What-if Koenigstiger Porsche SPzJgrAbt 653
 

Some time ago, a friend of mine has ordered a DML Porsche Jagdtiger and to his surprise he found that the hull tub was missing. After failed attempts to get the missing part I promised that I'll build one for him. In the spares box we have found a incomplete "Porsche" turret for an older issue DML Kingtiger (both the Porsche and the Henschel turrets were actually designed and built by Krupp). The kit was messed up as it was, so there was nothing to lose.
Here's the what-if story: SchwerePanzerJaeger Abteilung 653 was famous for the resourcefulness of its maintenance crews that led to some unusual vehicles, such as the BergePanther with its Pz IV turret, the Flak Vierling T34 with the turret made of Sd.kfz 251 armor. And, of course, there is Tiger(P) "003". Let's say that in their journeys they found a derelict Tiger Ausf. B whose turret they would graft on the chassis of a JagdTiger that for some reason has lost its gun. The vehicle would replace 003, that was lost in the summer of 1944.
And so I set to work on a what-if vehicle. An entirely "Porsche" Kingtiger, a longer, sleeker, more "sporty" looking tank!

Off with the superstructure! I contemplate building another what-if out of it: a Ortsfesten Jagdtiger (something in the spirit of a Pantherturm).
The body has received its roof made of white styrene.

I've cut the side armor for the tub, the belly plates are soon to follow...

Testing the fitting of the new parts.

I've drilled the holes for the suspension. A few words on the Porsche suspension: the cost of a Porsche Jagdtiger was 462000 ReichsMark as compared to 866000 RM the Henschel vehicle, with a 230 work hours economy. The Porsche Jagdtiger weighed 4 tons less than its Henschel counterpart, both versions being similarly equipped.

Here's the belly plate of the beast, an afternoon's worth of work:

How come the Henschel proto won then?

Actually there was no prototype competition. The first eleven Jagdtigers had the Porsche suspension, the rest up to around 70 had the Henschel suspension. In spite its obvious advantages, the Porsche suspension had some flaws that made further refining necessary (vibrations that in time threw the gun out of calibration), and so it was decided that the Henschel suspension should be used in order not to disrupt production.
The subject is covered in detail in the Spielberger-Doyle-Jenz book "Heavy Jagdpanzer", published by Schiffer

The shot deflector around the turret ring - making it circular would have been easy, but I preferred to make it out of straight segments, to look like something that was improvised. In the second picture you can see the size difference (almost 2 cm) between the standard (King Tiger) and the lengthened Jagdtiger hull.

This is the hull, it is (almost) done, and the turret is next. Four hex bolts should be applied on each the suspension units and it should be completed.
Due to a difference in texture, the turret being smooth while the body has casting marks, I have decided to coat it in Zimmerit and not the hull.