In my AFV Club 48002 Tiger kit, I find a subassembly which I do not understand the purpose of:
The main structure emanates from the engine compartment right behind the turret, with what seems to be manifolds that lie on top of the engine covers in a V-shape towards some double cannister-like objects, one at each rear corner, with another set of manifold-like objects doubling back towards the apex of the V. The parts involved are A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A31 and A32, installed in step 7 of the build instructions.
What is the purpose of this subassembly? Should the ends of the manifold-like structures be carved out?
The parts you are descrubing are the Feifel air filter system.
The "point’ of the “V” structure is where the air enters the engin, so this shoulf not be bored out, as it is essentially a closed system, with the air entering via the canisters at the hull rear.
They are the “Feifel” air cleaner pipes that connect to the air cleaners on the rear of the hull. They are found on early Tiger tanks, especially those operating in North Africa.
OK, so the air is sucked in through the filters (canisters) before it enters the engine? In that case it makes sense to have the intake for the whole system is near the center of the tank, shielded for sand and dust by the turret. Will drill.
The air enters from the 2 inner pipes near the center of the “V”. The airflow goes rearward into the canisters and then forward through the two outer pipes and into the engine.