1:72 E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) w. R1 ‘Vollvisier’, early 1946

Dizzyfugu · June 29, 2024, 03:05:02 AM

The kit and its assembly:
I haven't built many E-50/75 battle tanks so far, rather specialized derivatives based on the Einheitspanzer chassis. When I recently came across an aftermarket set for a fictional, 3D-printed added armor for 1:35 E-50/75 tanks with a Henschel turret I eventually thought that this concept was worth of a 1:72 model, my favorite armor scale. So, I dug out a Trumpeter 1:72 E-75 MBT (with a very long fictional 105 mm gun) and started to build and convert it using the aforementioned aftermarket set as inspiration.

Compared with the 1:72 ModelCollect kit(s) of the E-50/75 family the Trumpeter kit is very simple, but not bad in detail. There are no optional parts, and the E-75 running gear is mostly molded onto the hull – the ModelCollect kits come with individual coil spring packages and single swing arms that let you build either an E-50 or -75 from the universal basic kit, even though this solution is complicated and flimsy. All wheels and the tracks (black vinyl) of the much simpler Trumpeter offering are separate, though.
The kit's hull consists of an upper and lower half, just like the huge turret. The hull was taken OOB, I just removed segments from the mudguards on both sides and dented the remainder for a worn look. The turret was also taken OOB, together with the gun's mount. However, the ridiculously long, muzzle-brake-free barrel for the fictional 105 mm gun was cut off and replaced with a white metal/brass KwK 43 12.8 cm gun barrel, which looks IMHO a lot better and even more menacing, due to its massiveness!

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The biggest mods were made around the turret front and flanks: I literally added external armor through 2C putty sheets, sanded/sculpted them into shape (including a separate section for the gun mantlet) and added details like openings for targeting scope and co-axial machine gun as well as bolts that hold the armor in place. Quite a tedious process but bringing the hand-sculpted add-ons into a quite edgy shape simply took time, and the parts were not supposed to be too thick.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

As another extra I also cut out some 0.5mm styrene sheet bits and glued them on "pillars" onto the turret roof and over some vents on the engine deck, as an extra armor against air attacks (as described in the background, a real-life measure that was, for instance, realized on some late Panther MBTs).

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More to come soon...

Wardukw · June 29, 2024, 11:54:19 AM

I'm ma watching this with a weathered eye for certain Dizz...I do love me whiffed paper panzers and I'm lovin where this is going 🙃 🙂

Gondor · June 29, 2024, 01:16:06 PM

This is looking interesting indeed.

Dizzyfugu · June 30, 2024, 02:21:58 AM

Thanks a lot for your interest, and it shall be rewarded with more impressions!

Painting and markings:
The E-75's paint scheme is another variation of the German late WWII "Hinterhalt" camouflage, even though a very free interpretation. Inspiration came from late Panther tanks, which were delivered in an overall Olivgrün (RAL 6003) livery instead of the standard Dunkelgelb (RAL 7028), and these vehicles were then camouflaged in the field with whatever was at hand. This led to some ...different designs, including tanks that were only painted in green and red brown, without any Dunkelgelb at all.
That's what I was looking for, but instead of wide bands (typical for such two-tone Panthers, some with thin edges or mottles in Dunkelgelb) I went creative and adopted a brown "giant clover" pattern over the green basis, somewhat inspired by the camouflage of Russian/Ukrainian Mi-24s in the late Nineties (with different colors, though), and also inspired by French tank camouflage from early WWII which frequently used very organic shapes to break up a vehicle's outlines.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

With a concept in mind I initially gave the model an overall coat with sand brown (RAL 8000, Grünbraun, actually the Afrikakorps' desert paint), because I wanted the "real" camouflage in green and brown to be rather pale, flaky and translucent. To keep the applied amount of paint minimal I scribed the clover patterns and painted the green (using a mix of Humbrol 86 and Revell 45, plus a little Humbrol 90) basis with the red brown clover (Humbrol 160) shapes separately, trying to create sharp edges but still a blurry, non-opaque look with the sand brown primer visible here and there. The effect was emphasized through careful wet-sanding. The only Dunkelgelb detail is the underside of the gun barrel – a measure to reduce its contrast against the sky.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The kit received a washing with dark brown acrylic paint, the black vinyl tracks were painted with a mix of dark grey and rust red acrylic artist paint. Decals/marking were puzzled together from the scrap box, the red Tatzelwum marking actually belongs to a Luftwaffe fighter unit. Finally, everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (which unfortunately turned out glossier than intended, but I left it that way) another light dry brushing treatment with beige and light grey followed, highlighting surface details and edges, plus some rust marks. The vinyl tracks were rigged into place, and antenna, made from heated grey sprue material, added to the turret's roof, and the tank's lower areas received a treatment with a greyish-brown pigment mix, simulating dust and mud residue.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

And here's the more or less finished item, scenic shots next.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Wardukw · June 30, 2024, 02:55:14 AM

Love the balance T man 😁
That gun gave it the perfect look 👌
The camo works too 😆

Dizzyfugu · June 30, 2024, 05:50:11 AM

Thank you very much!

