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This is one of those just-for-fun-What-If-sci-fiesque-Germany-1946 projects that the aircraft guys get to do all the time with their jet and rocket fighters, but with a little twist. It also allowed me to gain some experience with scratch building and also required a great deal of 'gizmology', which is something that can be a real joy and break from the all-too-often anal aspects of our hobby. Plus, it's got a bloody big gun.
So where should I begin? Well, first I suppose I should tell you a little about the thinking behind the beast.
Anyway, two months ago, after finishing my T-34/85, and getting a preview showing of Mark Bannerman's amazing effort on a Neuberfauzug, I was inspired to build something really 'BIG'.
Sitting in my model room looking at the shelves packed with kits (I just love that aspect of the hobby - it's like being in a small hobby shop stocked only with kits I like), I sized up my collection for something that would fit the bill.
I'd found a second hand DML JagdTiger kit a year or so ago that had some significant parts missing, and some construction that had been started. It was only $5, and among other things in this hobby, I like BIG gunsso when I picked it up, I didn't really examine the kit too losely - happy enough just to get one of these increasingly rare kits. When I opend up the kit, however, it turned out that the building that had taken place was fine, but a serious error had been made and as a result, the superstructure would not fit over the gun breech without major surgery. A further look revealed some key pieces were missing. My search continued.
I also had the DML Maus kit, which I had originally bought with a thought to adding Chesapeake Model Design's excellent 'twin '88' flack turret. Since then, however, I have seen that kit on both the Maus and E-100,and I really think I prefer it on the E-100, and when that kit came up at a local hobby shop on sale, I took it home, but that still left me with a Maus on my shelf. I've seen some very good work done with a Maus, with the example in Tony Greenland's good book 'Panzer Modelling' being just one which comes readily to mind. In fact, I've seen so many well done examples that they no longer seem all that unique.
Perhaps it was having the two kits sitting side by side, perhaps it was divine inspiration or maybeit was just glue fumes, but I was suddenly struck by an interesting train of thought. Choo-choo, as it were.
I had caught myself wondering what would have happened if the war had gone on long enough for the Maus to enter servise? Logically, I suppose it is likely that even if the war had gone on into 1946, the Maus would have been abandoned long before full production as it would have proved to be a totally ineffective and over-sized beast.
On the other hand, with the Brits, Yanks and Russians working on 'Super-Heavy' tanks of their own, the Germans just might have pushed ahead with the ponderous tank for some time before cancelling the program. And who knows how far it would have gone if the Furher had decided he wanted it built? If this had happened, then when finally the vehicle proved an operation disapointment, what would have been done with the unfinished hulls and finished vehicles?
We know that the Germans were not in any position to waste material, and even in any counter-factual time line,it is more reasonable to believe this would have been the case. We also know that historically, the Germans had,at times, used hulls of disapointing vehicles to build other platforms. They built 90 Elefants, afterall, on the Porche
Tiger chasis.
We also know that the Germans were fond of converting nearly all of their tank designs into the easier to construct, more heavily armoured and up-gunned self-propelled guns. Panzer III and Ivs were made into StuGs, and both the Panther and Tiger spawned Jagd versions. Why not the Maus? That would be a massive beast, it might look neat, and I know I've certainly not seen anyone build one of these things.
SO with all that thinking taking place in about a half hour, I figured..why not? It would take some major modifications, and I'd have to scratch build the superstructure - something I'd never attempted before. But what the heck, I decided to have at it.
BUILDING THE KIT
Hull & Deck
Once the decision was made, I proceeded rather quickly. The hull was constructed as per the Maus, however I wanted a rear-mounted engine, so I had to cut up the hull deck and re-arrange the pieces, while working out the extreme warp in the kit part.
Mantlet & Gun
Next I made the super-structure using bits from the JagdTiger and the Maus, with the amour sides, front and rear being styrene. For the gun-mantlet, I figured that by 1946, the Germans, who were also keen on re-rifling and re-using captured russian guns and technology when they could, would have had a good batch of JSU-152s sitting about, and they might just decide to pillage the heavy cast mantlets from some those vehicles, with a gun of similar diameter, but re-rifled and with a much higher caliber. Figure a 152mm L55 gun or somewhere there abouts.
It also helped my decision that DML's JSU-152/122 kit comes with two full mantlets and guns, allowing you to build either the 122 or 152, and I plan on building the former, so these 152 parts were bound for the parts box. Pure Gizmology here.
