| This is a shot of the engine deck of the King Tiger. Of note are the superdetailed grilles, and between the circular grilles, the engine hatch. I decided to try my hand at installing a fully detailed engine on this model. I used the standard Tamiya kit, which also includes two engineer figures plus tools and looks quite nice. However in the end I found it pretty pointless as the engine access hatch, just visible beneath the large turret in this shot, did not allow a decent view of my hard work! In light of this I would say that engine kits are only really suitable if you are constructing a cutaway model or doing an engine change diorama, where the work you put into the engine can be appreciated. Also visible here are the large grilles beneath the turret. Again these are etched brass from the Aber kit I purchased and historically were fitted to the Tiger to prevent mines being slung beneath the turret. On the engine deck you can also see some of the field kit of the tank, a fire extinguisher on the starboard side and heavy duty pliers to the port side. This picture also gives you an appreciation of the huge schurtzen fitted to the tank, these had to be wide in order to accomodate the enormous 80cm battle tracks of the machine. But even these could not help the monster if it found itself in very soft or boggy ground, there are instances where King Tigers sank up to thier turrets in mud!!!!! It was the great weight of the King Tiger that was its Achilles heel, the Maybach engine was the same as that fitted to the Jagdpanther ( a machine some 20 tons lighter than the King Tiger ) and could not provide the colossus with anything near an adequate amount of power, resulting in a very poor power to weight ratio and incredible stress on the poor engine, and hence increased mechanical failure. Indeed many King Tigers were lost to breakdown rather than enemy action. |
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