Trumpeter 1/35 Jagdpanzer E-100 Kit First Look

by Michael Benolkin

First Look

Throughout the Second World War, German heavy industry was hard at work designing and producing the next generations of combat vehicles for the Wehrmacht. While the Americans and British were fielding improved armor to counter German developments, they were constrained by size and weight limitations as the only way to get these combat vehicles into the fight was via cargo ships. The Soviets had no such limitation and they turned out some of the most deadly armored vehicles of the war with the KV-1 heavy tanks and T-34 medium tanks able to deal with even the formidable Panther and Tiger. In the latter days of World War II, German designers were working on a new series of standardized tanks dubbed the "E" series. The heavier members of the "E" series were developed to counter the best of the Soviet arsenal. One such tank was the E-100.

The E-100 was a self-propelled anti-tank gun inside an armored enclosure. Similar in concept to the Jagdpather and Jagdtiger, this E-100 provided significant armor protection for the crew while they could establish ambush points and plink away at enemy tanks. The main gun was a high-powered 170mm gun that could fire armor-piercing rounds from nearly 4000 meters. To move the E-100 around the battlefield, it was powered by a 1200 horsepower engine and a purpose-build torque converter transmission that dealt with the reliability problems of earlier designs. Fortunately for allies, the E-100 never made it into production as it would have seriously blunted the Soviet's armored assault on Berlin.

Trumpeter has released its latest installment of the E-series tanks that were announced last year. Like the previous releases, this kit provides some nice external detailing with some conjecture on some details given that this was still in development at war's end. And like the previous release, this kit has no interior details.

The kit is molded in light gray styrene and presented on seven parts trees (duplicate trees not shown) plus the upper and lower hull. Also included in the kit are vinyl track runs (rubber-band track) and one fret of photo-etched details.

So let's get to the features:

• Nicely detailed heavy suspension system
• Positionable top and rear fighting compartment hatches
• Positionable engine compartment hatch
• Gun barrel can move in azimuth and elevation
• Gun ring and machine gun on commander's hatch
• Sideskirts
• Reloading hoist

The kit includes a set of generic Balkenkreuz and tactical numbers so you can mark your vehicle in whatever notional markings that you'd prefer. The painting guide provides two notional tri-color camouflage schemes based upon standard practices late in the war.

If you're interested in a very distinctive combat vehicle that could have been an effective counter to the Soviet Army's advance had it been available in time, this kit is what you're looking for. There's nothing like a big honking gun on a tank to catch the viewer's eye!

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review copy!