Finally..here is the build proper of my King Tiger after much preparation (see related posts below). As I mentioned before, this is my very first scale model kit build EVER so I tried to learn how to do it properly as I went along. I constantly refer to my previous post on Scale Modeling Guide: Main Battle Tank Parts which was of great help to my general orientation to the build process. I will present the build chronologically guided by questions I had in mind as I progressed with the build with some representative (amateurish) digital pictures just to illustrate my skill- or the lack of it.:
Build as a whole or by sections?
Looking at the kit parts and the instructional literature, the first thing that came to mind is should I build the kit as a whole then paint it fully built OR build sections of the kit (hull and parts, turret parts and main gun, road wheels, sprockets, etc.), paint separately per section and assemble the whole kit ?
Based from research and consultations with my friends in my local IPMS forums, I went with the latter (build by sections). I believe this will give me the opportunity to paint thoroughly all the sections and parts before full assembly. This was a personal choice from a newbie based from preference alone as others prefer to build the whole kit before painting.
After building big sections separately, below shows the result of the initial phase with the built sections temporarily assembled with sticky tapes just to see what it will look like. Note the straight sections made also for the magic tracks beside the tank proper. The curved sections of the tracks were assembled separately to be connected to the the other portions during final assembly.
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Take note of the temporarily assembled portions of the tracks below connected using sticky tapes. This was done also to approximate the actual curvature of the tracks around the wheel sprocket and the road wheels making the tracks adapt to the actual curvature as the glue dries. Notice also the binder clips I placed above the tracks just under the armored skirts. I was attempting to create track sag through this pressure from above the tracks as the glue dries. Sagging of the tracks would present more realistic tank track placements avoiding the appearance of unrealistic "floating track" commonly seen in built kits.
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| These are the KT road wheels built separately and individually mounted on "toothpicks" on modeling clay for easy handling for painting. Note that the picture shows road wheels already painted which is getting ahead of this post (I was not able to find pictures of unpainted wheels) Uploaded with ImageShack.us |
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King Tiger Build: Build Proper-Zimmerits with or without
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