It's about time I finished something. I do much better at starting projects...
I started this kit for the Kursk GB this summer, but as usual, I got bogged down in detailing and getting the perfect amount of weathering. After a week of finishing touches, I'm finally pronouncing it done.
This model represents Ferdinand #231 of 2/653, commanded by Oberfeldwebel Otto Hecker. He was one of the highest-scoring Ferdinand commanders during the Kursk offensive, with 27 confirmed kills.
All told, Ferdinands of the 653rd Heavy Panzerjager Battalion scored a whopping 320 kills during the Kursk offensive, especially impressive considering the horrible employment of super-heavy tank destroyers as infantry-support assault guns. Hecker's crew was driven to desperate straights trying to assault trenches full of infantry in a 75-ton vehicle with no MG and only ten rounds of HE ammo! Like many, his crew resorted to firing an MG-42 from the pistol ports, and even down the main gun barrel while the gunner attempted to follow infantry with the massive 88mm KwK 43. 231 was one of the few Ferdinands to survive the Kursk debacle, but was destroyed in the Soviet counter offensive in September.
40-some pictures here: http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l9/hermesminiatures/Ferdinand
The SdKfz 184 Ferdinand also holds the distinction of holding the longest probable tank kill in history, supposedly destroying a T-34/76 from the amazing distance of 4.6 miles! Although it's an uncomfirmed kill and the official longest goes to a British Challenger I forty years later, it is nonetheless a testament to the awesome power of this vehicle, when employed properly and in the hands of a skilled crew. Even in the final days of the war, the Ferdinand remained the one vehicle that the Soviets found nearly impossible to deal with, it being the only German vehicle the heavy IS-II and ISU-122 could not knock out unless they were under 100 yards away.
If anyone (with fast internet) wants ultra-high resolution 4000x3000 pictures, I can upload a few
I welcome your comments. Enjoy!