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Saturday, August 3, 2024

Torsion Bar!

Most tank experts seem to agree that the Tiger was at the time it was built, the most advanced tank that existed. It had superb and innovative features that when they worked made it the most feared tank to those facing it. However those innovations were also its Achilles heel. They were not as robust as the simpler designed allied tanks and complex t repair, especially on the battlefield. Take the suspension which on a Sherman and similar tanks was in reality a leaf spring. The Tiger had torsion bars. Whilst you could replace a leaf spring easily a torsion bar was far more complex and with interwoven running wheels on the Tiger, usually three wheels had to come off before you could even start.

The innovativeness of the suspension was brought home to me as I started the Dragon Tiger kit. For some reason the kit replicates the suspension even though there is no other interior detail. First part of the construction is to glue these small retainers to the inside of the hull - arrowed red in the photo below.

Dragon Tiger tank

 The suspension arms incorporate the torsion bar, so once the retainers have set I will start to fit them. The idea is the the model can be posed with the wheels running over an object as the suspension should work. However the designers of that feature never took account at my poor model making skills!

Dragon Tiger tank

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