Thanks John. It's something I'm still struggling with a little bit myself, as I don't find the results are always consistent (something to do with the different gloss vs semi-gloss varnishes, I think).
Great build. The foliage was used as camo once the Germans lost air superiority - it was meant to make them harder to spot by enemy aircraft. Obviously it also had an effect against ground forces, but that was a secondary benefit.
Agreed. I see modelers often far over do rust, chipping etc. Tanks were dirty, muddy but when modelers do armor that looks like it should be in a scrap yard instead of the battlefield, it takes the realism out of it. IMO once that happens its out of artistic purposes.
I just built this kit and the wobble in the wheels was my concern, until I found a pack of rubber "bushings" meant for the middle of those road wheels which removes that widdle. You mightve missed that small pack in the box! Well done all around.
El modelo es verdaderamente hermoso, el realismo que le das es maravilloso, aunque el diseño del barro en las orugas y el casco no me agradó, es hermoso, sigue así eres todo un maestro en este tema
Excellent Elefant. The zimmerit deal I fully understand. Several years back, 20 or so; I did a King Tiger II from Tamiya. Either the kit came with it, or; I already had a zimmerit tool. Can't remember which. I made a "homemade" paste of Tamiya white putty and some of their orange cap glue (I think it was the orange cap). It made for a quick zimmerit job. Not really all that quick, truthfully. In the end, I wound up using a worn out razor saw blade. I thought, at first glance; it was too small a pattern. But, I then read somewhere to visualize a 1/35 scale figure using a trowel to put it on the tank. So, I about had it right. Somewhere, maybe Uncle Night Shift or Panzermeister36; has a similar procedure to what I used way back then. It's never going to be easy; I don't think. I do like the use of the"railroader" static grass to make the trees. Looks just like what an Elefant crew might have done. Great job!
Thanks Stephen. Night Shift definitely has a couple of different attempts at making zimmerit. I seem to remember seeing a tool in one of the boxes in my stash, but I can't seem to find it now...
A beautiful job on the Elephant! I particularly like the subtle weathering effects you achieved. A very enjoyable and informative video of this build. I have just found your channel and I have subscribed. I am looking forward to future content. Cheers from Australia.
You're welcome - I'm glad you found it useful. I find a similar thing with German camouflages - although there are so many variations of the three colour scheme, not many of them really jump out at me as something I would like to paint.
There is another pattern seen in Italy where large splotches were used, like a dot pattern, but it probably came from the same Pz.Abt 653, maybe just a different platoon.
A very enjoyable watch and a terrific build.....lots of great effects and use of paints for the weathering. I really like the way you provide details of what you are doing during the commentary....very useful tips as well as highlighting techniques. Will be checking out the Vulcan build when ready to be shared.
Thanks mate, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The Vulcan will definitely be my next upload! Although probably not this weekend - I think I'm going to move to a 2 week uploading cycle.
One tip to nock down your marking to blend it more, is before you put them on the tank or even an aircraft, is to go over them with a fine wet and dry paper softy and that helps to age them. also, you can use transparent oil colour as well ut the first way better than weather the decals on the kit, but you have done a nice job on the elefant
Excellent video with loads of inspiration and tutorials. Thank you for sharing your skills and helping us to get better at this amazing hobby. Take care.
Hello 👋 again I am beginning to enjoy your videos, I'm following the Dora project with great interest. 👍. Yes I have subscribed, I like how you present your videos 📹 step by step and you make interesting models. Do you build ships?? Stay safe.
Thank you, Guy. I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. I've only built one ship (well, a submarine) so far but I have the Tamiya Prince of Wales on my list for this year, plus the Tirpitz and Indianapolis in the stash.
@@ModelNerd hello again are you planning to video the ship builds. The Indianapolis is an interesting model torpedoed by a Japanese sub and most of the crew were lost to sharks. Well looking forward to seeing these builds. The Elefant looks very good enjoyed the build.👌😲
Looks great mate. Didn't all Elefant's have Zimmerit though? The only differences as far as I know between the Elefant and the Ferdinand was, the Elefants had Zimmerit coatings and a cupola, where the Ferdinand's didn't. Nevertheless, great work and nice realistic weathering.
There was also the addition of the MG in the front. Yes, they all had zimmerit as far as I know - but Tamiya sell it separately and I didn't fancy messing with making my own to be honest :)
I'm sorry I may have missed this, was there a barrier between the Tamiya acrylic paint and the oil paint and linseed oil? I was always taught acrylic can go over oil but oil can't go over acrylic unless something is between them. Oil will tradionally eat thru the water based paint. Or maybe you haven't had this problem? Anyway great build! 👍✔😎
Yes, I put a gloss coat over the acyrlic paint first. Sorry, I think I forgot to mention that in the video. I think it's not so much the oil paint, but the thinner that will eat through the acrylic.
