1944 'Elefant' by Hooben

[ra272]

The Elefant barrel has a very small diametre (that's why I asked Painlesswolf if the flash light can fit in the one piece aluminium barrel).

So the other brand muzzle brake have very big holes and will be tricky to adapt.

Here is a picture with Hooben muzzle brake (grey), Tamiya (alloy) and Henglong/Taigen (black).

[Ad Lav]

Didn't realise they were all different, quite a bit too. Not sure if you can adapt one?

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
Ad Lav, great answer!, that should have been obvious to me. ra272, we could probably adapt either of those two by using a couple of brass rings cut to progressive size out of some tubing from a hobby shop. The Tamiya is probably closer to the historically correct size than the one that comes with the kit but having said that, the Taigen one would work for me. I love a big muzzle brake. ;o) How about Ludwig's site? He carries metal accessories and parts for this Hooben kit.
regards,
Painless

[Ad Lav]

Could always swap the whole barrel for a Tamiya KT recoiling one?

[pedal2metal]

Cool pic showing the difference ra272!! Two weeks ago, I purchased Tamiya's KT barrel for $15 direct from Japan and then paid another $10 for the nice alu muzzle brake from StellaModels on feeBay (that fits the Tam. KT barrel). I will have to modify the Tamiya KT barrel by clamping it in my drill press (like I saw someone else on here do) and sanding it down, but I think it'll work. I know, I know, I should have just bought the Ark barrel, but I refused to pay what they wanted plus it added another $35 to the shipping or something stupid. LOL (PS: Looking at my ref pics of the APG Elefant, it does appear to have the smaller style brake on it, which the Tamiya (Stella) version appears to represent.)

[pedal2metal]

Painless, I received the book: Heavy Jagdpanzer by Walter J. Spielberger today; I'm happy to report they have APG Elefant interior pics in it, not that you were looking for them, but I was. LOL. They are rare to come by, and unfortunately the U.S Army never released any interior pics that I know of, so these pics you can tell were taken 50-70 yrs later since it's all rusty looking inside. The book has plenty of info too on the Ferdinand and Elefant. Are you backdating yours into an Ferdinand; (I think I read that you were doing lights, correct)?

[PainlessWolf]

P2M,
Hello! Yes, backdating is the current plan but I may end up with a hybrid Elefant if chopping up the kit upper engine deck is called for...( i.e., just stick lights on the Elefant version ) ;o) Excellent on the reading material as well. It helps to have static views that are current and not 70 year old B&Ws.
regards,
Painless

[ra272]

Good afternoon,
Ad Lav, great answer!, that should have been obvious to me. ra272, we could probably adapt either of those two by using a couple of brass rings cut to progressive size out of some tubing from a hobby shop. The Tamiya is probably closer to the historically correct size than the one that comes with the kit but having said that, the Taigen one would work for me. I love a big muzzle brake. ;o) How about Ludwig's site? He carries metal accessories and parts for this Hooben kit.
regards,
Painless

Hello, the cheap Tamiya alloy muzzle fits quite well, a little epoxy to hold it in place and it's ok.

I have orderd the alloy gun and as you said, it's possible to fit a muzzle flash, but you have to cut the wires and insert them inside first because the gun hole is too small for the flash bulb.

[brizo58]

Hi Painless,
Got my Elefant today awesome kit. Like to ask have you got bearings for the road wheels?. I see they put brass bushings in the kit. Have you got the size of them?. Regards,Brian...

[PainlessWolf]

Brizo!,
Sweet on the Elefant! It's a beast isn't it? Checking my kit now and...the instructions call them bearings but they look like brass bushings to me. I will have to get a bearing set once I start the Build. EBay or RCTank.de might have them.
regards,
Painless