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Hi all, my first post about my Elefant which I'm building as a pre upgrade Ferdinand (I know the name isn't linked to the upgrade but it makes it simpler!). I bought the kit in 2022 but I've been waiting to get my garage converted before starting, which has now finally happened!

I'm getting the main structure together first and I've hit a bit of a snag. I can't get the cone bolt brackets of the upper superstructure to line up. They are not even close which is confusing me. I can't see any obvious reason why they wouldn't line up. Before I start attacking them has anyone else had this issue, or am I missing something!

Hi Adam
I had the same issue and I just slotted the holes in the brackets on my milling machine.

Regards Derek

Hi Adam.
I had the same issue as well. What I did was loosen all bolts in all brackets and just started the nuts. Then one by one tightened them all just a bit at a time. It drew all the parts together. At least that is what worked for me. I will be watching your build as I have been spending the last year building the Parts for my Ferdinand conversion.

Adam, I have the same issue with my Elefant. The holes in the brackets line up on one hand and do not line up on the other. I attached a picture of the machining on both hands (end view). The side on the right in the picture assembles fine. The holes do not line up on the side on the left in the picture. It looks like they were not machined the same or an operation was missed. This is my first post . There is supposed to be a picture attached.
Dan

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies, glad to see it wasn't something I did! I managed to 'fix' the issue by opening the holes up to 8mm (the biggest metal drill I have!), and then wiggling it back and forth. This gave enough clearance to allow me to comfortably get all 4 bolts through without forcing it. I did wince a bit doing it as I'm an aircraft engineer so bodging something isn't in my DNA (I clearly don't work for Boeing!) But with limited resources you have to make do with what you've got to hand sometimes .

Hi Adam,
For very large tank models like Elefant , Panther , Tiger 1 , Kingtiger , Jagdtiger , Chieftain , etc.. you will need some long F Clamps to fix long yet non-obviously distorted panels , so holes could be lined up before locking them with screws. Just my 5 cents.

Regards,
Lerh Chang