PR19_Kit · June 30, 2024, 11:39:48 AM

That's a LONG gun!

Dizzyfugu · July 01, 2024, 01:05:13 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on June 30, 2024, 11:39:48 AMThat's a LONG gun!

Yes, the 12.8mm metal barrel is originally intended as an upgrade for Trumpeter's "Sturer Emil" SPG, and with the mantlet from the Henschel turret that goes through the add-on armor it became even longer. However, lon(er) barrels were a common trend among German tank weapons in later years, as a simple measure to improve muzzle velocity while retaining the same gun. The long 75 mm L70 gun in the Panther and the Jagdpanzer IV was such a measure that made it into production, and there were plans for others. So it's a quite plausible mod, and still shorter than the OOB muzzle brake-less 105 mm gun barrel from the Trumpeter kit. This looks odd, IMHO the metal barrel looks much better overall, also length-wise. However, it's a what-if weapon...

Wardukw · July 01, 2024, 01:25:37 PM

Duzzy some of the designs Germany had for its tank guns were reaching into the realms of the ludicrous with the E75 class of tanks .

That 105mm gun was probably like an L100 calibre gun which would be like 10mtrs in lenght..ive seen plans for a L120 88mm/105mm guns which is brilliant for muzzle velocity and range but damn if ya didn't limit its use anywhere other than open fields...not the brightest of ideas as ideas go 😉

Even tho every E75 is a wiffy yours isn't as wiffy as ya might think Diz as plans were drawn up for mounting the L61 128mm into the E75 but with a muzzle brake so it could use even more powerful rounds .

Dizzyfugu · July 07, 2024, 04:06:34 AM

After a long delay, finally...

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The "Entwicklung" tank series (= "development"), more commonly known as the E-Series, was a late-World War II attempt by Germany to produce a standardized series of tank designs. There were to be six standard designs in different weight classes, from which several specialized variants were to be developed. This intended to reverse the trend of extremely complex tank designs that had resulted in poor production rates and mechanical unreliability.

The E-series designs were simpler, cheaper to produce and more efficient than their predecessors; however, their design offered only modest improvements in armor and firepower over the designs they were intended to replace, such as the Jagdpanzer 38(t), Panther Ausf.G or Tiger II. However, the resulting high degree of standardization of German armored vehicles would also have made logistics and maintenance easier. Indeed, nearly all E-series vehicles — up through and including the E-75 — were intended to use what were essentially the Tiger II's 80 cm (31½ in) diameter, steel-rimmed road wheels for their suspension, meant to overlap each other (as on the later production Tiger I and Panther designs that also used them), even though much simplified. For instance, while the E-50/75's running gear resembled outwardly the Tiger II's, the latter's torsion bar suspension required a complex hull with many openings, and the torsion bars themselves consumed a lot of high-quality steel. In the E-series tanks this was replaced by very compact conical spring coil packages that each held a pair of interleaved road wheels – with the benefit that all suspension elements remained outside of the hull, which could be considerably simplified, saving production time, and the spring coils and their casings saved scarce material, too.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Focus of initial chassis and combat vehicle development was the E-50/75 Standardpanzer, designed by Adler. Both were mostly identical and only differed in armor thickness, overall weight and running gear design to cope with the different weights. While the E-50 was the successor of the medium PzKpfw. V "Panther" and the last operational PzKpfw. VI "Tiger" battle tanks and their derivatives, the E-75 was intended to become the standard heavy battle tank to be used as a replacement for the Tiger II and its Jagdtiger SPG derivative.
The E-75 was built on the same production lines as the E-50 for ease of manufacture, since the types shared many standardized components, including the running gear elements and the same Maybach HL 234 engine with up to 900 hp output. However, the E-75 had much thicker armor, max. 185 mm versus the E-50's 120 mm, and, compared to the Tiger II, the E-75 had improved hull armor all round. As its name indicates, the resulting vehicle weighed in at over 75 tons, reducing its speed to around 40 km/h, while the lighter E-50's top speed on roads was, thanks to the powerful engine, 60 km/h. To offset the increased weight, the E-75's bogies were spaced differently than on the E-50, with an extra pair of wheels added on each side, giving the E-75 a slightly improved track to ground contact length, and with wider tracks to better distribute the higher overall weight on the ground.

