I’m starting Dragon’s King Tiger kit #6312. Can someone who has made this kit give me some general pointers on items to watch out for (e.g. fuzzy instructions, phantom parts, etc.)? What about modifications to "accurize" the kit? I'm planning to build a vehicle from s.Pz.Abt 506 at Arnhem and have the following notes so far:

1. Reproduce the snorkel covers on the engine deck
2. Use the later style double-link tracks with nine-tooth sprockets
3. Use the small style shields around the exhaust pipes
4. Camouflage should be soft edge (not hard edge per the instructions)
5. The numbers are anyone’s guess but should be either red outlined in white or black outlined in yellow to replicate a vehicle from the 2nd or 3rd company

Am I missing anything?

Calling the Tiger II experts. Can someone please check my logic?

- Production of the Tiger II began in January 1944. The "Henschel" turret was introduced in June 1994, meaning that Tiger II's with the "Porsche" turret were manufactured over a six-month period.
- The chassis numbers for the 47 Porsche vehicles delivered for combat use ran from 280001 to 280047. The earliest vehicles (280001-280005) were produced in Jan-Feb 1944 and issued to s.Pz.Kp. 316 (Fkl). Tiger II's based on chassis numbers 280020-280035 were produced in Apr-May 1944 and went to s.Pz.Abt. 503. Since s.Pz.Abt. 506 didn't receive its Tiger II's until after these units, is it fair to assume the Porsche Tiger II's it received were based on chassis numbers 280036-280047 manufactured in the May-Jun 1944 timeframe?
- If the above assumption is correct, then a Porsche Tiger II with s.Pz.Abt. 506 in Arnhem most likely would have had most (if not all) of the production changes introduced in April 1944. What about the following:

1. Pistol / side vision ports - My understanding is these were plugged and welded on the first 16 of the 50 Porsche Tiger II's. If s.Pz.Abt. 506 received later Porsche vehicles, then these should be visible despite the zimmerit?
2. Gun barrel - The switch to a sectional barrel with a stepped sleeve occurred in April 1944, but the old barrels were used up first. Does anyone know which would be correct in this case?
3. Vane sight - In May 1944, a fixed vane sight was added to the turret roof. Was this only on Henschel (series) turrets?
4. Turret sockets - Is there evidence the three sockets in the turret for the 2-ton crane appeared on the later Porsche vehicles? The kit does not show these, but I have a diagram that does depict them. If this change was introduced in June 1944, maybe it was applied to the last of the Porsche Tiger II's?

Thanks for any help. The kit looks like a mighty undertaking, especially with Friul tracks added to the mix, so I'd like to get as much right as possible before I begin.

Bill,
I can't spout off the information you are asking from memory but I would highly recommend the Konigstiger book if you don't have it. I have it and several other very good King tiger books so I will do a quick review later tonight and see if I can help.
BR

Panzerdoc - Thanks for giving this a whack. Which book are you referring to? I picked up The Modeler's Guide to the Tiger Tank, which includes good information about the evolution of the the Tiger II and is (obviously) oriented toward the modeler. I couldn't afford to pick up some of the heavier duty reference books.

This is THE book:



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764302248/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0764310380&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=070CKNC5W38G0ASPFA0V

Tiger II Design/modification Timeline, courtesy of Liejon Schoot::

http://www.theresearchsquad.com/downloads/KTtimeline2.html

Joe - That link is AWESOME. Thank you. Now, if I could only pin down the chassis numbers on the Porsche Tiger II's assigned to s.Pz.Abt. 506 in August-September 1944 ...

The 506 didn't have any "Porsche"-turreted Tiger IIs during this period. The unit was in the process of being re-equipped with factory fresh TIIs, which would've had the Serienturm, aka the "Henschel" turret. This was the only unit that received replacement vehicles regularly. Typically, the King Tigers that came off the production lines went to units stationed in Germany instead of as replacements to units at the front.

According to "Tigers In Combat 2", s.Pz.Abt.506 was re-equipped with 45 Tiger IIs during August/September 1944:

17 received between 20 August -1 September
28 received between 3-12 September

The only identified chassis number was 280215, which was part of the September delivery.

To complete the previous reply, only the first fifty Tiger Ausf.B hulls had the so called "Porsche" turrets mounted. That includes Fgst.Nr.V1, V2, V3 and Fgst.Nr. 280001-280047. Starting with Fgst.Nr.280048 (the fifty first production hull), the Serienturm, aka the "Henschel" turret, was mounted on subsequent Tiger Ausf.B chassis.

