Trumpeter 1/35 German Jagdpanzer E-100
By Rob Folden
Stock #01596
MSRP: $46.98
Towards the end of WWII, the Germans began designing several super tanks, known as the Entwicklung, or E-series. These included the Maus, E-100 [aka Tiger III], and the Jagdpanzer E-100 [aka Krokodil]. These super heavy tanks were massive, to say the least. While the Maus was to use the 128mm KwK 44 gun, the E-100 and Krokodil were going to mount a huge 170mm anti-tank gun with a range up to four kilometers. Of course, none of these E-series super tanks ever made it to production. The closest they came were two prototype Maus tanks, and an E-100 chassis. Like the Maus, the Krokodil was to mount the 75mm coaxial gun, and with a top speed projected at 40 kph, was to only weight 136 tons.
In the last couple of years, Trumpeter has released several of these super heavy tanks, including the Maus, E-100, and the Geshutzwagen Tiger [featuring the 170mm K72 gun]. Now, Trumpeter has added to this line with the Jagdpanzer E-100 Krokodil. The kit features great box art, showing the massive size of the Krokodil. Molded in light grey styrene, the kit features approx 270 parts on 7 sprues, with upper and lower hulls molded separately. Also included are decals, a fret of photo-etched parts, and “rubber-band” tracks. The detail is very well done, and I found no flash on my review sample. Additionally, I did not find any ejector marks on any surfaces visible after assembly. The rubber tracks are well done, and had a good level of detail, while still being flash free. The 170mm gun barrel comes in two halves; however the muzzle break is slide-molded as a single piece. A full color paint/marking guide is included with two possible camo schemes, though it is unlikely the Krokodil would have been painted in either scheme, as the stripes would have been very large. An urban ambush scheme seems more plausible [well, for a fictional tank that is]. The finished model is quite large, easily dwarfing an Elephant tank.
I would say Trumpeter is on the right track with the E-series. The Krokodil kit is a great offering, and an excellent addition to any collection. As with any German “paper panzer”, I can’t wait to see all the possible paint schemes modelers come up with. My thanks to Stevens International for supplying this great review sample. Happy Modeling.
