Wednesday, June 06, 2012 - 09:52 AM UTC
Heads up, Tamiya is letting the elephant, or elefant, out. A much anticipated release, finally announced.
Tamiya has officially announced the release of their upcoming 1/35 scale Elefant. Unfortunately they have not put a date to it, but they did release a few details. This kit will be a new tooling from Tamiya, with fighting compartement, 8.8cm gun, and commander cupola accurately reproduced according to Tamiya. Tamiya has stated "Extensive research was conducted by Tamiya's designers to bring the modeling world the most accurate rendition to date." The kit is said to include assembly type track, three figures, and three marking options.

I have seen a few sprue shots, and in my opinion it looks like a good kit. What I did not see in the sprue shots where the molded on zimmerit that it is shown in the Tamiya released pictures. It is possible the sprues with pre-production. And I am not one to normally start rumors, but I have seen some sites taking pre-orders for a possible July release.

A thanks goes out to Armorama member Matthew Nethery for pointing out the release information.
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Comments

What? No Zimm? Pity - it looked like a nice alternative to the Dragon kit until I saw that Mr T has yet again raised false expectations with what can be charitably called "aspirational" advertising. Given that this one will definitely be aimed at the niche market of knowledgeable modellers rather than the "it's Tamiya, so must be ok" mainstream it seems a real foot-shooting decision to me... Tom
JUN 07, 2012 - 01:24 AM
What? No Zimm? Pity - it looked like a nice alternative to the Dragon kit until I saw that Mr T has yet again raised false expectations with what can be charitably called "aspirational" advertising. Given that this one will definitely be aimed at the niche market of knowledgeable modellers rather than the "it's Tamiya, so must be ok" mainstream it seems a real foot-shooting decision to me... Tom[/quote] It would seem Tamiya have taken the decision to supply the kit without Zimmerit coating but supply the Zimmerit as an add-on for those who don't want to diy it. This is just a different marketing approach, whereas some one like Dragon make two different kits, one with one without and make them available at none specific times. Tamiya's Zimmerit can be seen here http://www.hlj.com/product/tam12644
JUN 07, 2012 - 01:48 AM
Thank you for that Alan but it still seems a daft idea. If the zimmerit purchased separately can be bought for $6 it would have made more sense to supply it in the box and provide a WOW factor that has been missing of late. On a side note I hope to meet you Saturday at the show in Salisbury Alan.
JUN 07, 2012 - 03:05 AM
Hi Alan, Does that link suggest these are done as decals? (A textured-resin decal might go a long way towards replicating the 1/2-inch thickness of the real stuff...) If so, I could see it being grafted onto other makers' Elefants, like the old Italeri beast! Still not sure why it isn't in the kit box from the start, though. The cost would be negligible, and the reviews would be far more favourable. Still aiming squarely at the foot... Tom
JUN 07, 2012 - 03:33 AM
I'll throw my 2 cents in. I have "issues" with a company advertising as such with false images. Like, we all know to look into or investigate if it really has zimm molded in or supplied with the kit, but the average joe may not. It's like all those hamburger commercials showing how tall their sandwich is, and when you finally get one it's not really! Subway does this all the time! Glad I don't eat out much but do buy a lot of plastic! ~ Jeff
JUN 07, 2012 - 03:58 AM
With or with out the zimmerit, I am thinking this will be a great kit, and I will most likely be buying it. As for the zimmerit, me and milliput have a good relationship with it comes to applying, so that would probably be my simple course of action.
JUN 07, 2012 - 04:54 AM
Having built Dragon kits with all their multitude of parts, I like the idea of a straightforward no fuss build. Even without the Zimm I like this! AndyC
JUN 07, 2012 - 06:34 AM
Seriously, are Tamyia having a laugh. First they produce a promo model with a different kit, then they show images with zimmerit but when it comes to the kit you have to buy a separate set which really should be in the box. Add to that it will most likely be north of £40 in the uk I really can't see any reason to get It. The dragon kit will most likely still be better and cheaper. This whole "easier to build" thing really dont wash with me when it means inferior detail and over the top pricing. Sorry for the rant.
JUN 07, 2012 - 08:01 AM
Why would you think that Tamiya would use another companies model to promote their own kit? Thats the way I like it
JUN 07, 2012 - 10:41 PM
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