When was the last time I built a subject with no brief whatsoever? To be honest I cannot remember!

In between commission projects sometimes its just nice to work on something new with no rules-To build something for the sheer pleasure of it. To that end, I was given Zvesda’s 1/35 Kingtiger Ausf. B by my good friend Eric Herbert. He’s an armour builder who likes to challenge me and this kit was simple. No brief here-Just build it and paint it any way you like! Have some fun with it!

Upon opening the box I found a Kingtiger without Zimmermit but a model with individual track links and a decent level of detail. Before I knew it, I had cracked open a beer and was working on this model!

In no time at all I had assembled the main body of the tank:

Once construction was near completed, my attention turned to what paint scheme will I choose for this model? I wanted something unusual, something not seen too often and during my research I came across a Kingtiger in a fictional scheme that I really liked. A mixture of factory dark yellow with a grey/green camouflage in a weathered finish and a contrasting addition of a new gun barrel and some replacement wheels. 

In between painting, I got to grips with all those individual track links…

Once the tracks were on the model, I began to sharpen up the paint scheme, apply decals  and add a few weathering effects….

I was enjoying the results of my labours so much that I thought I’d try and really make this model stand out, give it a story or a context to be set in. Then it just came to me! Put this war weary Kingtiger in a peaceful setting.

My idea was to place this powerful, deadly destroyer in a peaceful pleasant location, man it with a couple of crew figures who are just shooting the breeze in the middle of ……….The Ardennes, late 1944. 

I scratch built a base with home made groundwork and pine trees and found a couple of 1/35 resin German tank crew in my spares box. Now I had a vision and I was going to bring to reality. This was great! I was enjoying the creativity of painting and weathering and setting a scene that was from my imagination.

Here is how my the project was finished…..

I was absolutely delighted with the result I had achieved, being able to produce a vignette from a kit that was given to me in the true spirit of the hobby-for the joy of scale modelling! To have such enjoyment from a subject I have not attempted before was very rewarding.

I finished the project by placing the finished work in a display case and adding a brass plaque to the plinth to put the model in context. 

Kingtiger 303 now sits proudly on the shelf in my studio and I honestly couldn’t be happier! A shout out to say thanks to Eric for the gift of this kit that I enjoyed so much!

What’s your idea of running wild with a modelling subject? This was mine and it was a BLAST! 

Take care and Happy Modelling!

Darren.