Anyway, for the gun, I used the base of the 152, with a full extension using plastic tubing and a bit of the original Maus gun, and the 152 muzzle break/flash suppressor tacked on the end.
Rear Deck Plating and A/A MG34
I figure that even in a 1946 alternate history, Allied "Jabo's" or fighter-bombers would still be the biggest threat to this vehicle. So on the rear deck, I envision built-up armour plating over all the vulnerable engine air inlets, enough to stop 20mm canon shells and 5mm rockets. The Germans also seem to often add MG 34s to vehicles of all types, and after their experience with the Ferdinand Elefant, I figured that close-in defence would be a priorit, so I included what might have been a simple field mod of a pedestal mounted MG-34, placed on the largest bit of add-on armour plating.
Super-Structure
The Super Structure uses the kit turret, with front cut off from the point at which the turret begins to curve, and sanded down about 5-7mm as Jagd types are often made squater than their turreted cousins. A problem I encountered here is that the turret is not nearly wide enough to fit the kit flush with the armoured side skirts, so it turned out that I had to build both sides, front and back out of styrene anyway. I had previously sanded nearly all the detail off the top of the kit, and filled a few of the openings. Using many bits from the JagdTiger, and a few from the Maus I rebuilt the turret in a way that looked ok to me.
Zimmerit? Wasn't that discontinued?
Yes and yes. As far as my understanding of the order to cease applying zimmerit to vehicles, the decision was made based on the notion of crews that the stuff tended to catch fire. A number of historians have suggested that this was an incorrect evaluation, stemming mostly from the Allied use of smoke rounds, which when hitting German vehicles would cause the crews to encounter smoke in their fighting compartments and believe their vehicle might be burning, and therefore cause the Germans to bail out from the vehicle in rapid fashion. SO - if the war were to go on for another year or two, I figure that the German high command would have realized this error and reversed the order, particularly as the use of magnetic mines regained favour with the Russians and Allies. So on went some Zimmerit. Too bad too, as I had spent a good deal of time re-scribing and forming the plate fittings on the side of the superstructure to indicate 200mm+ of frontal armour. With the zim, that detail was lost, but such is life.
Painting and Camo
If ever this vehicle were made, it would most certainly, in my mind, be only used in a defensive manner as a sort of mobile pill-box, or a 'cog' around which an area defence might be arranged. It is also likely that the vehicle would either take advantage of pre-scouted natural terrain features or use prepared firing positions which not only dominated an area, but also were fairly easy to back out of and helped the vehicle achieve a hull-down position. In such a set up, the vehicle would potentially be invulnerable to all but a direct hit from heavy artillery or large bomb. Imagine a marginally mobile, super-armoured AT gun with twice the hitting power of the '88. A fierce weapon indeed.
As such, I applied a three tone ambush scheme. As per my usual, I used Tamiya acrylics, followed by light streaking with oils and heavy dust and dirt applied using pastels.
The numbers on the vehicle are double-digits, partially as a little salute to Tony Greenland, and partially based on the rational that these vehicles would be in such short supply that their would be little need for the three digit system. First platoon, 4th vehicle seemed enough to me, assuming four vehicles, deployed in favourable defensive
ground, and adequately supported by infantry could dominate large areas of land. I also figure that the vehicles would be moved around piece-meal, and allocated as threats presented themselves, and as such, might often be re-numbered in the field by the units to conform with whatever the current situation called for. For example, during one week, a platoon might be made up of 4 vehicles, but if terrain dictated, or an offensive was expected on a wide enough front, perhaps 6 or 8 vehicles might be placed in a unified command. Alternatively, where only a local strong-point was needed, possibly only 1-3 vehicles would be needed, the rest moving elsewhere. Of course all this is simply my own fiction, but that was half the fun.
Base and Figure
I'm currently working on a base for this kit, which will represent a prepared, hull-down defensive position on a raised plateau or ridge, from which the vehicle could dominate as section of the battle field. I'll be putting a single figure in the hatch of the kit. It will be an officer using field glasses to scan the distant forest edge for targets. In my mind the figure is necessary to convey to the viewer the full sense of the mass of the vehicle. I'm planning on adding an Ultracast head as soon as I'm finished it.
Conclusion
So that brings me to the end of the JagdMaus. Sure it's fantasy, and there is no PE or resin, but it offered me a great break, injected a ton of fun back into the hobby, allowed me to practice a lot of new techniques without worrying about 'ruining' an expensive new kit and it got me thinking a bit about counter-factual history to boot. All-in-all, a very enjoyable project for me, and one which I now share with you.
Cheers,
Brent
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