A KILLER BEAUTY, Kingtiger Sdkfz.182 MENG 1/35

Hi Pals,

To say that it was a quality and well finished kit, without major problems that any modeller with some experience knows how to solve satisfactorily.

Added to that is a model that, by not having interiors, and with clean and simple lines, helps a lot with its assembly.

It's practically OOB, with the exceptions of the added Zimmerit (Tamiya stickers), the ABER metal antenna, and an MG34 machine gun, from the spare parts box and the metal front MG as well.

The Zimmerit, not being from the MENG brand, could be a serious problem, but, surprisingly, the dimensions of the two kits (Tamiya and MENG) must be very similar, because there were no major mismatches, everything was quite well adjusted.
In the instructions, they indicated that it had to be placed before the accessories, but I didn't see it, and I did it the other way around...maybe it was more difficult, but with a cutter, I was able to cut off excess.
In some places I used CA glue to avoid peeling later.

Note that the front and rear hooks, as links, should not be placed without having joined the hull pieces, because otherwise they cannot be joined.
In my case, I put them in to prevent them from getting lost, since they don't come with glue, so I had to do a bit of thankless work to fix it.

The tracks turned out to be simple, since the pieces are a good size, and their fit is also very good, and the kit also includes some jigs to help you assemble them.

The PEs are few and easy to work on (I love it...lol).

I didn't really like the paint schemes proposed by the kit, and although I did tests, in the end, I decided to clean it (several times), and make a model with the basic color, and with little use, without marks.

For the painting I used the AK DK set, with AB, modulating Vallejo MA Red Primer layer, and for the weathering, 501 oils and various pigments.

Small leaves added at random points on the model, fixed with matte varnish.

I have only varnished with satin, the parts that do not wear Zimmerit, I imagine it would be more matte than glossy, and neither the parts that accumulate dust.

Thank you very much for watching and commenting as always.
Greetings and Happy New Year 2024.🎄
Francis.👍

A KILLER BEAUTY, Kingtiger Sdkfz.182 MENG 1/35