What's your favorite fake tank, paper panzer or design nightmare?

[Damraska]

I suppose the Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster also deserves a mention.

It’s kinda interesting exploring the math for some of these super tanks.

The Landkreuzer P. 1000 was estimated to weigh 1,000 tons. The Schwerer Gustav railway gun, which was actually built by Krupp and used, weighs 1,350 tons. The Landkreuzer P. 1500 was estimated to weigh 1,794 tons.

A Heinkel He 111 weighs 10 tons and carries approximately 2.2 tons of bombs. That makes a single Landkreuzer P.1000 is worth 100 Heinkel 111s, a Schwerer Gustav worth 130 Heinkel He 111s, and a Landkreuzer P.1500 worth 171 Heinkel He 111s.

The Schwerer Gustav and Landkreuzer P.1500 both fire an 8 ton shell. The Landkreuzer P.1000 fires a shell weighing about 775 pounds.

The Schwerer Gustav required about 4,000 men to move and make ready to fire. A Heinkel He 111 has a crew of 5. Multiplying 130 Heinkels times 5 crew each is 650 men, leaving 3,350 men for ground support versus the Schwerer Gustav.

It seems like the math always favors heavy lift aircraft versus super guns and super tanks. Maybe Krupp should have contracted with Heinkel to build bombers under license?

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A while back, Copper State Models released CAD drawings of a Tsar Tank. Does anyone know what happened to that project?

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A few years back, Lindybeige released a fun video covering 21 tank concepts that never quite made it. Unlike most such videos, this one features many models on loan from a museum in Belgium for a Tankfest.

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When writing my original response, I thought about nuclear powered tanks. Many of those old, experimental, mobile nuclear reactors are now major environmental hazards. One wonders how many terrors await in the wilderness areas of China and Siberia.

[165thspc]

Obviously when I posted my fictitious German Closed Top Recovery Vehicle I thought you meant “paper panzers” of our own creation.

Also I consider any tank that had at least one prototype built to not be a “fake” in any way.

[Armor_Buff]

Dragon’s old Panther II, my only “paper panzer” built is from ~28 years ago.

Panther II’s & Panther F’s are still amoung my favorite quasi real model topics.

[Paska]

What could be more definitive?

[fromSalekhard]

I have known this photo for a long time and even wanted to repeat it in a diorama. Their model is clearly larger than 1/35 scale. Maybe it’s 1/25? Then in our world we need a 1/875 scale model. I didn’t find these, but I found 1/700.

However, with the current capabilities of 3D printing, anything can be done.

[SableLiger]

Probably one of the reasons the M60-2000 didn’t pan out. Eventually, the only prototype built was pulled apart and the turret ended up on a production M1A1.

[SableLiger]

Wow! Even back then… They had model judges getting their oily, greasy fingers on a built model to look for flaws…

[Johnnych01]

And judges that were real tankers lol !!

[Paska]

[SableLiger]

Paper craft. I remember doing a couple when i was a wee kid.

Good times.

Looks like they’re working on a Soviet KV-1, probably to figure out what’s the best spot to put an HE round through it.

[BootsDMS]

If only the miserable bastards who derided the hobby during my service were of the same ilk!

[HeavyArty]

@SableLiger

…probably to figure out what’s the best spot to put an HE round through it.

More likely being used for enemy armor ID, like the sets of resin ones we had of Soviet vehicles in the US Army.

[SableLiger]

I remember the sand tables we had in the field with those strewn all over it.

[Johnnych01]

And smoking a pipe…perfect !!!

[joepanzer]

Going with L.da Vinci for the win.

[Damraska]

That picture makes frequent appearances in card model forums. It is a vehicle recognition model. Card models were very popular during the early 20th century. Plastic models mostly killed them off in the west, but card model magazines remained popular in the east. At least one, Maly Modelarz, was state sponsored. A fair number of such publications continue to release models.

It appears the model in the picture can be built as a KV-1 or KV-2. The card sheet flat on the table is the KV-2 turret.

[SableLiger]

ALCAN card model kit - CV 35 2-person armored car (1935) design by Chema Alvarez | eBay

Interesting for sure…

[fromSalekhard]

It turns out there is no need to invent or combine anything, Glowel Miniatures has already done everything for us.

[Paska]

Bound to have happened sooner or later, too iconic of an image to pass up. A diorama built from the photo would resonate with modelers and contest judges alike.

Needs the pipe however, an important detail.

I’d add a beer too, artistic license and all that…

[SableLiger]

Nice kit, but not really accurate. The soldiers shown in the kit are wearing WSS panzer wraps, while the two soldiers in the picture are Wehrmacht, one wearing a panzer wrap with NCO “Waffenfarbe” collar tabs.

Along with the NCO “Schulterklappen” shoulder tabs, denoting him as an “Unteroffizier” or NCO, a Sergeant in the US military.