Dragon Models Ltd.
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My Summary Assessment
History There was a proposal aimed at standardizing Germany’s armor in 1942 (super-heavy-tanks were discussed and design parameters set in 1941 resulting in the Mouse but not for the E-100). The proposal resulted in the “E” series and was to be implemented by the end of 1945 with 6 “E” types (5, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100). Strangely the E is for “Entwicklungsfahrzeug” and that translates to Development Vehicle, not an S for “Standardisiertfahrzeug” or Standardized Vehicle as you’d assume. The “E” series was, where possible, to use as many common components as practical and that is not a surprise if you consider the nightmare situation that had unfurled in Russia regarding the over extended supply chain. The E-100 was a design that fitted in between the lighter Pkw.VII 'Löwe' (Lion) and the heavier Pkw.VIII 'Maus' (Mouse). At wars end there was only the one prototype hull due to Hitler ordering a cessation of development regarding super-heavy tanks in 1944 (Adler designed and almost completed it at Henschel’s Paderborn annex with a few Adler workers). A 150mm gun along with its muzzle brake was found “on site”. Differences between the prototype hull at Paderborn and any production model can only be conjectural but things like the drive-sprockets were to be moved to the rear (and if you study the painting guide model used by DML you will discover that whoever built the kit for them has in fact reversed the drive-sprocket and idler from that shown in the instructions). There is an account reporting that the Mouse/E-100 turret was designed with only the 128mm KwK 44L/55 (Maus) gun intended for it but after Hitler had viewed the wooden mock-up of the Mouse at Rastenburg he complained that the enormous size made the 128mm gun look childishly small and that a 150 or 170mm gun was to be fitted. The end result is that reportedly this gun/turret combo meant that there was going to be a restricted turret traverse for the E-100. It turned out that mounting the 50t turret would not have been possible in any event and that Adler was going to convert the hull to a SP version of the E-100. In other words the E-100 depicted by DML, while technically impractical, is a good representation of the conceptual design only. This is bourn out by photographic evidence showing the extent of the internal modification done to the hull to attempt to fit the 150mm armed Mouse turret. Box Contents Opening the box top reveals 5 bags of grey plastic parts along with 1 mixed bag containing decals, DS100 tracks, PE (photo-etched) engine deck (air intake) screens and muzzle brake (flash suppressor?) plus the bonus of 2 superbly rendered vinyl figures (well for me in this scale they are). The 5 plastic parts bags provide a good defense against parts being inadvertently damaged due to “interlocking”. I found no warping, ejector pin marks or bad “flashing” on this kit that matters and that equates to more time for you to spend on other aspects of construction. The latest slide-mold casting technology is used on this kit that reduces work and I suspect will lift the overall impression of the finished tank. Preliminary Construction Appraisal. The instructions are broken into 9 construction steps.
To depict a fictitious German, or a captured Soviet, tank. The painting and markings guide, that uses a finished kit, is a good indication of what you can expect from the kit upon completion. The decals give you 3 choices of numbering with the first being black/white border, the second is white outline only and lastly is a solid white number and 4 types of “Balkan cross” national markings.
Beginner’s Evaluation (5 stars) Those building this straight from the box should be happy with this as there seems to be nothing particularly tricky here other than the muzzle brake (there isn’t much option but to roll the PE part and glue it on or don’t even bother with it). I’d expect this to be done/built in a very sort period of time and painted just as fast. You will get a nice little E-100 that’s had the very latest manufacturing techniques applied to it. Intermediate Evaluation (3+1/2 stars) All that applied to the beginner’s evaluation plus…….. You will need to do some basic work to rectify gaps at the front of the hull and fitting the turret rear is tricky to get a good fit. Other things like the lack of extra detailing with no tools, tow cables, extra track links for the turret sides and closed hatches (bar the driver’s one) are disappointing. There is missing details on the hull sides that are exposed if you displayed the E-100 less the side guards. The cast air intake grills over the fans are disappointingly poor and I’d have been less upset if they had been made solid as that’s what they are all but are. The fans them selves look good and I can’t understand why the grills are this poor (and in fact the under/down side is better defined than the upper face). I have read that the cast fan intake guards off the Tiger II kit along with the engine bay hatch are superior to those on this kit but that does equate to a doubling of the cost (and for a small percentage more you can go to the 1/35th version). The jib/boom used for the side guards would also have been a nice touch. Advanced Evaluation (2+1/5 stars) All that applied to the intermediate evaluation plus…….. As this is not a test unit but supposedly a production version you’ll need to consider this as ether an “initial” variant or rebuild it as the “B” type. James Blackwell built what could only be described as the “initial” E-100 (late ‘45, early ‘46) and his work is an excellent “what if” reference for the DML kit modification/upgrade. The 150mm gun appears to be correct at a scaled down 80mm length but the turret race looks smaller than it should be, well in fact the actual race is as wide as the turret and hull at 42.5mm (3060mm) and the internal turret/fighting compartment diameter of 31mm (based on Hilary Doyle’s drawings). Scratching the end partitions of the side guards will be required if you intended to display her with some on, some off. The upper front nose plate that extends out over the tracks is going to need a makeover with the missing side strip used to align/lock the front guard section in place. Also the actual plate itself will need to be added to as it ends incorrectly. The upper hull sides are incorrectly detailed with the “V” shaped guides not running up to the top of the hull sides. The half round protrusions that are evident in photos have been omitted making it a requirement if you, again, wish to display her minus guards. There is a lot of potential in this kit that is just begging for the super-detailer’s attention. There are many more aspects to replicate, that I’ve omitted only to hasten this along, which should give you good value for money. I’ll finish this by adding two things. 1 I have not yet built this kit and I can only evaluate it as I interpret the parts on the frames and out of the box. 2 this looks to be a little gem from DML and I am very impressed with what I can see. Well done Dragon. The kit was provided by Dragon Models USA. I’d also like to express my appreciation by thanking Paul Owen of Track-Link for arranging the review sample and for providing the last two published references, Neville Lord for his patience. Published References
Internet Reference
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