1/35 Meng Sd. Kfz. 182 King Tiger (Henschel) - My First Tank

[jkim]

Carlos... does a Tiger II with BLUE letters (outlined in yellow) make any sense? This is the decal sheet that comes with the MIG model...

[Stikpusher]

Carlos... does a Tiger II with BLUE letters (outlined in yellow) make any sense? This is the decal sheet that comes with the MIG model...

Yes it does. I want to say that one of the SS Heavy Tank Battalions had that style/color of numbers. I would have to check my library to confirm which unit that was.

[jkim]

Thanks Carlos! Instructions say Koln in 1945.

[Stikpusher]

If I am not mistaken, the fighting in Köln was part of the Ruhr pocket campaign. There were the remnants of multiple units within the pocket.

[jkim]

Just put in another order for the same kit!

[speedgraflex]

... but a different seller? I read good reviews about the Takom/MIG hybrid, too. I was thinking I would get an old Tamiya 1/35 of this just to quietly work through versions of your ideas on this project—practicing techniques.

[Stikpusher]

I’d like to find one of the old Tamiya kits to build again. I built one years ago with my first attempt at Zimmerit... It was purged when I moved back in 2011. I stripped the tracks off it for my Nichimo King Tiger.

[jkim]

Dude, you guys and your fascination with old kits... what's' up with that? Why bother with em when there are so many amazing new kits? Not me... I'll get the best kit I can find.

Yes Bruce, different seller. I should've looked at the rating of that previous seller more carefully. Over 100 buyers reporting the same thing: bogus items mailed to the wrong address. This one appears to be legit.

I'm not sure what to expect with an armor build but I've been checking out online builds and started noticing that most builders seem to employ a similar technique of gluing almost everything into place and painting it afterwards. Which I'm not used to doing. And most of the builds I've seen are really HEAVILY weathered and I'm not sure I want to go that far with this build. I'm not a fan of that overly "dusty" look.

[Stikpusher]

Well, I don’t have a lot of disposable income for the new uberkits. And on many of them, I don’t care for the high parts counts. Many tend to be over engineered with multiple small parts to make up a small assembly that can be molded as a single piece.(yeah I’m talking to you Dragon and AFV Club!) On the new tool Tamiya armor, I do not like their new single piece gluable tracks- they always snap during the painting process in my experience, no matter if I use acrylics or enamels. Their older heat joined soft vinyl or newer link and length tracks are superior and more durable. And I actually don’t mind doing upgrades to most older kits. I have fun doing that with what I have in my spares box, evergreen styrene, wire, brass rod, and whatever else I can think up.

[speedgraflex]

Old kits teach techniques without putting as much pressure on the builder as the newer ones do. There are still aircraft, armor and automobiles where only an old kit is available as a subject. (Hello Porsche Carrera 6.) I was thinking that Tamiya’s King Tiger in 1/35 provides a lot of the “canvas” for me to do a follow build of sorts with you. I would also crank up the classic Jolly Roger Corsair in 1/32 when yours hits the bench just to follow along, be creative and share the joy and pain. Plus I would dig building Tamiya’s Sixties 1/50 aircraft kits, too.