Jagdpanzer Elefant

ESCI # 8060; Aurora/ESCI # 6214; ESCI/Revell # H2305; Humbrol # HK72201; ESCI/Ertl #8300; ESCI/Ertl # 8360; Italeri # 7012

In light of the recent releases of this popular tank destroyer by Dragon and Trumpeter, I thought it might be a good idea to provide a quick preview of this old ESCI kit, which has also just been re-released by Italeri. The model reviewed here is identical to the new Italeri kit, except for the box, instructions and decals.

Sprue 1 front Sprue 1 back Sprue 2 front Sprue 2 back

I recall my best friend back in grade school building this model with a completely tricked-out interior and removeable superstructure. Of course, it was completely fictitious, after all we were only in sixth or seventh grade, and using references to make models never entered into our young minds. But regardless, this model left an indelible impression on me, and I will always look fondly upon it, despite its competition. I have not yet seen the new kits by Dragon and Trumpeter, but this ESCI kit is actually quite nice (with a few notable exceptions). The surface detail in the hull and superstructure is very well done, and accurate. The commander's hatch is molded open, but unfortunately none of the others are likewise. A partial interior is included, with a floor, gun breech, ammo storage, and radios, but much more will need to be added to make it truly shine. Some other hatches will also need opening to show it off (unless you want to keep the superstructure removable). A figure is included, but he is marginal at best.

The real drawbacks to the kit are the wheels and tracks. As was typical of many of ESCI's models, the wheels were molded as single, double-wide wheels, instead of the pair of very slim wheels that they should have represented. Considering the high visibility of the wheels after construction is complete, this oversight is very apparent on the finished model, and looks quite poor. The tracks are horrible, of course, unless you buy the ESCI/Ertl version of the kit, which includes hard styrene link and length track, but even these are only mediocre, because the inner surface is bare to accomodate the solid wheel pairs.

The decals in my kit are not too bad. The vehicle numbers are single color, and the crosses and unit markings are actually printed in pretty good register (this reviewed kit was a fairly recent release, being made in Mexico in 1999). I am not sure about what sort of markings are included in earlier releases.

Even considering the poor wheels and tracks, this is a fairly decent kit, and with some care, will build into an excellent model. I actually started the process of making corrected wheels in resin, with the master parts made, with preliminary test castings, but I guess that's for naught, considering the new releases by the competition. ARMO produced a Correction set for this kit, which surprisingly, does not include new wheels. ARMO has also marketed a turned aluminum gun barrel (sans muzzle brake), which eliminates the need for filling and sanding the awful ejection pin marks on the rear side of the barrel. It's a very nice piece. I am unaware of any etched brass detail sets to hit the market yet, but I assume that several will soon be on their way; zimmerit would be particularly welcomed.