The Mouse that roared, Germany's Panzer VIII 'Maus'
This is Dragon's older 1/35th Panzer VIII "Maus" - Germany's 'super' tank from the end of the war. Only a couple were completed, and it was found that they were too big to transport by rail, and no bridge in Europe could support their weight! Armed with a 128MM main gun, and a 75MM ranging gun (the subsequent versions were to have a 210MM Gun!), they were more of a semi-mobile pillbox than a tank.
They were a complete waste of time and resources, but fueled Hitler's mania for bigger, bigger, bigger!
Built basically from the box with the following additions …
- Added Eduard photoetch
- Added wiring for headlights, plumbing for external fuel tank
- Paint scheme from photographs of prototype
- Added welding detail on hull top/side skirt joints
- Added tow lugs on rear hull
- Painted with Tamiya acrylics, weathered with pastels and oils
Hope you like,
Colin
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- 1. Interesting size comparison
with a Stuart tank
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- 1. The turret on the Maus is as big as a complet Stuart!
Yeah ,if it weren't for that camoflauge you spot it straight away ! stoopid tank ,fantastic kit . I like the comparison you did with the other tank as well, nice job.
Your "Maus" in fantastic... The Stuart parked next to it as a size comparison shows exactly how big this brute really was.
I am a former US Army "tanker" and we could use or .050 caliber MG as a ranging weapon if we had to... but have a 75 MM to range with is incredible ! Besides the transport problems with this one being too big and too heavy, I'll bet this Maus would have broken down before it went very far. That was the Achilles heel to the majority of the German heavy tanks in WW2. They suffered mechanical breakdowns too often, when the American M-4 Sherman and Russian T-34 would run for weeks at a time without problem.
Then imagine how much fuel this one would have consumed... and fuel was becoming a scarce commodity for the Germans later in the war too.
Beautiful work Colin. I don't ever recall seeing another one of these built. You really captured the look with the camouflage paint work.
Well done my friend and "liked"
Thanks. As a former tanker, you should appreciate these numbers - this monstrosity weighed 188 metric tons, carried 710 US gallons internally, and an additional 400 US gallons in the external tank. This gave it an off-road range of … thirty nine miles!
And the tracks were 1.1 meters wide each!
I came across photo's of the testing showing it sunk in the mud up to the top of the hull - what were they thinking?
masterful ,paint job
Great work. Lots of talent on display.
The reason one exists in Canada is because future naturalist/environmentalist then-Captain in the Canadian Army Farley Mowat (author of "Never Cry Wolf") discovered it and took possession, as recounted in his memoir of World War II, "Good-bye to All That."
Great juxtaposition with the Stuart. Many thanks for posting this fine work!
What a beast! Great job!