@@ModelNerd Excellent, this is what I thought but I didn't hear it or see it so I was like maybe there is a trick I don't know because I'm always trying to learn new stuff.I also was like wow if he doesn't know he is sure gonna find out!😂 Anyway great channel, love all the videos, thanks for the reply! 😎✔👍💪✊✌
Thanks. Hmmm.....I'm really bad at remembering things like airbrush PSIs. The paint was thinned about 60% with lacquer thinner, and the pressure was around 20 PSI.
I had the same problem with the wheels on my model. It's the black caps that move around inside the wheel, so you can't line up the axels. I had to drill them. Not a good kit in MO.
I've wanted one of these kits for a while and it looks like the only real annoyance with it is the spaces in the bogie assemblies, which should be a simple fix.
An awesome looking tank but not very successful on the battlefield. I still have an Italerei version to build which I bought years ago. I like the effects you did on the model.
Thanks Simon. Yes, I read that a lot of them broke down (quite common with heavy German vehicles I think), and that it was vulnerable to infantry attacks too (lacking close support weapons, especially as the Ferdinand).
Beautiful work man! But i really don't understand the German camo at this time. Why does it look like this? How cannot the panzer grey from the beginning of war, of course adapted to winter etc, be a better base than the dark yellow? Does anyone know? According to some old studies the Germans figured that camouflage uniforms would decrease casualties by about 15% but they were hand printed for several years and therefore in short supply. But for tanks and vehicles?
The Dunkelgelb base or Tri-color camo scheme of the Dunkelgelb, Scholade Braun and Oliv Grun fit the landscape much better than the Panzer Grau especially during the late Spring and Summer seasons. The white wash camo was used to tone the Dunkelgelb down in a Winter landscape. I think only certain divisions employed the white wash camo and to my knowledge it was used more in Russia than anywhere else. I think Germany did away with Panzer Grau in 1941. To me the Afrika colors are more curious, or at least they are to me.
I meant to also mention Panzer Grau or Grey as most know it, if you've ever seen actual Panzer Grey, it almost looks black until it begins fading. Then you end up with a Gray/Blue tone. It catches the eye quickly in forested and grassy landscapes or at least it does me. Panzer Gray would be more suited to Urban areas where you have a lot of grays, concrete surroundings. There's probably a definitive answer as to why they changed over to the Dark Yellow base somewhere on the net like Panzer Tracts or Missing Link forums.
Yep, in general I build first then paint. I didn't show the painting process because it is difficult to film with my airbrush and spray booth setup. I'm hoping to fix that once I've moved place though. Just need a bigger desk, and a bigger room to put it in :)
The Ferdinand was upgraded with a few bits and pieces. Although the renaming to Elefant wasn't directly tied to that, it occurred close enough that most people refer to the upgraded version as the Elefant and non-upgraded version as Ferdinand.
@@ModelNerd nah ferdinand in German means elephant its just the allies who called it elephant it's the same with the tiger 2 konigstiger in German means king tiger
I'm pretty sure 'elefant' means 'elephant'. My understanding is that the Ferdinand was named after Ferdinand Porsche. All sources I've seen indicate a May 1944 renaming (by the Germans), but I'm happy to be proven wrong by other sources.
@@ModelNerd I have no source apart from war thunder which says the ferdinand or elephant tank destroyer. Was produced during 1944 to 1945 with the Hull of the porsche tiger 1
Finally a video that really shows how to use and blend oils on horizontal surfaces.....bravo!!!!
Thanks John. It's something I'm still struggling with a little bit myself, as I don't find the results are always consistent (something to do with the different gloss vs semi-gloss varnishes, I think).
This channel is under rated
Thanks
Superb Elefant tank project 1/35 scale by Tamiya , excelent details and camouflage .
The weathering is amazing ! 👍🏆🥇
Thanks mate
With great pleasure , my friend !
Great! Foilage is epic too!
Thank you. I really enjoyed this one and the final result.
Great build. The foliage was used as camo once the Germans lost air superiority - it was meant to make them harder to spot by enemy aircraft. Obviously it also had an effect against ground forces, but that was a secondary benefit.
Thanks Law. Yes, I believe the late war Hinterhalt ('ambush') camo scheme was developed for a similar purpose.
Nicely done. thank you for posting.
