Sd.Kfz. 184 Ferdinand

Sebastian Meyner
Wow, now that is something! Love it 👍 ....and the kit is comparable to Tamiya you say?!

Neuling
Top work. Good balance of wear and tear effects and cleanness.

James C
Thanks Sebastian & Neuling 🙂

@ Sebastian - Yes, I built the Tamiya Elefant kit a number of years ago. From memory it was an awesome build, but I also went to the extra expense of purchasing the adhesive zimmerit vinyl… which really should have been included in the kit... as well as a metal barrel.
Everything went to waste as I didn't know what I was doing... I'd like to re-do it now.

This Zvezda kit went together very well, and the joins on that huge fighting compartment were next to perfect. The main barrel was slide molded, doing away with the need for a metal replacement and the Friul tracks I added to it fit like a glove.

This Zvezda kit with Friul tracks cost me less than the Tamiya Elefant kit and Vinyl zimmerit sheet combined!

@ Neuling - Yeah, not too many of these vehicles were built, and the vast majority were lost at Kursk; with the survivors (even less still) being pulled back and refitted as Elefants with zimmerite, hull mounted machine gun and commanders copula taken from the Panzer IV. That's why I didn't think it appropriate to weather it up too much. Just wouldn't have looked right.

Rui S
Nicecwork. 👍
I've done the Italeri kit and I like it, it's a mixture of a ferdinant and a elephant, but i like the working suspension and the final result was Nice.

Jos Jansen
Great job on the tracks Jim...👍!!

James C
Thanks Rui & Jos 🙂

Zsolt Czegle
Great work! 👍

Lode Schildermans
Such a beauty, nicely weathered, Jim. Not overdone, just the necessary highlights showing what skilled builder we've amongst us

Jim J
Wonderful paint job and weathering. 👍 The tension and detail of the tracks are superb.

James C
Thanks Zsolt, Lode & Jim for your positive feedback 🙂

Brian Eberle
That looks sharp. Well done.

Slavo Hazucha
Cool kit - must have been a pleasure to work on all the crisp details... 🙂 There's little not to like on the early Ferdinands, but the entire running gear and the tracks are a real looker on this one - top job, the result really makes the metal tracks worth the effort 👍

James C
Thanks Brian & Slavo 🙂

@ Slavo - I was very surprised at how well engineered and molded this kit was. Although I didn't use them, all accounts that I read mentioned that the plastic link and length tracks included in the kit assembled equally as well. I took a bit of a gamble installing the Friul track links instead but I'm glad I did in the end as it allowed me to leave them off until the very end of the build rather than having to work and paint around them etc.

Al
Thank you for recommending this kit; I know you've got high standards and was wondering about going Tamiya or Zvezda on this one, mind is made up, I"m going with Zvezda!

James C
Both brands of kits are very good, but the Tamiya kit is of the "Elefant", which requires an additional purchase of the zimmerit to make it correct (unless you make/apply your own)

I was able to purchase this Zvezda "Ferdinand" and Friul metal track links for far less than the Tamiya "Elefant" and additional zimmerit sheet.

On a side note, Zvezda have also now released the "Elefant", which includes the zimmerit as well for roughly the same retail price as their "Ferdinand" which is fantastic value, and I will be purchasing myself shortly (to re-do) as well. "ELEFANT" Sd.Kfz. 184 (Zvezda 3659, 1:35)

Thomas K.
Looks good 👍

James C
Thanks Thomas 🙂

Bigglesof266
Very nice work James, particularly on the camo scheme. Wasn't 501 one of the Ferdinands captured during Zitadelle? I bought this kit too about two weeks ago. It's next -halfway through my build of Zvezda's new tool SU-85. With that in mind, were there any idiosyncrasies with the Zvezda Ferdinand kit during building which you noticed? i.e. in the instructions of their SU-85, a couple of different parts on the same sprue are actually errantly referenced and numbered, and in assembly of the non-tub hull and fitment of the superstructure I'd assemble the front guards in a different sequence for fit issues. I've watched the YT build vids on Zvezda's Ferdinand. I'll definitely be using the kit L&L tracks & probably its barrel (at this stage). Thanks sharing. I like it.

