[Cardinal]

I saw the Elefant yesterday and must admit it looks pretty good . Detail far superior to Minichamps but could do with more metal content.

[Copland]

I really like the 1/35 Elefant. Does anyone have this? The picture only shows two hatches that will open. I wish that Dragon would have enabled the back hatch(door) to be opened. If these drop to ca. $40.00, I might get one, but at this point, the price is too steep.

[chascbv]

I also think this model is too expensive, especially given its two main shortcomings.

As I have already posted elsewhere in this forum, Elefants (that is, converted Ferdinands, and as opposed to Ferdinands prior to conversion) had all a factory-applied coat of zimmerit paste, according to all sources available. The absence of zimmerit in this model is to my eye a serious inaccuracy for such a high price. Also, the tracks look like soft vinyl units (please correct me if I'm wrong; I never had the real model in my hands), rather than the hard plastic ones seen in the Tigers by this same manufacturer at the same scale. Given the unique and complex shape of this tank's wheel arrangement, which forces each track to adopt a double sag (fore and aft), only a hard plastic (as in the Tiger) or metal track can IMHO correctly reproduce the right shape, and thus convey the heavy stance of both the real tracks around the wheels, sprockets and idlers, and the real tank on the floor. This is important in all those German tanks with characteristic track sags, including the Tiger and Panther families of vehicles. The tracks in this model just don't look the part, and even seem to defy gravity!

I myself do not care much for metal versus plastic content; to me a model should be a "visually" exact replica of the original thing it attempts to represent; this means right shape and proportions, right apparent details, right colours and markings, and right stance/attitude. Whether this is achieved with metal, plastic, resin, or any other reasonably stable material is of nearly no importance to me (I find some heft a somewhat desirable bonus). Dragon Tigers (by far the best Tiger models available thus far IMHO - I mean the ones in 1/35) do meet these criteria: they just look like you were staring at the real thing from a distance; Dragon Elefants just don't - they look like "models", i.e., there's something inaccurate (no zimmerit) and something nonrealistic (weightless, even flying tracks) about them.

Hopefully Dragon will visit this forum and then offer a corrected Elefant sometime in the near future... or will take advantage of their non-zimmeritted mouldings and release a correct Ferdinand as at the battle of Kursk!

[Martin Baker]

Originally Posted by Copland

I really like the 1/35 Elefant. Does anyone have this? The picture only shows two hatches that will open. I wish that Dragon would have enabled the back hatch(door) to be opened. If these drop to ca. $40.00, I might get one, but at this point, the price is too steep.

Ive got the Elefant & none of the hatches open
I will post a pic later in the week