Hi All,

I have several things on order in addition to the Meng TS-031 Tiger 2, including the Meng interior, a Royal Model set of Tiger 2 tools and mounts, and I have a set of Fruil Tiger 2 tracks, and a set of Tiger 2 fenders that were originally going to go on a Dragon Henschel Turret Tiger 2, but I am hoping will fit the Meng tank. I also have a Voyager PE 35874 set, and a set of ATAK Zimmerit, as I have not been impressed with the photos and reviews of the Meng Zimmerit, plus, I really wanted an 'add on' Zimmerit set, so I can more easily model damaged/missing Zimmerit spots.

Okay, so with all of that out of the way, I want to know what specific tank I might be able to model. Does anyone have any particularly good photos or photos they could recommend, to use in modeling a specific Tiger 2 tank? I don't care that much about a particular camo scheme, rather, I'm more interested in photos that show damage to the tank or Zimmerit, or the the fenders, missing or bent, anything to make a particular tank visually interesting. I know there are literally millions of place to look in books and on the internet, but I would like some expert help/opinions on one or more specific Tiger 2 tanks that I could build with the materials I have on the way. Thanks in advance for any help!

There weren’t that many changes to the Tiger B during its production run but it looks as though Meng provides the rain guard over the gunner’s sight which was a November 1944 addition so you’d just need to omit that for an earlier one. The loader’s hatch changed in June 1944 but not sure which version is included. Apparently there is an optional plate to cover the circular vent on the rear deck too.

So it looks as though you have plenty of choice. Obviously Zimmerit application stopped in September so you’d be limited if you wanted to use that.

SS-101 in France (late in the campaign - Shrivenham’s Tiger B is one of those) or 503 in Hungary come to mind but there were also units on the Ostfront with which I am less familiar.

Thanks, Robert....that's a great start!

The most heavily photographed unit which had King Tigers with Zimmerit was the Army 503rd, which was photographed in Normandy in July, 1944 (First Company), and Mailly le Camps, east of Paris (Third Company), in early August, 1944, but most of these had the early, so-called Porsche turret.

The battalion was filmed again at Paderborn, in late September, 1944. The Second and Third Companies, newly re-equipped with production-turret King Tigers, were featured in a newsreel. The factory switched over to no-Zimmerit in September, so the First and Second Companies had the coating, and the Third did not. Cameras caught them again in Budapest, in October, 1944 (Second Company), restoring the pro-Nazi government, which had been ousted in a short-lived coup. These photos appear in every book on the King Tiger, and are a mix of photographs and movie stills from propaganda teams.

The Army 501st, 505th, and 506th also received King Tigers with Zimmerit. The 505th had the dramatic knight on horseback logo painted on the turret sides, where the Zimmerit had been chisled away. The 506th was almost never photographed, so pictures are few and far between, but it did see combat in the Ardennes, and it remained on the western front until trapped in the Ruhr Pocket in 1945.

Scroll though the archives and pick a photo you like.
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/germany/tanks-2-3/tiger2/