The E-75 was built in several variants ("Ausführungen") that primarily differed through the main armament and the turret. Ausführung A resembled the Tiger II a lot and was initially mistaken by Allied troops for its predecessor: hull and running gear followed the same concept and outlines, even though the E-75 had less road wheels. The turret, produced by Henschel, was outwardly almost identical to the Tiger II, too, but featured fairings for an optical rangefinder.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The initial E-75 Ausf. A were equipped with the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun but with the option to use a new, longer L/100 barrel, too, which required a heavier counterweight and a stiffened gun mount suspension. The longer barrel improved range, projectile velocity, and accuracy, even though vehicle handling became more complicated because of the weapon's considerable overhang.
Stronger main guns soon followed, esp. for the Eastern front where the new heavy Soviet tanks like the IS-3 and well-protected assault guns required more firepower and range to be fought effectively. The next E-75 variant, the Ausf. B, used the same welded Henschel turret, but it was adapted to accommodate the new and more powerful high velocity 10.5 cm KwK 45 L/68 gun (Ausf. B1) or the large 12,8 cm KwK 44 L/55 (Ausf. B2). The latter had less muzzle velocity than the KwK 45 but higher range and penetration capacity, thanks to heavier rounds. Both weapons shared the same gun mounts, though, what simplified production and logistics.
The 12,8 cm KwK 44 L/55 had been developed from the towed 12.8 cm Pak 44. This heavy weapon was fed with two-piece ammunition, the projectile and cartridge making up separate pieces, because a single round would have been too heavy and cumbersome to handle and store, esp. within the limited confines of a tank. As a positive side effect, the gun could be fired using three different sized propellant charges: a light, medium and heavy charge. The light and medium charges were normally used when the gun was fulfilling the role of an indirect artillery piece, where they would launch the 28 kg projectiles to a muzzle velocity of 845 m/s and 880 m/s respectively.
The heavy charge was used when the gun was fulfilling its intended role as a direct anti-tank gun, where it fired a 28.3 kg APCBC-HE projectile (PzGr.43) at a muzzle velocity of 950 m/s. With the heavy charge, and using the PzGr.43 projectile, the Pak/KwK 44 was capable of penetrating 312 mm (12.3 in) of 30° sloped armor at 500 m, 230 mm (9.1 in) of 30° sloped armor at 1000 m, 200 mm (7.9 in) at 2,000 m (2,200 yd), and 173 mms (6.8 in) at 3,000 m (3,300 yd) range.

The Ausf. B vehicles arrived at the frontlines in early 1946. Following the upgrade pattern auf the E-75 Auf. A with the L/100 barrel for the 88mm main gun, the B2 with the 12,8 cm KwK 44 was equally equipped with a longer barrel, even though only with a L/68 length and an extension of roughly 5½ feet (166,4 cm). These vehicles, some of them upgraded in field workshops, but most leaving the factories with the longer barrel, received an "/L68" suffix to their designation. Again, range, projectile velocity, and accuracy were improved, the muzzle velocity was raised to 1.050 m/s with the same heavy anti-tank charges as before.
A total of 35 128mm shells were carried – not much for a battle tank, but the huge two-piece rounds required a lot of internal space. Typically a mix of 50% high explosive and 50% armor-piercing rounds, stored in the turret and in the hull, plus 4.800 rounds for the secondary 7,92 MG 34s on board (one co-axial with the main weapon and another one to be optionally mounted onto the commander cupola as an anti-aircraft and infantry weapon; 32 ammunition belts with 150 round each were carried). Instead of the former hull machine gun the E-75 and many of its Einheitspanzer brethren featured a so-called 'Nahverteidigungswaffe', a grenade launcher in the turret roof, which was used for close defense against infantry with SMi 35 anti-personnel mines, even though smoke grenades or signal flares could be fired with the device in all directions, too.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Despite their formidable armor the heavily armed E-75 A and Bs were, as dedicated anti-tank vehicles, soon outfitted with additional external armor to improve frontal protection as well as the thinner roof areas against air attacks, esp. hollow charge bomblets. This was achieved by hardened steel panels that were welded over fragile areas with a little space between them and the tank's exterior.
For additional frontal protection a modular armor package was quickly designed as a Rüstsatz, to be applied directly at the factories but also at field workshops. It was called R1 "Vollvisier" (Ventail) and covered the whole glacis plate as well as the turret's front, gun mantlet and the front parts of its flanks. Beyond a thicker overall armor the set also provided improved frontal protection through a ballistically more efficient shape.
However, this guard came at a cost: weight. The 'bare' E-75 already had a combat weight of 75 tons, what already limited its utility. But the extra armor of 40 – 100 mm for the turret made from hardened cast steel segments alone weighed almost 4 tons, and the huge glacis armor plate added another 3.5 tons. The turret armor markedly stressed the turret's bearings, and the glacis plate was rarely mounted because it made the vehicles markedly front-heavy. After several broken coil springs in the front wheel suspension its use was even forbidden. The turret protection proved to be effective, though, esp. when the tank could dictate the tactical situation and present only the hardened areas to the enemy, so that some R1 packages were actually used.