Thanks for watching mate
Got this kit myself, your work is better than mine X million well done sir.
Thank you Steve, I'm glad you liked it.
*Fabulous once finished, the brushes are very realistic and the camouflage soft and beautiful! 👏*
Thank you so much 😀
Really like the camo and the effects, not too much, not overdone. Great job!
Thanks mate - that's exactly what I was going for! Glad you liked it.
Agreed. I see modelers often far over do rust, chipping etc. Tanks were dirty, muddy but when modelers do armor that looks like it should be in a scrap yard instead of the battlefield, it takes the realism out of it. IMO once that happens its out of artistic purposes.
Probably one of the best projects you’ve done
Thanks mate. I definitely feel I'm learning and hopefully improving with each project
Wow fantastic job. Especially the rigging and tree camo.
Thank you very much!
I just built this kit and the wobble in the wheels was my concern, until I found a pack of rubber "bushings" meant for the middle of those road wheels which removes that widdle. You mightve missed that small pack in the box! Well done all around.
Thanks Mark. I didn't see any, but that would make sense as an explanation for the wobble.
LOVE IT !! Great idea with the branches !!!
Thanks Colin - glad you liked it mate.
What about attachment to the rear hull to.cover track marks.
Yeah, I put a bit of foliage on the rear as well, but I didn't take a rear shot for some reason.
El modelo es verdaderamente hermoso, el realismo que le das es maravilloso, aunque el diseño del barro en las orugas y el casco no me agradó, es hermoso, sigue así eres todo un maestro en este tema
Thanks!
Those leaf branches look just perfect!👌🏼 Great work!!
Thanks a lot mate, much appreciated
Great looking Ferdinand, the camo and foliage are spot on! Well done!
Thanks mate - I'm glad you liked it.
Very cool build love the weathering and camo, makes me want to go back to military modeling. Well done sir!
Thanks. I really like your scenery / diorama videos - I reckon you'd turn out something awesome with a vehicle in it!
I think it looks great. Nicely done camo with subtle weathering and some foliage - it's all you need really. Great build.
Thanks mate, I appreciate that.
Bloody marvellous. Thank you.
Thanks!
Excellent Elefant. The zimmerit deal I fully understand. Several years back, 20 or so; I did a King Tiger II from Tamiya. Either the kit came with it, or; I already had a zimmerit tool. Can't remember which. I made a "homemade" paste of Tamiya white putty and some of their orange cap glue (I think it was the orange cap). It made for a quick zimmerit job. Not really all that quick, truthfully. In the end, I wound up using a worn out razor saw blade. I thought, at first glance; it was too small a pattern. But, I then read somewhere to visualize a 1/35 scale figure using a trowel to put it on the tank. So, I about had it right. Somewhere, maybe Uncle Night Shift or Panzermeister36; has a similar procedure to what I used way back then. It's never going to be easy; I don't think. I do like the use of the"railroader" static grass to make the trees. Looks just like what an Elefant crew might have done. Great job!
Thanks Stephen. Night Shift definitely has a couple of different attempts at making zimmerit. I seem to remember seeing a tool in one of the boxes in my stash, but I can't seem to find it now...
A beautiful job on the Elephant! I particularly like the subtle weathering effects you achieved. A very enjoyable and informative video of this build.
I have just found your channel and I have subscribed. I am looking forward to future content.
Cheers from Australia.
Thanks Gary mate - I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Yes sir! What a great build. Foliage is so difficult to make look realistic. You have done a first class job. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks mate. I enjoyed your recent video of the abandoned German bunker in Holland. Very interesting.
Appreciate the feedback. Speak soon
Excellent video making and model building. Great tutorial.
Thanks Russell
Very good man
Thanks mate.
it looks really good. i couldnt imagine how it would look with the zimmerit
Thanks mate!
@@ModelNerd your welcome mate :)
I've been struggling with my Elefant camo plans. I didn't want to do the standard Tamiya kit camo but yours I love. Thanks for the idea.
You're welcome - I'm glad you found it useful. I find a similar thing with German camouflages - although there are so many variations of the three colour scheme, not many of them really jump out at me as something I would like to paint.
There is another pattern seen in Italy where large splotches were used, like a dot pattern, but it probably came from the same Pz.Abt 653, maybe just a different platoon.
@@JuergenGDB I think I know the one you mean. Would like to try that at some point.
It's very nice finish. Especially, camo is looking so good. Thanks for uploading.
Thank you!
