The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun. The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.
I have been constructing two 15mm models of the Maus Super Heavy Tank. One from Zvezda and the other from Clash of Steel. Having given both models a white undercoat I gave them a base coat of Army Painter Desert Yellow Spray.
This is the Zvezda model.
This is the Clash of Steel model.
I sprayed the tracks with Mechanicus Standard Grey Spray, though I think they will be painted a dark brown colour eventually.
The next stage will be painting the tracks and the camouflage. I am going to go for the similar pattern as on the GF9 Clash of Steel model.
Though as I don’t have an airbrush I am going to have to do this by hand with a paintbrush.
The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun. The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.
However from a modelling perspective, the Clash of Steel version is much easier to put together.
I then gave the Maus a white undercoat.
The yellow of the plastic can still be seen, but I wasn’t trying to do a thicker base coat, this was about setting a primer for the sand base coat later.
Next step will be painting the model a sand colour.
The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun. The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.
I’ve always been impressed with the 1/100th scale models from Zvezda as well as being good quality plastic miniatures they are also reasonably priced. I was intrigued to see that my local model shop had the German super heavy tank Maus in their range of Zvezda kits.
I think it might have been priced wrongly at £3.50 as similar boxes (i.e. the bigger boxes) were £7.00. So I bought two for potential objectives or models for alternate history games set at the end of World War Two.
The model comprises two plastic sprues and look detailed and I think it will capture the feel of this monstrous tank.
The sprues have sat around for a while, but having recently purchased a similar 1/100th scale 15mm Maus from Battlefront I was intrigued to see the comparison.
The next stage was to construct the models, even though it says snap-fit, decided to glue the model together. I was going add some weight to the model too, so give it some heft and ballast. I think a super heavy tank, even at 1/100th scale, should be “super heavy”. However, I didn’t have any weights to hand. The model was not as simple as I thought it would be to construct, I had issues with getting the gun the right way around, but got there in the end.
This is a large 15mm model, as compared to the M18 Hellcat in the same scale.
The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces.
It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun.
The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.
I’ve always been impressed with the 1/100th scale models from Zvezda as well as being good quality plastic miniatures they are also reasonably priced. My only real complaint is that the other types of models in the range are designed to fit the box, not the same scale of the vehicles. So the infantry figures and artillery pieces, are 1/72nd, some aircraft are 1/144th and even 1/200th. I have even seen 1/350th boats in the range. This is a pity. The1/100th scale vehicles though fit well with my other 15mm models.
I was intrigued the other day to see that my local model shop had the German super heavy tank Maus in their range of Zvezda kits.
I think it might have been priced wrongly at £3.50 as similar boxes (i.e. the bigger boxes) were £7.00. So I bought two for potential objectives or models for alternate history games set at the end of World War Two.
The model comprises two plastic sprues and look detailed and I think it will capture the feel of this monstrous tank.
The next stage will be to construct the models, even though it says snap-fit, I think I will glue the model together. I will also add some weight to the model too, so give it some heft and ballast. I think a super heavy tank, even at 1/100th scale, should be “super heavy”.
I wonder if Zvezda will produce any other models similar to this? If they did what would you want to see?
Here are some more photographs from the Warfare 2015 Show in Reading. These images are from a 28mm Demonstration Game set in the latter part of the second world war.
The German forces were withdrawing in the face of a British attack.
I mentioned the armoured locomotive a week ago, well here is the rolling stock to go with my Flames of War German Armoured Train.
I got an Artillery Car and an Anti-Aircraft Car (or should that be a Flak Car?).
Like the locomotive the main parts of the model are resin with metal wheels and components.
I know I really should have gone for an Infantry Car, but to be honest the thought of trying to glue together the radio aerials put me off, so I didn’t.
After much consideration I did in the end get a German Armoured Train for Flames of War, well an armoured locomotive to begin with.
Though they were not used on the Western Front (as far as I am aware) it is my intention to use it against British (and American) tanks. Then again I might just get in a few Soviet tanks for a quick game.
As with most Battlefront models the kit contains resin with metal parts for the details. The engine and tender are two resin parts with the front, the funnel and the wheels in metal.
Next stage will be washing the resin, and cleaning the castings before constructing the engine.
Forged in Battle on their Facebook page have showed off a V2 rocket with armoured half-track.
Looks very nice, though not so sure about the exhaust smoke, looks like it has been modelled as just taking off. Not so useful as an objective, but nonetheless could still be used.
I know, I know, a new set of rules, a new scale and more painting!
Written by veteran game designers Alessio Cavatore and Rick Priestley, Bolt Action provides all the rules needed to bring the great battles of World War II to your tabletop. Using miniature soldiers, tanks and terrain, you can fight battles in the shattered towns of occupied France, the barren deserts of North Africa, and even the sweltering jungles of the Pacific.
Players get to decide which of the major or minor World War II powers they would like to represent, and then construct their armies from the lists provided. Army options are almost limitless, allowing you to build the kind of army that most appeals to your style of play. The choice is yours.
Created as a joint project between Warlord Games and Osprey Publishing, the leading independent military history publisher, Bolt Action is sure to be the most popular new wargame on the market.
I have been intrigued by Warlord Games’ Bolt Action rules for a while now so was pleased to get hold of a copy.
Initial impressions are very positive, it is an extremely well produced publication, with great looking photographs.
I’ve not had a chance to read it fully or even play the rules, but one of the reasons I am looking forward to playing the game is I like the idea of using order dice.
One thing I do need to decide is which army to go for.
I do quite like the look of the Assault on Normandy starter set.
Assault on Normandy starter set gives you everything you need to pit your tactics and wits against your opponent as you recreate the great battles of World War II on the tabletop! In addition to the glorious Bolt Action rulebook and eight Orders Dice, you will find forty hard plastic, multi-pose 28mm miniatures as well as terrain for them to fight over. This is a great starting point as you seek to defeat your foes and bring an end to the greatest conflict in history.
This is the perfect starting point for Bolt Action, and I would have probably bought it if I knew it was available when I bought the Bolt Action rules…
The ruins are very nice and hopefully will be available separately.
In the box you get two starter armies, US and German, however my regular opponent, Simon, has told me that he wants to go Italian. To quote him
“So I can wargame with a really silly accent and not worry about having to paint camo on paratroopers.”
My problem is who do they fight?
The obvious option is the British in North Africa. I am also thinking about Greek forces. Another option would be the invasion of Sicily.
