this? I realize I have to add the reinforced front fenders or remove them entirely, but is that it? Also, what other camo options are available for sPzAbt 511 KT tanks? I have tried to find more info on them, but haven't had much luck.
Thanks

Jamie

- No AA-ring on cupola
- 6 pairs of track hangers per turret-side
- D-loops for camouflage

The Octopus camo was to be introduced in July '45 but the order included the notice that any plant that wanted to switch to this scheme earlier was allowed to do so.

I'm at work right now and my lunch break is almost over, but when I get home I'll try to give you some info on the octopus camo Tiger II if no one else has by then.

Mike...look forward to seeing a picture of octopus camo, am not familiar with that scheme. Sounds pretty cool...
Thanks -

Cheers!
Tim

Fantastic stuff! Thanks for all your help guys!!
Along the same topic, where do you get all this info from?
Years of research, or is there a particular book concerning the T2 that seems to be better than the others? I have the Osprey title, but it seems almost to be a Coles notes version, very informative, but condensed.

Thanks again!!

Jamie

Hi Jamie, Herbert's post pretty much sums things up but there are a few things I'll add.

Quoted Text

---

- No AA-ring on cupola
- 6 pairs of track hangers per turret-side
- D-loops for camouflage

---

Yes these features were planned but to date I have not seen any photographic evidence that they were used on T2's that actually saw combat. There are some well known pics that were taken at the factory after the war that show one turret that had all of these mods, finished but not yet assembled to a hull. I know of one pic of a Tiger II where the AA ring is gone, but it's a very fuzzy pic and hard to tell if the post for the MG is there, so the ring may have just been blown off, or possibly manufactured that way.

Quoted Text

---

The Octopus camo was to be introduced in July '45 but the order included the notice that any plant that wanted to switch to this scheme earlier was allowed to do so.

---

As for the Octopus camo'd Tiger II I have to say I don't agree with Herbert on this point. Yes Herbert, I know of the passage in Jentz's book where you get this info from, but I'm not convinced your interpretation of that passage is correct. (that's not to say it might not be correct, I'm just saying I'm not yet convinced )

The "octopus camo" Tiger II was reportedly from s510. It was one of 6 Tiger II's that the third company picked up directly from the Henschel factory in Kassel during the last days of the war. These six were fitted with the transportation tracks only. I think, (and I know quite a few people who agree with me) that the octopus Tiger II was a one off, and none of the others were painted this way. If that were the case then the other tanks would have most likely been painted in the standard three color "ambush" scheme Herbert mentioned, and shown in the pic I posted below (I'll leave it up for a few days) Now of course the BIG question is; Why only that one tank? Well for sure I can't give you a definite answer, I wasn't there, and the people who were and may still around be around today probably don't remember. One theory I've heard proposed, and it sounds as good as any to me . Say the octo camo Tiger was the very last Tiger II to roll off the assembly line, well here's the crew waiting for their ride, with the enemy practically at the doorstep they didn't want to wait while the factory workers took the time to paint the standard camo scheme. Instead they grab some paint (remember all the components were pre-painted in dunkelgruen before assembly) and brushes, then slapped the stripes and circles on the tank just to break up the shape, and off they go. Keep in mind it's only one possible theory . For those of you who don't like to think in absolutes, yes I'll agree it is possible there was more than one octopus camo'd Tiger II, but as my wife would tell you I'm pretty much a "black & white" type person. I need to see some evidence. Sorry to be so long-winded . Jamie if you need anything else just ask, someone here should be able to help.

Cheers,
Mike

I have 2 pics of the same Tiger-B that shows at least the track-hangers AND the deleted AA-Ring. From memory, I'm not sure if this one also has the D-loops and the MG-post. This particular Tiger-B was in service as it's been photographed in the field.

I agree that the fact we know of only 1 Tiger-B with the Octo-camo makes it a very unique one, but still, out of the 487 Tiger-Bs produced, how many have we never ever seen on a single photograph? I think you will agree that not every Tiger-B has been pictured.

Why then are there so many pics of this one? My theory, they are mementos of one of the crewmembers who re-visited his former ride years after the war. The idea is that most of the pictures of the Octo Tiger-B stem from the 50's.

The one with the Swastika could be more likely one from '45 I admit. And the scheme would certainly make it an interesting choice to photograph.

Going out on a limb here... but what if the others were all shot up and/or demolished by their crews? It's possible.

The Octo-Tiger-B also shows evidence it was at least put out of action by it's crew given that the gun is locked in full recoil.

And as ever, it's all theoretical, which makes this single vehicle so much fun!