A very enjoyable watch and a terrific build.....lots of great effects and use of paints for the weathering. I really like the way you provide details of what you are doing during the commentary....very useful tips as well as highlighting techniques. Will be checking out the Vulcan build when ready to be shared.
Thanks mate, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The Vulcan will definitely be my next upload! Although probably not this weekend - I think I'm going to move to a 2 week uploading cycle.
One tip to nock down your marking to blend it more, is before you put them on the tank or even an aircraft, is to go over them with a fine wet and dry paper softy and that helps to age them. also, you can use transparent oil colour as well ut the first way better than weather the decals on the kit, but you have done a nice job on the elefant
Thanks for the tip Paul.
Looks awesome, very nice paint and weathering job on it
Thanks Chris mate
Nice build. Have just ordered this kit and look forward to having a go myself. Interesting camo paterns too. 👍🏻
Thanks mate. Hope you enjoy the kit!
You have do b e a excellent job, and you should be very proud of the end result. Keep safe and best regards from a Kiwi living in Australia.
Thank you Les
Excellent video with loads of inspiration and tutorials. Thank you for sharing your skills and helping us to get better at this amazing hobby. Take care.
Thanks Shane. I'm glad it was helpful.
Amazing job.Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
I loved this video so much so I become a supporter!!!!
Wow, thank you - I really appreciate that.
Excellent video & job with your Tamiya Elefant Tank Destroyer too!
Thank you mate!
Very good job and video, thanks for this. I will receive my elephant Tamika next week and for sure with follow my AMMO solution box and your video
Thanks Eric. Enjoy the build!
Well done
Thank you
Very nice, great job mate.
Thanks Bill
Very nice work! It’s very interesting with that camo and the foliage! Keep it up! 👍
Thanks - I will try! I saw your recent video - are you going to build the P38 soon?
Cracking work as usual take care my friend 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏✌️🐑😁😂
Cheers Neil!
Still a nice build. Sorry you had that first error! Enjoyed watching it again.
Thanks again!
Nice build loved the trees happy model in 👍👍
Thank you! Cheers!
amazing
Thank you! Cheers!
Really nice finish sir. The rigging worked well.
Cheers mate. I'm watching your Tyrrell P34 videos with interest!
@@ModelNerd Thank you. Really appreciate it, it's early days and the show is still forming but really enjoying every aspect. Keep up the great work.
Really ,nice work 👍
Thanks
Nice job m8 for the skill you have I would be disappointed just getting 700 likes on a video of a model this good
Thanks
Very well done!
I learned a thing or two!
😸👍🍺
Thanks Eric - I'm glad you liked it.
Very nice sir
Thank you :)
Magnifico trabajo 👍👍👍🇪🇦
Thanks
Hello 👋 again I am beginning to enjoy your videos, I'm following the Dora project with great interest. 👍. Yes I have subscribed, I like how you present your videos 📹 step by step and you make interesting models. Do you build ships?? Stay safe.
Thank you, Guy. I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. I've only built one ship (well, a submarine) so far but I have the Tamiya Prince of Wales on my list for this year, plus the Tirpitz and Indianapolis in the stash.
@@ModelNerd hello again are you planning to video the ship builds. The Indianapolis is an interesting model torpedoed by a Japanese sub and most of the crew were lost to sharks. Well looking forward to seeing these builds. The Elefant looks very good enjoyed the build.👌😲
Yes, I generally film and upload all of my builds :)
Looks great mate. Didn't all Elefant's have Zimmerit though? The only differences as far as I know between the Elefant and the Ferdinand was, the Elefants had Zimmerit coatings and a cupola, where the Ferdinand's didn't. Nevertheless, great work and nice realistic weathering.
There was also the addition of the MG in the front. Yes, they all had zimmerit as far as I know - but Tamiya sell it separately and I didn't fancy messing with making my own to be honest :)
Did you seal the paint before oil weathering? If so what did you use?
Yes - I would have used Tamiya TS-13 semi gloss I think
I'm sorry I may have missed this, was there a barrier between the Tamiya acrylic paint and the oil paint and linseed oil? I was always taught acrylic can go over oil but oil can't go over acrylic unless something is between them. Oil will tradionally eat thru the water based paint. Or maybe you haven't had this problem? Anyway great build! 👍✔😎
Yes, I put a gloss coat over the acyrlic paint first. Sorry, I think I forgot to mention that in the video. I think it's not so much the oil paint, but the thinner that will eat through the acrylic.
