Following closely in the tracks of the likes of Dragon’s Tiger I and Panther G comes a brand new 1/35 scale Elefant. Like its predecessors, this new kit features an integral and authentic-looking zimmerit coating. The Elefant was an impressive tank destroyer featuring a powerful long-range 8.8cm PaK 43/2 gun in a hull with armor that was up to 200mm thick in places. A total of 91 vehicles were manufactured, though mobility of this 65-tonne behemoth was not its strong point. It managed a top speed of no more than 30km/h on roads, and the drive sprockets needed to be changed every 480km or so!
The distinguishing feature of this kit is the inclusion of zimmerit, the unique paste used on German vehicles to prevent the attachment of magnetic mines. This coating was applied to all surviving Ferdinands around October-November 1943 after the Battle of Kursk, along with other improvements such as the addition of a ball-mounted machinegun. On this realistic-looking model, zimmerit correctly appears on the lower fighting compartment, upper hull, frontal armor and rear plate, with all of these components being newly tooled. The zimmerit texture has been carefully reproduced, including the special pattern radiating from bolt heads on the hull. The coating is true to scale, and Dragon’s readymade solution removes the messy and frustrating business of modelers having to create their own zimmerit.
Other parts are based on Dragon’s Premium Edition version of this kit, while brand new DS track greatly eases assembly. Other details such as a slide-molded muzzle brake are accurately portrayed, and there’s a generous use of multimedia components like an aluminum gun barrel. With a kill-to-loss ratio of 10:1, the Elefant was a successful tank destroyer, but Dragon has now also turned it into a successful kit with all the convenience of molded-on zimmerit!
