I trying to help out a friend (who mostly builds "wingy-thingies") track down a T-34 conversion set for the "Kelly's Heroes" movie Tiger I tanks.

Does anyone know of such a conversion?

Are there any published plans or information available for the actual movie production conversions?

I know that there is a conversion set available for "Odd Ball's" Sherman tank, but what about the Tigers?

My friend would like to do the model in 1/35, but he'd also consider other scales if such were the only game in town.

TIA!

There was a resin conversion years ago (15+?) based on the Tamiya T-34. The ads for the conversion used to appear in old Fine Scale Modeler magazines.

There have been a number of scratch built attempts over the years....just Google "1/35 Kelly's Heroes Tiger".

Many years ago I started a blog on filmpanzers. I been tied up with other things so I have not posted anything in well over a year, but my blog has links to several Japanese websites, one of which has sketches of the all the major T-34 and T-44 Tiger VISMODs.

http://filmpanzer.squarespace.com/filmpanzer-links/

One of the real ones is sitting in a parking lot off of Rt15 near Gettysburg. Saw it with my own eyeballs!
J

Thanks guys, I do appreciate the replies...

@ Jason: I've Googled the topic just about every way that I can think to phrase it with no luck whatsoever.

I can only find a single model build (photos still available) of a Tiger/T-34 movie prop conversion, and the builder is French and so is his build post (which doesn't actually contain any info on the build, just a few medium quality photos).

In regards to the elusive FSM ads - I've found several forum threads on various modeling sites dated from as far back as 2001 that reference such a thing, but sadly not a single one of the posters actually names or recalls the name of the manufacturer or the actual date and issue of the magazine. It appears that a lot of guys think that there was an ad for a conversion, but no one actually can provide any concrete info that such a conversion ever existed.

@ Chris: Thanks! The drawings are actually the only concrete information I've seen yet about the movie prop besides screen captures from the movie.

It might be scratch-build time for my "wingy-thingy" building friend. He's perfectly capable of scratching it (now, if he's motivated is another story entirely!).

@ Jerry: Hey ol' buddy, sounds like you've been seeing unicorns! I'll give you three guesses (and the first two don't count) to name the guy from our old gang back in Fayette-Nam who's contemplating this build...

Thanks again, guys. Guess any such conversion is about as elusive as unicorns and, if it ever existed, maybe as extinct as dodos.

Happy modeling!

Mike - I was just talking to "wing-thingy guy" today about this and showed him this thread. I'm actually surprised that there's not more info out there about the conversion.

http://www.imcdb.org/

Check "military vehicles" in the search page and you'll get lots of hits. You can search by vehicle type, manufacturer or movie/TV show title.

For example, some of the mock-ups in this database are too crazy to be believed. This is a fun site, guys.

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_50423-Cadillac-M24-Chaffee-1944.html (Chaffee as zimmerited panther)

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_310961-Aveling-Barford-Universal-Carrier.html

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_31790-Uralvagonzavod-T-34-85-1944.html ("Tiger" in Kelly's Heroes)

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_396579-Ford-M8-Greyhound.html

Hi Jerry

I guess this one is the one you're talking about :

https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/4032

It was used for "Saving Private Ryan".



H.P.

@ Bob,

Yea, he's a high-maintenance date... (just kidding, Brother Badger!)

I'm surprised too about the dearth of actual models built of the subject. A lot of guys have talked about it, but it seems that few have ever taken the plunge.

I'm also kinda of surprised that no conversion appears to be available for it. There's a very nice set available to make Odd Ball's Sherman, but with such interest in Tigers, I'd have expected to find a conversion for that pretty easy...

Guess not.

@ Roy,

Thanks for the links.

Photos of the actual movie prop are easy enough to find, especially still grabs from the movie.

What's so elusive, though, (so elusive as to make me believe that it's actually a mass delusion) is this mystery conversion set that was supposed to have been advertised in FSM. I'm beginning to suspect that is largely a matter of "circular reporting."

Also, given the many threads that I've found (on M-L, T-L and here) discussing the conversion, there don't seem to be many models that have ever been built (or at least very few ever posted on-line). I haven't found a single in-progress or build blog for this subject and only a couple of poor photos of a single finished build actually based on a T-34.

There are lots of regular Tiger I models painted up and marked as Kelly's Heroes tanks, but only one model actually built as the movie prop was, and the photos are too poor to use for any sort of reference or guide.

Talk about your "crypto-panzers"...

@ Frenchy & Jerry:

The SPR "Tiger" was a completely different mock-up and quite different in detail from the "Kelly's Heroes" move props.

Thanks again, guys, for the input. I'm sure that if a conversion is (or ever has been) available, the collective minds here on Armorama will eventually unearth it!

YUP!!! That be da one,
I thought I was seeing things when I drove by and had to turn around at the next exit and check it out.
J

Dave,
I for sure saw that add for several consecutive months in FSM but it was years ago. It is kind of amusing because at the time I was thinking"there are so many aftermarket things being produced now,along with so many vehicles being covered by new,very nice kits that the only thing left for the resin guys to come up with are extremely esoteric subjects like the T-34/Tiger conversion".
Of course,in the years since then the bar has been raised again many multiple times,hasn't it?
Can't wait ti see what is in the future.
J

I don't know if anyone is still looking for this, but a (the?)conersion for is was sold by RZM models. I built it, but it would be easier to jut kit bash it using a T-34 and a Tiger.
I will post my build as soon as I get off my lazy but and upload the photos.
Ken.