Beyond the A and B main variants, the E-75 battle tank was produced in further versions that mainly differed through their turret. Due to supply shortages with the Henschel turrets several E-75 hulls were outfitted with the so-called "Schmalturm", called E-75 Ausf. C. The Schmalturm was originally reserved for the lighter E-50 tank and was exclusively outfitted with the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun. It had originally been introduced with the Panther Ausf. F/Panther II interim medium tank in early 1945.
Additionally, Ausf. D carried the so-called "Beuthen-Turm", a cast, universal turret that had been designed to be accepted by a wide range of German medium and heavy battle tanks, including not only the E-50/75 tanks but also the Panther. The "Beuthen-Turm", baptized after its production site Oberschlesische Gusswerke Beuthen (today the city of Bytom in Poland), offered excellent ballistic protection, had a very low profile, and featured a commander cupola with a full 360° view through periscopes as well as a 200cm width stereoscopic optical rangefinder for the gunner. Like the Henschel-Turm, the Beuthen-Turm was designed to accept several heavy guns, primarily the 8.8 cm KwK 43, either with the original L/71 or the new, longer L/100 barrel.

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Due to the ever-worsening situation, less than 80 E-75 hulls were completed and probably less than 50 combat-worthy vehicles arrived at front line units and were involved in battle until the end of hostilities. In service the vehicle received the inventory ordnance number "SdKfZ. 192" and was officially called "Einheitspanzer 75" (Standard tank), retaining its project abbreviation, but the short "E-75" designation from the development phase remained very common, too.

Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, radio operator, driver)
Weight: 75 tonnes (83 short tons)
82.5 tonnes with full R1 armor package (see text)
Length: 7,27 metres (23 ft 10¾ in) (hull only)
11,27 metres (36 ft 11 in) with gun forward
Width: 3.88 metres (12 ft 9 in)
Height 3.46 metres (11¾ ft)
Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)
Suspension: Conical spring
Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:
30–185 mm (1.2 – 7.2 in), plus 40-100 mm external add-on armor

Performance:
Maximum road speed: 44 km/h (27.3 mph)
Sustained road speed: 38 km/h (24 mph)
Cross country speed: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)
Operational range: 160 km (99 miles)
Power/weight: 12,5 PS/tonne (11.25 hp/ton)

Engine:
V-12 Maybach HL 234 23.000 ccm turbocharged gasoline engine with 900 PS (885 hp/650 kW)

Transmission:
ZF AK 7-200 with 7 forward 1 reverse gears

Armament:
1× 12,8 cm KwK 44 L/68 cannon with 35 rounds
2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with a total of 5.200 rounds,
one mounted co-axially with the main gun and an optional AA gun on the commander's cupola
1x Nahverteidigungswaffe 100 mm grenade launcher in the turret roof
(firing anti-personnel mines, smoke grenades or signal flares)

1:72 Kampfpanzer E-75 Ausf. B2/L68 (SdKfz. 192) with R1 'Vollvisier' armor package; vehicle "314" of the 15. Panzerregiment, 11. Panzerdivision; Passau (Bavaria/Southern Germany), early 1946 (What-if/modified Trumpeter kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

buzzbomb · July 07, 2024, 07:21:35 PM

Neat tweak on the armour, but I do like all the little mods like the Top armour and Fan covers

Dizzyfugu · July 08, 2024, 02:44:06 AM

Quote from: buzzbomb on July 07, 2024, 07:21:35 PMNeat tweak on the armour, but I do like all the little mods like the Top armour and Fan covers

Thank you. These were relatively late additions - after the updated front armor was there I thought that some more protection against air attacks would be suitable, too - and it was in a similar form actually introduced on some late war tanks.

NARSES2 · July 08, 2024, 06:00:20 AM

It's certainly got a "look" about it