@@ModelNerd Excellent, this is what I thought but I didn't hear it or see it so I was like maybe there is a trick I don't know because I'm always trying to learn new stuff.I also was like wow if he doesn't know he is sure gonna find out!😂 Anyway great channel, love all the videos, thanks for the reply! 😎✔👍💪✊✌
Great video, when you was airbrushing the lines on the camo how did you thin it and what air pressure?
Thanks. Hmmm.....I'm really bad at remembering things like airbrush PSIs. The paint was thinned about 60% with lacquer thinner, and the pressure was around 20 PSI.
Awesome result! Did you use enamel or acrylic for the web camo?
Thanks Jon. All of the base paint was Tamiya acrylics.
Nice model. Question for you in your research did the Ferdinand mount a commander,s hatch mount a aa mg?
Thanks. I don't think it had an AA weapon.
I had the same problem with the wheels on my model. It's the black caps that move around inside the wheel, so you can't line up the axels. I had to drill them. Not a good kit in MO.
Yes, Tamiya love their polycaps!
I've wanted one of these kits for a while and it looks like the only real annoyance with it is the spaces in the bogie assemblies, which should be a simple fix.
Yep, like most Tamiya kits it falls together very easily
An awesome looking tank but not very successful on the battlefield. I still have an Italerei version to build which I bought years ago. I like the effects you did on the model.
Thanks Simon. Yes, I read that a lot of them broke down (quite common with heavy German vehicles I think), and that it was vulnerable to infantry attacks too (lacking close support weapons, especially as the Ferdinand).
Beautiful work man!
But i really don't understand the German camo at this time. Why does it look like this? How cannot the panzer grey from the beginning of war, of course adapted to winter etc, be a better base than the dark yellow? Does anyone know? According to some old studies the Germans figured that camouflage uniforms would decrease casualties by about 15% but they were hand printed for several years and therefore in short supply. But for tanks and vehicles?
I don't know mate - it's a good question. I would postulate that grey stands out against more background types than dark yellow / tan?
The Dunkelgelb base or Tri-color camo scheme of the Dunkelgelb, Scholade Braun and Oliv Grun fit the landscape much better than the Panzer Grau especially during the late Spring and Summer seasons. The white wash camo was used to tone the Dunkelgelb down in a Winter landscape. I think only certain divisions employed the white wash camo and to my knowledge it was used more in Russia than anywhere else. I think Germany did away with Panzer Grau in 1941. To me the Afrika colors are more curious, or at least they are to me.
I meant to also mention Panzer Grau or Grey as most know it, if you've ever seen actual Panzer Grey, it almost looks black until it begins fading. Then you end up with a Gray/Blue tone. It catches the eye quickly in forested and grassy landscapes or at least it does me. Panzer Gray would be more suited to Urban areas where you have a lot of grays, concrete surroundings. There's probably a definitive answer as to why they changed over to the Dark Yellow base somewhere on the net like Panzer Tracts or Missing Link forums.
Christopher Scott cheers mate! 🙏🏻
Fun fact, elephant in my language is olifant
Where you from?
Are you saying there are only 3 figures in the kit or how many actually maned the tank. This tank had a crew of 6.
Three in the kit.
So first you glue all the model ant paint on top? Because one second it's unpainted and other second it's painted :D
Yep, in general I build first then paint. I didn't show the painting process because it is difficult to film with my airbrush and spray booth setup. I'm hoping to fix that once I've moved place though. Just need a bigger desk, and a bigger room to put it in :)
Model Nerd... your voice sounds identical to that of another youtuber, namely - Rifleman Moore.
I haven't seen that channel but I will look it up.
Nice Video 👍 ich baue gerade den Panther Ausf.G von Takom kommt auch auf mein Chanel 😉 ich lasse dir ein Abo da
Thanks!
Just a slight heads up it's not zimmermit it's zimmerit
Thanks
The ferdinand is the elephant they are the same word just different language
The Ferdinand was upgraded with a few bits and pieces. Although the renaming to Elefant wasn't directly tied to that, it occurred close enough that most people refer to the upgraded version as the Elefant and non-upgraded version as Ferdinand.
@@ModelNerd nah ferdinand in German means elephant its just the allies who called it elephant it's the same with the tiger 2 konigstiger in German means king tiger
The tank you did is basically a ferdinand mk2 it's just slightly different
I'm pretty sure 'elefant' means 'elephant'. My understanding is that the Ferdinand was named after Ferdinand Porsche. All sources I've seen indicate a May 1944 renaming (by the Germans), but I'm happy to be proven wrong by other sources.
@@ModelNerd I have no source apart from war thunder which says the ferdinand or elephant tank destroyer. Was produced during 1944 to 1945 with the Hull of the porsche tiger 1