Meng 1:35 King Tiger

 

Having built the Ryefield Panther, I got something of a taste for German armour so when I spotted this special edition King Tiger by the Tank Museum for a mere £24.99 I couldn't resist. 

I thought with this one being a link and span track assembly it would be easier than the Ryefield Panther's individual links, but it's actually a lot more bothersome and harder to weather. The tracks are quite brittle and the plastic jig they supply isn't much help.

That said, this is an outstanding kit. The Ryefield was a nightmare because it was packed with largely invisible and unnecessary detail. This Meng kit, however, is every bit as good with a far fewer parts, and very little in the way of photo etch nonsense like Ryefield. I really don't like photo etch parts. They don't add much and they're difficult to glue and paint, and being that model building is all about painting and gluing things, the fewer PE parts the better. This Meng kit doesn't lose anything for it.

This is my second attempt at German ambush camouflage and I think it's worked better than my Patnther. The colour balance is better from using a brighter yellow. Still, though, I don't think I've cracked it yet. My scheme is a little too regimented, and it would benefit from a more randomised pattern. I would have done it freehand but I'm really struggling with flow problems at the moment. Cheapo Chinese airbrushes have their limitations.

Usually I stick with the cheaper brands for vehicles because the price leap after a Tamiya is considerable, but when you build something like this it's easy to see why the higher end kits cost more. There's nothing at all wrong with Tamiya kits but as a rule they only give you the bare minimum, and some of them really are showing their age now. Tamiya is is gradually being eclipsed by newer brands, and their range hasn't evolved much in thirty years. If this is the general standard of Meng kits then I'm a convert.

Build wise, once you've got the tracks assembled and mounted, everything pretty much falls together. The parts are nicely defined and there are no major problems. The instructions could be clearer but an experienced modeller should be able to muddle through. Other than that, you get a lot of bang for your bucks.