Joe - Are you sure about that? Check out this thread from a while back:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/141041&page=1

According to Schneider's figures, the two deliveries totaled 45 vehicles, Bill. The dates indicated wouldn't include "Porsche" turreted tanks; since, the Serienturm was mounted since June. From the timeline of the battalion, included in the book, 506 went from Tiger Is to TIIs. With the dates indicated, I don't think 506 would have received anything other than Serienturms that far into the vehicle's production cycle. Additionally, the timeline doesn't indicate that the 506 had Tiger IIs prior to the re-equipment in late August 1944. At least, that's how I interpret the data.

Hi Joe - I take your point, but then where were the other initial Tiger II's assigned? Five went to s.Pz.Kp. 316 (Fkl) and 16 went to s.Pz.Abt. 503 ... that leaves over half that must have been assigned to other units. Do you think the photo of the Porsche Tiger II en route to Arnhem in the discussion thread above is inaccurately captioned?

Here's what Schneider's data indicates:

PANZERKAMPFWAGEN TIGER II
Year Month Number Entity Arrival Identified Chassis Number(280..)
1944 February 5 316 14 March 001-005
March 1 500 1 April
April 1 500 1 April
3 Waffenamt April
May 4 500 30 June
6 Waffenamt May
June 12 503 12June 023,030,031and 035
6 501 25 June
4 500 30 June
2 Waffenamt June
July 1 500 3 July
3 Waffenamt July
25 501 7-14July
6 505 26July to 7 August
14 503 31 July to 2 August
14 SS 101 28 July to1 August 092, 093, 101,
103,105 and 112
August 14 501 4-7 August
2 500 10 August 100
39 505 10-29 August
17 506 20 August to1 September
September 1 Waffenamt September
28 506 3-12 September 215
45 503 19-22 September
11 509 28 September to 3 October 243 and 260
October 14 SS 501 17-18 October 273 and 278
4 SS 503 19 October
November 20 SS 501 12-26 November 288 and 302
9 509 5-7 December
6 506 8 December 317-319
December 36 509 9 December to 1January
6 506 13 December
6 SS 502 27 December
1945 January 29 SS 503 11-25 January
6 SS 501 26January
3 1./511 21 May
3 1./510 21 May


I would believe that all of the "Porsche" turreted vehicles would have been delivered to units by no later than the end of June. A total of 45 P-Turms can be accounted for up to the end of June 44. The 506th didn't receive its first Tiger Bs until the unit was withdrawn to Germany for rearming during August 1944. I'm with Mr. Ackermanns regarding the accuracy of the photo identification. It's not like there were a couple Porsche-turreted tanks sitting around and not previously issued to a unit at that particular time.

Joe - Thanks for posting the Schneider data - I'll take a look in more detail. But I believe Herbert is answering the question posed in the post above his (i.e. whether Dragon is correct to show an initial turreted Tiger II in a two-tone scheme as part of s.Pz.Abt. 506 at the time of Operation Market Garden). He's saying the 506th did have at least one Porsche Tiger II and posted the photo as evidence. Was there another unit in the area equipped with Tiger II's?

Y'know something, Bill? I've been digging around for verification on this; but, all I've found was innuendo/rumor about the 506 having any. A couple of people on other sites have commented that the photos of 506 Tiger IIs in Arnhem give absolute evidence to Serienturm-mounted hulls. Not one photo is of anything else but Serienturm TIIs. There is also the belief among the posters that the photo purporting to show Porsche turreted tanks, belonging to 506, on railcars heading to Arnhem, are in fact TIIs of the 503 heading to Normandy. Somebody in the link you posted previously said something to that effect, too.

The problem with obtaining bulletproof evidence of this is that the Germans didn't differentiate between "Porsche" or "Henschel" turreted TIIs. As far as they were concerned, they were all Tiger Ausf.Bs. Also, known vehicle allocation by chassis number is pretty much slim to non-existent. This only accounts for approximately 2-5% of the total produced.

Joe - Sounds like there's no definitive answer ... but the ambiguity is good enough for me. After all, if I can't prove s.Pz.Abt. 506 had Porsche Tiger II's at Arnhem, then no one can prove it didn't. Thanks for digging into this and for pointing me in the right direction offline as well.