This is what i'm working on at the moment,another small dio.The kit used is the older Dragon Elephant kit.I'm doing a small factory dio,where a ferdinand was sent back to the factory for repairs and updated to the Elephant.The square commanders hatch has been cut(torch)out,the coupala will be welded in it's place.


new opening for the coupala

al the armor plate ends were scribed to simulate the torch cut








The track links are indi's supplied in the Dragon kit,they are not the greatest but work for this dio.

Nice clean build Rob, I look forward to seeing where you go with this and may be knocking on your E-mail in-box.

Very clean! Keep up the good work!

Russ

I just got done with buiding my elefant. Well it was good build with metal barrel and some pe. The tracks are a little trickie just take your time.

What a great kit! I can't wait to see the finished model.

How exactly are you making the torch cuts? I've tried to do this once and it turned out awful.

Semper Fi!

NIce build so far Rob, looking good. Interesting scene you're doing as well, looking forward to your progress with this.

Cheers-
Tim

Thanks all

I chose not to use any aftermarket sets for this project so i could slowly get back into scratch building. A set of PE fenders and a metal barral would improve the model since it is a little dated.
Simulating the torch cut is pretty easy.I use an old #11 exacto blade for this.I use a fie over the blade tip to eliminate any sharp edges or points,then just scrape the blade point across the edge of the "steel plate".Try this out on an old kit first of course,i've been using this technic for the past 10 years and am happy with the results.

Here are some updated pics of this project.


I removed the front ends of the fenders and thinned them down for a thinner more realistic look.I also added plastic stip to the outside edges of the fenders .

Plastic card and copper wire were used for the Bosch headlight mounts.The remnants of the jack mount were made from plastic and brass strips.





Just a couple of parts to glue on then it's ready for paint.

Semper Fi SSGT Mack


Rob

(CPL USMC 84-88)

Interesting approach to an interesting subject, SSGT. Thanks for sharing. Keep going.

eww i love Ferdinands, keep up the good work m8

First of all thanks for the kind words. I've started with the painting and here is what i have done so far.



The main camo scheme was painted with Tamiya paints.

I had problems with the kit supplied decals from the Ferdinand and elephant,they just fell apart on me.I used decals from other kits to make up the numbers and crosses.




Red oxide primer color was applied to the armor plate added to the barrel and where the tool box was removed.The primer color is actually darker than it is in these pics.A light and darker filters have been applied and also a light washing.Weathering to follow along with a
pin point wash.


Rob

looks really good. I had the same problems with the kit decals- they just crumbled into dozens of pieces.

Rob,

Looks like your on the way to another very interesting and awsome build. I really like your concepts. I hope that you continue with the step by step as this really helps in seeing how a build like this can go from a toy like model to looking so realistic when finished. Thanks for sharing and posting. Very nice pics too!

-Eddy

Here how it's coming along so far.Another dark wash and pin piont was has been applied and the weathering phase has started. I was debating on wether or not i should do some zimmerit,i applied some to one side only and this is how it looks.Let me know what you think about it.I 'm kinda kicking myself in the a** about the zimmerit,not much to do about it know i guess.
Enjoy the pics and have a Happy thanksgiving.















Rob

Realy like the way you have tackled this,great innovation on the refit to an elephant.

You say your planning a dio,any ideas.might be good if the elephant was discovered by russian or allied soldiers half way through refit .

Also could you tell me what paint you used for the red oxide,i only ask as i plan on building the cyber hobby ferdinand final with all the graffiti on,i orded some life color Rotbraun but i dont know if its a close match.

Regards
Karl

Great job! love the look with the chalk marks and bare Zimmerit, a nice look for this kit.

Looks like a very interesting build project, I'll be watching this one.

Thanks guys gad to hear you like it thus far.
As far as the dio goes,i planned on doing a small factory scene with tools,ladder etc.
Karl,if you scroll down to my Sturmtiger post, i wrote how i achieved that red oxide primer color.Gut luck with your Ferdinand.
Hey medicman,thanks,where abouts in Mass. do you live?I'm from Swansea.
Any comments good or bad are always welcome.

Rob

What a wonderful idea. I think it looks great with the partial zimmerit.

-Doug

Nice project. Cool idea, nice execution so far.
One question - would the factory have such a long length of track rolled up like on the tanks right side? It seems to be too long, which wouldn't be a problem at the factory. They would just shorten it. I'm curious as to "If" that's how they would do it.
It looks like the 201 on the left side silvered a lot on you

Thanks Doug and Scott.
Yes the 201 started to silver on me,one too many filters i guess. I sprayed a couple of coats of clear over the sides and it took care of that problem,i hope. I didn't spot that when i used the mirror trick,thanks for pointing that out.
As far as the rolled track goes,they did have them rolled that way. Actually the rolled track on the right is too short,by a good dozen llinks atleast. I hope know one actually counts them.

I did get to finish the weathering and tracks. I didn't want to get crazy with the weathering dust and dirt because tanks that were sent for repairs and or overhaulin were usually washed down prior to being serviced. The pics show roughly how the dio will look.










I'm still working on the factory brick floor,it's taking much longer than i had planned. About half of the bricks have been scribed so far. Talk about a real pain in the neck.




I'm working on two other models at the moment and will post those in due time.
All coments are welcome.

Rob

what did you paint those tracks with? they look really good

Hi Patrick,glad you like the tracks. I'm still debating on wether or not to dust them up a bit. As far as the painting goes i first spayed the tracks black,i then mixed some dark brown and black to get a dark umber color,this was thinned heavily.The next step was a black oil wash followed by a light rust wash.When all was dry,I lightly rubbed lead powder on the raised surfaces. pretty simple.

Rob

Rob, this build is very cool. Can you please write a feature for this one once your done? Thanks for sharing. Great job.

Great project, Maybe you can think on putting a cutting blanket on the breech Mec to protect the cutting of the steel with a torch. This would also let you add more color to the tank. Nothing crazy, I have seen the blankets in Blue, Black,White, Red. Anyway just a thought for and awesome model. Mike

Hi guys,
Sorry I haven't been keep up with this build,been working on a couple of models at the same time.
Thanks Mike for that tip, I did add a blue cutting blanket to gun breech as you said. It does add some color and effect to the dio.thanks again.
Well the dio is about 95% done at this time.I still have to paint the welding/cutting torches and tanks.This is how she looks so far.











All comments and ideas are most welcome.

Rob