an armor question

If the mid-war kit includes the smaller muzzle brake, then yeah, you could swap the Jagdtiger wheels. I am assuming you already have the Jagdtiger wheels and the Academy Tiger on hand. Otherwise, it makes better sense to buy the Tamiya late Tiger. Be aware the Tamiya and Academy kits have slightly inaccurate turrets, The turret on the Tiger is not symmetrical--the left side bulges out slightly (only the most recent "Early" and "Initial Prodiuction" Tiger kits from Tamiya accurately depict this). Also, the hull MG mount on the Academy kit is a little too high on the glacis plate--bottom edge should touch the slope plate. Of course the dished wheel types operated side by side with the steel wheel variants to the very end of the war, so you don't have to modify the kit just to depict the later time period. Gerald Owens