E100 "Wolverine"
Conversion of Dragon's 1/35th scale E100 plastic kit
Constructed and painted in 2020
Having converted the E100 to what on the Internet seems to have become known as the Krokodil – an E100 with a solid superstructure instead of a turret along the line of a Jagdpanther on steroids – and comparing it and the Maus to a Tiger I of the same scale, I felt that these were not only big vehicles, they were also tall.
Too tall perhaps
With the larger hull of the E100, could the structure housing the gun be made lower ?
So I thought I’d have a go, using the hull from the Dragon kit – the first 1/35th kit of the E100 that became available, way back when.
I decided to construct the hull as per the instructions, and allowing space then for the drive train and suspension, worked out that maybe a lower option was possible, and taking a healthy amount of plasticard sheet, I began to draw out the shapes I’d need in order to construct the section that would sit above the hull and replace the turret.
I left a couple of the sheets with a rough edge cut – the top section in particular, thinking that by the time the WWII had continued to such a stage as this might have been built, neatness with a cutting torch etc, might not have been the highest of priorities.
I regret doing that now, because the rest of the plate joints look a lot neater, and this top plate stands out like a “Millers Thumb” and returning to look at these photos whilst writing the article, I feel I should return, ease that plate off the top of the tank, and clean up the edges….. A lot !
Photos #1 and #2 show the constructed and painted vehicle with the addition of the scratch built top structure, the addition of an anti personnel mini-turret off an E25, a commanders cupola from an early Tiger I and a further cupola from a Panther tank, all parts coming from the spares box.
Bolt heads are from Magic Sculpt putty pressed into a very useful mould set from Green Stuff World that has about six or eight size options and four different styles of bolt head types.
The mantlet and housing for the main gun are from a spare that came with an E100 kit – I think it might have been the Amusing Hobby offering.
Photo #3 - One of the tricks the Allies used to destroy Axis tanks was to get behind them to aim at the rear plate. For some reason the Germans decided to use thinner armour on their AFV’s, and to render this Allied tactic useless, I thought that a nice thick armour plate added over the exhaust shrouds would do nicely.
Spare parts were added for access to some of the engine plates, and some spare tools were added to the new plate to make it look useful.
Photo #4, now whilst a nice aluminium turned barrel should not be sniffed at, it looked a little slim and over-long when test fitted, and in looking around the bench, I noticed a spare barrel from the American T28 SPG that was slightly shorter, but about twice as thick – see photo #5….. OK, I couldn’t resist.
Well, if you’re building a completely spurious model, a total fantasy, then why not “Go Large” – hey, you’d do it at McDonald’s, let’s be honest !
Having decided that, it was a case of paint up all the details, drape some camo net over the barrel ( because that’ll completely hide a great flaming slab of tank, won’t it ?? ), make a suitable base, and plan what figures to use to give it a feeling of scale.
Photo #6 and this little fella was already painted, and when standing by the side of the SPG, you can still see it’s quite a tall vehicle. However, it is about four scale feet lower than the Krocodil, let alone how much lower it is than the turreted versions of E100 or Maus.
Whilst I was thinking about crew members, I imagined that because by the actual end of WWII the Germans were training teenagers to operate AFV’s and fight on the front line, due to shortage of men, then perhaps by the summer of 1946 even women might have been encouraged to join the forces, after all, the Russians had allowed women to fly fighter planes, become snipers and they were very effective in those roles.
So photos #7 and #8 shows a female figure from a set of tank crew that I got hold of.
The supplier is from China, but they designed the set and it isn’t a copy of any other company’s material.
I chose this seated figure because the way she’s twisting around allows her to be seated on the rear of the top deck area whilst appearing to be discussing a map with the two other figures that I’d be using.
Photo #9 shows the black uniform and how I’ve added a coat of Mars Black oils, and then added mid-tones and highlights from Buff Titanium oils. It still looks like black clothing, but the highlights are mainly the buff colour.
Photo #10 and the equipment she’s wearing has all been painted, and once the colours have all dried, she’s ready to be fastened in place.
Photos #11 and #12 is the other figure, or part figure that I added, this one from an Alpine set, with the head substituted for a Hornet offering.
I purposely gave him a camouflage pattern on his uniform, so that all three figures look different.
Again, my thinking here being that salvaged uniforms, repaired and reused, would become common, even scavenged kit might have been acceptable by this point if the war had continued.
Photos #13 and #14 show the three figure group sitting on the top of the tank, the map is made from a print-out that’s been folded over a couple of times and dampened to make it sit flat, then superglued into position.
With the figures finished and glued in place, the SPG could be fastened to the base – a wood screw through a hole drilled through the underside of the plinth and fastened into a corresponding hole on the underside of the SPG hull.
Final thoughts.
Again I think the vehicle isn’t sunk low enough into the groundwork for its proposed weight. The E100 was planned to be one hundred tonnes when finished, including a turret, although most German tanks far surpassed the weight they were supposed to be at the planning stage and according to the initial drawing board specs.
However, with the turret removed, and replaced with this solid superstructure, would the weight have been lessened ?
Having said that, a Jagdpanther is about a tonne and a half heavier than the turreted panther, so maybe this would be heavier than the E100 with the turret.
All in all, this was an interesting “What If” project to construct, and very enjoyable to make.
As usual, the donor kit is well worth considering if you like Paper Panzers, and the E100 is one of the few that made it off the drawing board and partially into reality, with the hull being fabricated along with the wheels and tracks. Only two men were still engaged in any work on the hull at Paderborn at the close of WWII.
The whole of what they had produced was taken by the British and used ( I think ) as target practice to determine the strength of the design. I feel that’s a crime to be honest, as the hull etc was a one-off and should have been preserved.
Whilst Dragone haven’t continued with releasing Paper Panzer designs, Amusing Hobby seem to have had enough interest to produce a range of E100 variants, along with E10, E25, E50 and E75 based AFV’s.
Again, these are worth having a look at if the idea of what the Allied forces could have been facing is something that interests you.
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