Italeri Panzer Elefant 1.35 scale

[Robert E Shedd]

An absolute blast to build and paint. A real trip down memory lane! Italeri got this one just right in my opinion.
Easy to build and paint and a minimum of fiddly parts. Painting the wheel rims were a bit of a chore but had to be done!
The driver always looks like he's sitting on the toilet reading a paper but substitute the newspaper (I know his hands are meant to fit on the control rods inside the drivers compartment) for a map and he looks like he's scouting the way ahead for the crew of his tank!
The paint scheme is lovely based on examples of the Elefant I've seen online but the serial number and unit ID are a mish mash.
Great fun and worth a look if you can find one cheap enough to have a go at...

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Very nice
..... and welcome to the site btw,I look forward to seeing you around the parish .

 

[Jim R]

That's a great result Robert.

 

[Si Benson]

Great job Robert

 

[Jakko]

Painting the wheel rims were a bit of a chore but had to be done!

I can’t tell from the photos which colour you mean, but I kind of hope you painted them bare metal colour rather than rubber

Also, what are the two round CHINA things intended to be?

 

[Airborne01]

Welcome aboard mate - strangely enough the Elefant is one AFV I've no interest in building, no idea why
Steve

 

[scottie3158]

Robert welcome to the forum and a great job to say hello.

 

[Robert E Shedd]

I can’t tell from the photos which colour you mean, but I kind of hope you painted them bare metal colour rather than rubber

Also, what are the two round CHINA things intended to be?

Lol, they were meant to be mines. I didn't notice the "China" stamped on them until it was too late! Do you mean the wheel rims in black rubber?

 

[Tworrs]

Hi Robert and welcome

 

[Jakko]

Lol, they were meant to be mines. I didn't notice the "China" stamped on them until it was too late!

Just say this is one of the German units that was issued the rare Made in China mines in 1943

Do you mean the wheel rims in black rubber?

Yes. You said they were tricky to paint, and I’m wondering if you painted them a rubber colour. The reason I ask is because the real Elefant/Ferdinand had steel tyres, not rubber ones There is a rubber ring between the main body of the wheel and the steel tyre, but the outside of the wheel would be bare steel due to the paint getting rubbed off by the track.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

An absolute blast to build and paint. A real trip down memory lane! Italeri got this one just right in my opinion.
Easy to build and paint and a minimum of fiddly parts. Painting the wheel rims were a bit of a chore but had to be done!
The driver always looks like he's sitting on the toilet reading a paper but substitute the newspaper (I know his hands are meant to fit on the control rods inside the drivers compartment) for a map and he looks like he's scouting the way ahead for the crew of his tank!
The paint scheme is lovely based on examples of the Elefant I've seen online but the serial number and unit ID are a mish mash.
Great fun and worth a look if you can find one cheap enough to have a go at...
View attachment 506036View attachment 506034

Great job done on an old kit, well done.

 

[Robert E Shedd]

Just say this is one of the German units that was issued the rare Made in China mines in 1943


Yes. You said they were tricky to paint, and I’m wondering if you painted them a rubber colour. The reason I ask is because the real Elefant/Ferdinand had steel tyres, not rubber ones There is a rubber ring between the main body of the wheel and the steel tyre, but the outside of the wheel would be bare steel due to the paint getting rubbed off by the track.

Never knew that... Most pics have the rubber in black. Thanks for the info!

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Great Job Robert. Weathering superb.

 

[Jakko]

Most pics have the rubber in black. Thanks for the info!

I couldn’t find a cross-section drawing of the wheel, but this is a bogie with wheels as used on the Elefant and Ferdinand:



The outer rim is steel, and between it and the ring with the circles on it is a rubber ring to provide a certain amount of internal cushioning in the wheel. The idea was to have a tyre that doesn’t wear out as quickly as a rubber tyre does, and at the same time save on rubber (which was in short supply in Germany) but avoid wheels entirely made of steel because the ride they provide is so hard, and they make even more noise.

Interesting thing for modellers, BTW: if you’re building an Elefant or a Tiger, you could make the fifth roadwheel on each side look like the rubber has failed, so the rim is largely or completely detached from the rest of the wheel. This because the engine exhaust pipes end in the sponson floors above that wheel — a common complaint in Elefant and Ferdinand units was that the heat from the exhaust gases melted the rubber and caused the No. 5 wheel to fail long before any of the others did