Hello,
Just doing some research for a future project. I have the 1/72 Dragon Porche suspension Jagdtiger. It’s a good kit, poor instructions though. What surrounded the road wheels? Were they steel rimmed or had rubber tyres? I’ve googled loads of pics but nothing seems to show the wheels that clearly. Any help will be appreciated.
All the best, Rich
The Jagdtiger at Bovington has the Porsche suspension. I took some pictures of it and it appears that the wheels are steel rimmed.
Definitely all steel-the same as the Tiger II.
By the time they were produced, rubber was in short supply.
Steel rims for sure. Very large German tanks had been fitted with steel-rimed road wheels for more than a year by the time the Jagdtiger entered production. The artificial rubber the Germans used couldn’t take the strain.
Notice that the Bovington Jagdtiger has had its outer set of road wheels, and side fenders, removed so that it could fit aboard a railway bogie flat truck for transport back to the UK.
Cheers,
Chris.
Actually the Porsche suspension uses different road wheels, and besides, just because the Tiger II roadwheels doesn’t have rubber on the outside they had it on the inside sandwhiched between the outer and the inner part, but you are right, it still saved rubber, because now that the rubber was no longer in contact with the tracks it didn’t wear as quickly and they could reduce the number of roadwheels as compared with the early and mid Tiger I’s
I took a picture of a cut through of a Tiger II roadwheels that shows the rubber but it came out a bit blurry.
Again i have to correct you, this the Porsche suspension, this is how it looked there are no wheels missing … there is an entire suspension missing on the left side, but thats another matter.
One of the benefits of the new roadwheels design was that they could reduce the number of roadwheels per axle from 3 to 2 which meant they didn’t need to remove any roadwheels for rail transport, only the sidekirts.
Notice also that the Bovington Jagdtiger is equiped with the early style Gg24/800/300 tracks and the early style 18 tooth drive sprocket, wether this is sepcific to this vehicle or the Porsche suspension vehicles in general, i don’t know.
Thank you for your replies. They’re a big help.
So when you’re weathering the wheels, it’s the side of the wheel which comes into contact with the track teeth and the rim that you can dry brush steel, the rest you can paint the same colour ? Thanks again.
Rich
In 1/72, really just the rims of the wheels where they come into contact with the track, rather like the wheels on railway carriages, but nowhere near as bright. The edges in contact with the guide teeth might also wear, but in 1/72, this wouldn’t really show. On the real thing, they would be quickly covered by road dirt or, if off-road, mud and dirt, anyway.
Cheers,
Chris.
Have you built the kit yet?Be careful when installing the part for the engine compartment.My instructions had me install it backwards which leaves you with a large gap between the rear deck and the rear of the vehicle.
I just use an ordinary pencil to rub along side the road surface of the road wheel to simulate metallic wear.
Thank you again for those tips. I’ve not built the kit yet , but it’s in the queue.
Cheers, Rich