Voyager Models is probably better known for their excellent photo-etched sets but they also provide a few parts in resin as well as a range of metal barrels like this one for the Elefant/Ferdinand. This is a lovely piece of machinery that comes as a single turned aluminium barrel plus four brass fittings and a small brass fret to make up the muzzle brake. There is also two small resin parts for replacing the mantlet.
The turned aluminium barrel includes the fine striations of the lathe that are found on the real gun ( sadly the paint job will most likely obscure these as they are very fine ) and the muzzle includes fine rifling detail even though once the muzzle brake is on this is nearly impossibe to see without a magnifying glass and direct lighting. The brass fittings for the muzzle brake are equally well made and fit together beautifully.
One point to note here, if you’re used to working with some of the other brand turned barrels and are used to the muzzle brake being threaded onto the barrel in this case it isn’t, it simply pushes on and pulls off, though the fit is nice and snug. I tell you this because the muzzle brake comes on the barrel but has to be removed to place the smaller brass rings on and if you’re expecting to unscrew it then expect to be there all day trying.
One of the included brass discs is used as a spacer in the gun mount to get the new barrel centred so make sure you follow the instructions properly and install this before gluing the kit parts together. The intructions are very clear and simple to follow so there really shouldn’t be any problems with that one.
The resin mantlet parts are very nicely cast with no defects and clean mouldings. Both parts have quite a large pour stub to remove though the contact area of these has been minimised so clean-up is very quick and easy. Again take note of the instructions as the installation is defferent for the Elefant than it is for the Ferdinand.
This is a beautiful piece of kit and the level of detail outdoes the kit supplied gun. If you want the very best when you’re building your Elefant/Ferdinand then this is definitely one to add to the upgrade parts list.
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