1:35 Cupola for Tiger II welded w/o drain slits

A welded Tiger II cupola without drain slits

The commander's cupola of the heavy tank Tiger II in the welded rendition, in the variant without slits around the circumference. A replacement part for kits in 1:35 scale, and the model itself is bought separately.

The Königstiger and its design

The Tiger II, nicknamed Königstiger, combined heavily sloped armor on the pattern of Soviet designs with the long 88 mm KwK 43 gun with a barrel 71 calibers long. The first few dozen vehicles received a turret designed in cooperation with Porsche, and only then came the change to the more angular Henschel turret, which the overwhelming majority of machines have. The price paid for exceptional armor protection was a weight of around seventy tons: overloaded final drives broke, fuel consumption was enormous and a fair number of vehicles ended up abandoned without a single hit.

Recommended procedure

The weld between the cupola and the roof is marked on this variant, so once the part is fitted check that the transition does not disappear under the glue. Fill any gap with filler and sand it gently, or the first coat of paint will reveal it. The whole thing looks best when you paint the part separately and join it to the model only at the end. A cast surface will take a coarser texture than the rolled armor around it, which can be used while spraying: it is enough to apply the last coat from a greater distance and the paint dries slightly grainy.

Suitable in a collection

• for models with the Henschel turret
• for refining the shape of the casting on the roof
• for builds of German heavy equipment
• for 1:35 scale