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This is the Tamiya kit of the German King Tiger tank. I built this kit in '93. The previous armor kit I'd built had been the classic Tiger I, but it was so long ago, the glue I had used was tube cement, and the paint job was applied with a watercolor brush. Needless to say, this kit was a quantum improvement. The older kit, by this time falling apart, was sent to the spares bin to join a great many other pieces.
Though an excellent kit, I chose to add zimmerit detail to the tank. I spread a 2mm coating of Squadron Green Putty thined with Testors liquid cement on one section at a time, using an old x-acto flat head chisel blade as a trowel. I had modified another old chisel head blade by cutting a comb-like pattern on the end with a Dremel cutting disk. Dragging this blade across the slightly gooey putty one cm at a time lightly scribed the appropriate zimmerit pattern that I wanted. After all sections had dried, I used a fine grit sand paper to remove any obvious burrs.
The paint scheme was a simple one, based on the kit instructions and box art. The pattern of camoflage also followed the kit art and instructions. I was disappointed with the harsh lines between colors, but since I didn't want to pull out my airbrush, I chose to use chalk pastels to soften the edges a bit. Testor's semi-gloss sealed the work afterwards. A thin wash of dark brown/black accented the recessed detail and zimmerit, and a quick dry-brushing of a sand/yellow/white mix brought out the highlights. After applying decals, Testors Dullcote finished the project. Except for picture hanging wire used to replace the tow cables, this kit was built straight from the box. Some day I'd like to build a replacement Tiger for the one that fell apart.
