King Tiger (Henschel Turret) - 1:35 ET Model

[Mike]

King Tiger (Henschel Turret - for Dragon)
1:35 ET Model

Dragon's King Tigers are excellent kits, especially their later editions with the zimmerit moulded into the parts. This set is an exterior upgrade to the details that are provided with the kit, and arrives in ET's usual sturdy flat polythene package, containing four frets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, plus a small bag of resin parts.

It replaces all those chunky tie-downs on the pioneer tools with realistic scale tie-downs with latches that actually work if you're gentle with them. The brackets that hold them steady on the surface of the tank are also included for ultimate realism, and all you'll have to do is remove the chunky moulded in attachments from the kit tools. The upper deck is detailed with lifting lugs and brackets, and the engine deck gets a full set of mesh screens to cover the engine grilles and prevents grenades and demolition charges from getting in amongst the delicate engine components. The resin parts are used in the stowage of the barrel cleaning rods and for the tie-downs that keep the towing cables in place. Again, you'll need to remove the kit blocks in order to use them, but that's only the work of a few minutes. The cleaning rods themselves can be replaced by lengths of 0.7mm rod to save you from having to extricate them from their simplified racks. You'll also need some lengths of 0.4mm rod to finish off the towing cable tie-downs.

The turret mounted MG34 isn't included in the kit on some releases, and as such you may need to source one for the mount, which is a large A-frame made up from number of parts, so it would be a shame not to use it. The spent cartridge hatch on the top of the turret is upgraded with new hinges and if you drill a hole in the hatch, it can be made to work with careful gluing of some 0.5mm rod. There is a choice of two fume extractor ports on the roof, so choose whichever is suitable for your chosen vehicle, both suitably upgraded with PE parts, and wing-nuts all around the "pan lid" type. The loader's hatch is given a new retainer part that stops it flopping open against the turret deck, as well as an internal latch to replace the simplified kit moulded one. The rear escape hatch is updated with a more detailed pistol port, including a length of chain that retains the plug and stops it getting lost, and the rear inner door is replaced by a more scale PE part with working hinges complete with strengthening fillets. The top of the turret has a number of small brackets and hatch locking lugs attached, and the auxiliary manual sight vane is added to the roof just in front of the commander's cupola.

Conclusion
While the manner of the upgrades in this set shows the quality of the original kit, the detail that they add to the model will doubtless make it look closer to reality, which is of course what we strive for in this hobby of ours (as part of the enjoyment IMHO).

Available soon from White Ensign Models in the UK


Review Sample courtesy of