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Modelcollect E75 Tiger III Complete!

As requested, comparison photos of King Tiger v. Tiger III. Keep in mind this is pretty unscientific, given there could be a difference in scales. Click on the photo for larger images.
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The King Tiger is a Dragon kit I built several years ago. As noted on the instructions, the differences are not that much, but there will be a significant increase in the gun. I'm still waiting for the replacement kit parts, but have purchased two turned barrels, one from Aber and the other from Great Wall.
This is the Great Wall piece.
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Well detailed and fits together like a glove, but will require some surgery to graft it to the kit.
This is the Aber version.
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Excellent detailing and threaded muzzle brake, this is one cool barrel! I couldn't resist a shot as it compares to the overall length. More to come later today. Thanks for coming by!
:Drinks:
 
That is a big cannon! "For the first time, armored units of the Wehrmacht engaged and sank 2 Soviet destroyers in the Kiel canal from 2 kilometers range". It was said that the German crewmen were roasting pork for lunch when the loaders and gunners of a platoon of 4 Tiger III tanks began returning fire from vessels of the Soviet Navy." One Tiger III tank commander commented "Zis vas a pretty good shot, Ja?!"
:ro:
:drunks: :drink
:salute:
 
Thanks guys! It was a good day at the bench, cool and rainy outside and no yard work blues.
So here's what actually happened. First order of business was to figure out which barrel and how to graft it to the model. I got out the digital calipers and started taking measurements. The Aber barrel is a little more burly looking and a little shorter, so I decided that was the one.
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There wasn't a real great way to add the entire barrel without having to scratch build all the mounts, so do some careful measuring and eyeballing to see just where to whack.
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The screwdriver points to where the cut needs to be, the plate shows how the kit part would have mounted and needs to be drilled out to fit as well. I enlisted my wife to assist the surgery, I clamped the barrel into my drill press vise and broke out the Sawzall with a new blade. Deep breath and we liberated about $4 worth from a $17 barrel.
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I broke out the trusty rotary tool to open the kit parts to accept the new barrel.
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The leverage and weight of the turned barrel were going be problematic (there's that gravity thing again) so I added a cheater inside on top of the gun breech. A piece of scrap sprue cut to length does the trick.
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Moving on, I added the texture to the turret with Mr Surfacer 500, followed by a light sanding after it dried.
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The cupola hatch is from the spares bin, the MC kit part was flat and was basically just a flap. Since I plan to add a commander, the swiveling hatch made more sense. I've since added a grab handle.
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More assembly to come today, then I start on that running gear. Thanks for coming by!
:Drinks:
 
Looking good Mike! The hull still looks like a King Tiger hull though rather than an E100. Am I missing something? Just curious, has nothing to do with the excellent quality of the build.
The gun barrels are insane, especially the Aber barrel. WOW!
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Another interesting, precise bit of scale engineering! Too cool! I cain't hardly wait for some KIA dickweed to accuse your barrel of having a seam!:ro:
 
Thanks guys. This is an E-75, not the E100, so that's why it looks like a King Tiger. No length seams on this barrel, they can just wear out their penlghts and pointy little heads looking.
 
So after a stint of working out in the yard before the weather goes to hell (literally), I'm back to the bench. My parts finally arrived from Modelcollect, but only just barely.

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This was almost a box, definitely not suitable for overseas shipping. What's inside?

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It's a good thing I went with my gut and bought the aftermarket barrel. On a happier note, they did include another turret...:hmm:

Anyway, more to come. Thanks for coming by!
:Drinks:
 
What in the hell?!?!!....Really! :ph: It is a good thing you didn't wait on this. :good:
Now lets see some shots of the color on this Bruiser!
:popcorn
 
Thanks Eric! Still working on running gear and tracks, the kit pieces are weak.
 
I did get the base color down.

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A sandwich bag slips over the magnetic handle, eliminating the need to mask it off, keeping it factory fresh.

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The kit tracks are thin and just look wimpy, this is a bruiser, right? Deep in the stash, I had a set of Friulmodel ATL-41 Hunting Tiger tracks that I have avoided building since around 2013. I pulled them out, found some reference pictures and away we go!

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These links have four pieces that align with a jig until you get the track pins inserted, good tunes and a comfy chair help ease the monotony. While I was digging for the tracks, I came across my baby photo. Thought I'd share.
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More to come, thanks for coming by. :Drinks:
 
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