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

[jkim]

Different strokes, I guess! Thanks for the explanations... I am sincerely curious about this interest even though I do not share in it. Helps me accept the varying motivations that drive us as modelers and forces me to be less judgmental.

I'm looking forward to checking the Meng kit out in detail. Part of me is fascinated with the full interior versions of these tanks but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

I need to finish off the 262 to clear off my bench so I can accommodate the F4U. Don't want to start that big boy unless I'm 100% committed. Maybe once that has started, I can squeeze the Tiger II in for some bench time.

[Stikpusher]

John, I do not begrudge those who only go with the new tool high end kits. They are gorgeous to look at. And no matter how good the kit is, if the basic modeling and finishing skills are not there, the model kit can still end up looking like one of those “unbuildable” kits. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have seen some incredible builds made from those older basic kits, with or without aftermarket, and lots of scratchwork. Those builds inspire me to go down that path of sows ear to silk purse. I may only get to the suede purse level, but that path gives me the most self satisfaction in this hobby.

[speedgraflex]

Well, model building has its own history, and it is possible to honor the past and live in the present, too. My initial impulse was to thank you for asking the question. I don’t see this as a contradiction when I deliberately look for conflicts or unknowns from any kit, but I sure do understand why you asked about the choice of using an old kit for anything other than nostalgia or to add a missing link to one’s modeling education, perhaps. I know I find myself like Carlos drawn to smaller parts counts, and more organic forms. Couple that with an abundance of aftermarket from every era and you have the plunge point for a deep dive in both the history of the subject and the history of the kit. Along the way, I would love for other modelers to show up and get busy with kits of their own, but I have become most grateful for you and the others here. Truly, grateful. I look forward to whatever happens next!

[jkim]

Interesting discussion... I'm actually drawn towards kits with HIGHER parts counts. Not because I like over-engineering but I like the idea of more detail, not less. Plus, I like my projects to be involved. I don't like kits where you can see the entire aircraft exploded onto 2-3 simplified sprues.

I think the Meng King Tiger kit will satisfy my parts count criteria and then some. Looking at online builds, one issue that many have run into with this kit is the weird skew of the wheel axles when the suspension arms are installed. Here is an example from Andy Moore's build review at The Modeling News.

[speedgraflex]

Interesting note, John! The angled axles look very visible in the final assembly from this angle.



What a beautiful build review you referenced!

[jkim]

The Jagdtiger was a subject that I was also considering before I selected the King Tiger. I know it was a bit of design failure but I like the behemoth brick house look of that beast.

The skew of wheel axles seems to be tied to the backing plates, which are glued into the interior of the hull and have receptacles with center alignment pins for the swing arms.


Noting the uniform skewing of all of the wheel axles in the downward direction, my assumption is that the holes on the backing plates does not line up perfectly with the holes in the hull. The backing plate might be set too high. I'm guessing that this a correctable problem... possibly by shaving down the glue edge of the backing plate and lowering it so the holes are centered. You can see from the photo below from another online build that the center pins inside each receptacle sit a bit high compared to the holes in the hull. This is my analysis without having the kit in hand to verify.

[speedgraflex]

That’s a great assessment! I concur. I also thought the two interior “spacers” which are added if no interior is desired push the interior plates out of alignment.

[mostrich]

(...) Looking at online builds, one issue that many have run into with this kit is the weird skew of the wheel axles when the suspension arms are installed. (...)

If your solution by aligning the hole patterns shouldn't work, I'm sure some weight in the hull will take care of that. I added about 200 grams in my Meng Panther to make that workable suspension really "work", as I'm planning to place it into a diorama.

[jkim]

That's a good back-up, Torben. Will keep that loaded in the magazine but I'm hoping for the true alignment fix. Some have mentioned no issues with their axle alignment and the idea of Meng providing a fix on later production runs has come up. We'll see... we'll see!

[jkim]

Good news: the package has landed in the US. Bad news: it arrived six days ago and status has not changed since then. Good news: package tracking estimates delivery by March 2 so it is still on-track. Bad news: it has been sitting in customs for six days!

My LHS has added AK Real Colors and Mission Models to their paint inventories. I'll probably pick some up to test on this build. If I ever get it!