Speaking of Elefants...

A few years back, I managed to find the Elefant in the collection of the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Ordinance museum. It wasn't "in the collection"- but down a road by a ralroad loading dock where it had fallen off a crane. Suffice it to say, condition was less than perfect:









Well... I did some poking around, and found... /drumroll/





http://planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4997

Wow. Awesome. And to top it off- at the end of this month, I'm visiting my kick-ass in-laws. Who live in MD. So not only will I be bringing back a few cases of beer from Bell's Brewing and Troegs Brewing, but I'll have a complete set of pictures of this new partially restored beauty.

 

Exellent. I am glad that it was not an abandonded project. Is there a figure on the zimmerit finish?

 

Not that I'm aware of- I literally JUST found this info this morning, so you know as much as I do after reading the post from Jentz.

I'll see if I can get some more info at the end of the month when I visit the museum, but that will depend on being able to find/talk to people.

I'm honestly shocked to see it (partially) restored. I expected it to simply rot away, as it wasn't even in the collection but down a side road. Kudos to the ordinance museum.

Hopefully some of the other specimens they have there get the same treatment, as some of the ones in the outdoor "musuem" area are in really bad shape.

 

CrazyD you're a star.
That's a question that's been bugging me for nearly 2 years, since this thread of yours:
http://www.ww2f.com/weapons-wwii/12572-unfortunate-end.html#post152567
Lovely to see the old dear in better fettle.

there's been a lot of work by the Aberdeen collection recently, their Tiger was just restored in England and several other vehicles are scattered around the world being tidied up, or on long lease. I do hope they've not left it too late for their rarer exhibits, like the hydrostatic drive Mark IV.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Not bad, not bad. Even the damage on the front was preserved and highlighted. A pity about the zimmerit, but it's better to leave it out than make a hash of it.

I found the comment:

somewhat asinine, though

 

Yes, me too.....great to see that something positive has been done with this rare vehicle !

 

I got the impression that might have been aimed at some specific modeller/forumite's comment Za.
This is the mighty Jentz after all!
:bow::bow::bow:
I'd be perfectly happy to be a bit patronised by him.

(I do wish Panzer-Tracts were a smidge cheaper though. You have to be seriously interested to splash out on such worthy but dry tomes.)

Cheers,
Adam.

 

We can only hope they give the same treatment to some of the other vehicles there. The Hetzer- the museum had cut away parts of the armor and installed screens so one could see the interior.

Including the abysmal amount of mold and debris (including empty beer bottles) that was residing in said interior at the time.

Did I mention that I'll be posting a thorough photo update in less than a month's time?

 

I understand some people will need to have things set out crystal clear, and even then...

If some people can afford the fortunes modern bits of resin and photo-etch cost, surely they can also splurge on Panzer-Tracts, isn't this the way the market works?

Nooooo, buuuuuttt...

 

Hmmmm...was that before or after the CrazyD visit ?

 

She's a beauty. The Elefant's weight was comparable to the Tiger & Panther so I wonder why the different road wheels. Were these more or less reliable than the Tiger's over-lapping wheels?

 

I'd never litter like that!

[size=-2]Not just 'cause I keep bottles to use for homebrewing, either[/size]



Za- I can actually do requests, if anyone needs. Modeling, curiousity, etc. Between the wife and I, we've got plenty of extra memory cards. I plan on doing a full-on photo study of the Elefant and some pics of the other vehicles/items there, but if anyone wants anything specific, I can do that too.

:S!

 

If you're doing requests...
I'm kind of hoping they now have it hidden away being looked after, but just in case. I'm mildly obsessed with the aforementioned Panzer IV they have there bearing the unique Hydrostatic drive modification, and would love to see some better pictures of it.

Decent shots are few and far between:


And often modelling sites seem to give the best impression:
The Luftwaffe in Scale: Panzer IV with hydrostatic drive (1:35) - built by Werner Kampfhofer.

I really would be grateful for a few more shots of this rare beast.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Don't worry about me, whatever is fine with you will be fine with me

 

VP- the image you linked isn't displaying, on my end at least.

But I'l look into that, no doubt. I'll post a reminder of sorts before I head down there- easy to snag a large amount of pictures, so easy to get specific if anyone has any requests that can be done at Aberdeen.

 

View attachment 2110

Any better?

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Great Elefant pics!

 

Shouldve named this thread 'Elefants Graveyard"!!
Seriously though. WOW! It looks fantastic! A friend was just lamenting to me that the tanks at Aberdeen are not very well taken care of, and then this! Very cool indeed.