Trumpeter 1/35 German E-50 Standardpanzer Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | March 2010 | Manufacturer | Trumpeter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | German E-50 Standardpanzer | Scale | 1/35 |
| Kit Number | 1536 | Primary Media | Styrene, Photo-Etch |
| Pros | Magnificent detailing! | Cons | |
| Skill Level | Intermediate | MSRP (USD) | $49.95 |
First Look
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While the Germans produced some very effective armored vehicles during World War II, the complexity of their designs, especially with the Panther and Tiger series, resulted in lower production rates and greater maintenance problems. The engineers went back to basics and designed a series of standard tanks, the 'Standardpanzer' which took the better capabilties from existing tanks and made each design simpler.
The E-50 was designated as the standard medium tank to replace the Panther and Tiger series. The design weight was to be between 50 and 75 tons.
These standard tank designs did reach varying degrees of construction, but none went beyond initial prototype stages as the war ended before they could be completed, tested, and pressed into production.
Trumpeter has released two more interesting armor prototypes into their growing tank portfolio. This one is the E-50 Standardpanzer which bears a strong resemblance to the Panther tank but featuring simplified road wheels and Tiger firepower.
The kit consists of 294 parts (according to the specs) molded in light gray styrene and presented on 5 parts trees. The track is vinyl and nicely detailed. One fret of photo-etched detailsround out this kit.
The first thing that will catch your eye is the roadwheel layout. This design used a similar overlapping wheel arrangement as the Tiger, but eliminated the dual wheels per axle to make maintenance easier. The roadwheels still provided supplemental protection to the lower hull.
The exhaust layout on the rear of the hull is very similar to the Panther. Conversely, the upper hull looks like an interesting hybrid of the Panther and Tiger designs though hatch layouts are simpler.
The turret also looks similar to the sloped armor of the Panther, though smaller than the Panther, it is dwarfed by the main gun.
No decals are provided in the kit as the tank is notional and so is the Desert Yellow over Brown scheme the color profile depicts (though it is quite appealing).
This is another very impressive model. Trumpeter has created a nice and simple in this box and this complements the E75 Standardpanzer released at the same time. What's even more impressive is the response from DML - none. It looks like Trumpeter won the kit war, or at least this phase of the battle.
My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!