Hello,
What kit and AM parts would you recommend for an Elephant or Ferdinand build? Dragon [xx(], Italeri [:(!], or what else??
Thanks,
Ted
you should get a Dragons latest Elephant or Ferdinand, and maybe the Frui model tracks for it and maybe the Eduard or Aber Photo etch
keep us posted on the build
Get the Dragon kit with the Friul tracks. The kit is so good that you really don’t need anything more. Of coarse if you really want to replace all the clamps and whatnot, you could get the Aber PE set too.
Good luck[:D]
Yeah, I say go with the Dragon kit. Their new stuff is really nice
So what’s the difference (without researching, I’m not being lazy, just at work) between the ferdinand and the elefant?
Ted
Go with the Dragon kit. The Italeri from what I understand is old and lacking detail. I have both of Dragons Elefant and Ferdinand kits and from what I have seen in the box, they are beautiful. If you need some pix of an elefant, look further in the armor pages and you will see pix I have posted of an Elefant.
one was the first one without a hull machine gun and the other had the machine gun added on the hull becouse of Kursk
Ferdinand was the initial variant produced by Dr. F. Porsche. When it went into combat, the Germans discovered several deficiencies. The vehicle was then modified and renamed the Elefant. Some of the modifications they did were to add a hull machine gun and a commander’s cupola.
Has there ever been a group build of this model?
I am going to research the thing sometime soon and see what I want to do. I have wanted to build this model for about 12 years, since I read Shep Paine’s book with his Italeri kit in a dio. Really cool tank. I atempted to build one, but messed up the zim and through it away.
Ted
Sorry, thanks for all the info. This is the best forum I have seen. Very nice people here and always willing to help. [tup][tup]
im sure there be a group build with it in
theres a group build when theres only 2 peaple in it now
there are resin zimerrit sets out for them too
GO with the Dragon kit it is a relly good kit, I just built it.
I used Jaguar’s Elefant tracks on mine. Terrific tracks. The ones that come with the Dragon kit are actually pretty nice. No ejector pin marks on the tracks. but they molded the cleat on the treads pointing the wrong way! The Jag’s were cheep, easy to build and look terrific. They were originally made for the Italeri kit, but are a perfect fit on the Dragon. They (Jaguar) also made an interior kit for the Italeri that’s supposed to be a drop in fit, but I’ve never been able to find one.
Good luck.
Dragon kit, Aber fenders (AWSOME) and Fruil tracks… you have a weiner…
Just wanted to mention the BIG difference between the Ferdi and Elefant, is the zim. The Ferdi did not have zim while the Elefant did. As mentioned before, the Elefant had a machinegun and cupola added along with new tracks. So, basically if you don’t want to bother with the zim, get the Ferdi.
Someone mentioned the Aber fenders. I would not get the Aber fenders unless you plan on bending them. The kit fenders are quite adequate and Aber does not include the full fender in its kit. You also have to purchase the Aber PE for the Ferdi to get the folding mud flaps.
This is an interesting thread. Especially when I am also planning of doing an Elefant for an Anzio Build in another forum. Thanks for the info, guys.
Ted, maybe we can have a GB of our own on this one.
i believe Cavalier makes a zim set for the Elefant. If you started a build next year, I might commit to one, but not right now.
I wouldn’t be able to start until next year either. Who knows.
I did read up on the beast this evening. 80 some Ferdinands were built and the 43 of them were outfitted with the cupola and the fron machine gun, amonst a few other things. they were apparently troublesome beasts.
Ted
From what I can gather about them, they lost about 30-37 (might not been that many) at Kursk and the rest more or less went to Italy after being modified. I think there were a few Berge-Ferdinands also.
I’ve done the dragon Elefant. Drive sprocket’s on both ends made indy tracks fun! When I put zimm on, protruding bolt’s and brackett’s really made it interesting. I did put on an AM barrel. Great kit- good experience. Just something to think about when choosing AM parts.[2c]