James C
Thanks Bigglesof266 🙂

To be honest, I don't know anything of the history of this particular unit.
I just picked this scheme and unit number at random from the instructions 😳

As for the kit, there's only one thing that I recall that you should be weary of.
I would recommend that you attach the hexagonal shaped mounting to the front (exterior) of the fighting compartment BEFORE you start assembling the upper compartment itself.
The instructions would have you install this after the upper section of the fighting compartment is assembled and installed onto the lower hull.

I followed the instructions in doing this, and found that when I tried to secure this part and get it to sit flush, I dislodged the internal mounting brackets for the main gun because the base of the barrel was protruding slightly too far outside. Mounting the hexagonal bracket on the outside first and letting it properly cure would have prevented this issue completely.

Unless your on a budget, I'd also highly recommend getting a set of replacement Friul track links.
This will make life much easier when the time comes to paint and weather your model, as you can leave them off until the very end. They also fit perfectly and look awesome too.😉

I found the kit barrel cleaned up quickly and easily, so a metal replacement isn't necessary, and in any case, being a new kit... I'd have my concerns about fit issues with older metal barrels etc.

Bigglesof266
Thank you for your reply James C. Remarks noted. Also, thank you for the Frui recommendation. Although predominantly a Dragon buyer in 1/35 armour, with Tamiya but increasingly Zvezda sharing the bulk of the rest, all of my kits and builds are budget restricted one way or another. Frui or Modelkasten tracks, though frequently lusted for, never feature. At the exchange on our Pacific Peso, even sourced at the best price the Frui tracks alone would cost 1½ times the price of I paid for the Zvezda kit! I'd rather triage those $$ toward another 1 or 2 Zvezda kits or 3 or 4 supporting supporting figure sets to build OOTB.

I had intended to use DEF's D-5S barrel and resin mantlet (made to fit the new Zvezda kit) on my SU-85, but even though the kit supplied barrel wasn't slide moulded and had moulding seams, it wasn't necessary unless rifling in the (hollow) muzzle was a must. Tamiya white putty rendered the mantlet with the necessary cast look. I've already inspected the barrel supplied with Zvezda's Ferdinand. It'll do fine.

These days my finish objective is to effect a reasonably accurate to the eye (stand off) model rather than a rivet perfect replica. I avoid excessive PE or aftermarket unless absolutely necessary to correct a Mk 1 eyeball magnet errant aspect of it or it contributes otherwise significantly to the model as supplied OOTB. e.g. Revell's 1/144 Type VII C/41 U-boat railings etc.

Reiterating my thanks. Love your Ferdinand build. Although you've finished your Ferdinand build, you or those reading this may be interested in this link. Several images of "501" among the 99 in total of Ferdinands and Elefants can be found here. worldwarphotos.info/..ferdinand-501-656ef/

James C
Awesome, thanks for the link 👍

Ingo F
Great work James! 👍

James C
Cheers Ingo 🙂

joe strenko
I like the camo paint job..well done????????????

joe strenko
Opps sorry for the question marks....how did you accomplish such a detailed pattern?

James C
Thanks Joe. Sorry for not replying sooner.

The camouflage was achieved by airbrushing the basic green pattern first (Over black primer) then I masked it off with thinly rolled tubes of blue-tack. I then sprayed the Dunkelgelb over the top.
After removing the blue-tack, I did a number of touch-ups to the green again free-hand.
I finished up by using assorted oils on the lower panels and recesses to give it a bit of depth.

Guy Rump
Great looking model 🙂

Jos Jansen
Good tip James to first spray the green areas with the Blue-tac afterward... learned something again! By-the-way a superb model mate, love it 👍!

Bigglesof266
Agree Jame's camo result was super. Just a heads up. For those who mightn't know, J's Work do two different camo scheme 1/35 Ferdinand mask sets. Search here for PPA5070 & PPA507. Another way to achieve the scheme. I've used them on other AFVs e.g. my early and late Hetzers, aircraft with complex camo patterns e.g. Su-33. They're very good, but with the caveat they do result in that harder edge look typical of a factory stencil or field brush applied scheme. The Kursk Ferdinand camo was field applied by crews using both application methods. J's Work stencils of course, come at additional cost in terms of $ and time. What James did works fine for the price of some Blu Tack and would be easier to and take less time to apply IME. Alternatively you could also use Microscale liquid Micro Mask or its ilk marketed under various brandings.

James C
Thanks Guy, Jos and Bigglesof266 🙂