Next Armortek model to be announced

[Sjouke Kooistra]

talking about heavy ... T28 super heavy tank (also known as a doom turtle)

[Jerry Carducci]

well a Maus model would be awesome I'd preorder one straight away

a more personal and realistic option would be any of the following

an SU85
a T54/55 (or type59 same tank really)
a PZII
and the would buy straight away ... an STRV103

I'm going to ask forgiveness ahead of time; I don't normally post things not 1/6 and not Armortek, but in the interest of illustration.....

You guys really don't know what you'd be getting yourself in for if there ever was a 1/6 scale Maus readily available.

For comparison here is my 1/10 scale Maus next to my Armortek M2 and Sd.Kfz. 7 and for real grins along side is a 1/10
scale Pz I.

Even in the relatively small 1/10 scale the Maus is ungainly and unfinished weighs around 54-55 kg.

I can't imagine what one would weigh using relatively scale thickness plates and 40% larger. I believe Kian said the size of the plates
required would surpass their machining centers' capacity.

I'm glad I have this one and an E100 as well but these are large enough...although if 1/6 Maus or E100 came available I'd be compelled to 'rescue' it....

Jerry

[Sjouke Kooistra]

well a Maus model would be awesome I'd preorder one straight away

a more personal and realistic option would be any of the following

an SU85
a T54/55 (or type59 same tank really)
a PZII
and the would buy straight away ... an STRV103

I'm going to ask forgiveness ahead of time; I don't normally post things not 1/6 and not Armortek, but in the interest of illustration.....

You guys really don't know what you'd be getting yourself in for if there ever was a 1/6 scale Maus readily available.

For comparison here is my 1/10 scale Maus next to my Armortek M2 and Sd.Kfz. 7 and for real grins along side is a 1/10
scale Pz I.

Even in the relatively small 1/10 scale the Maus is ungainly and unfinished weighs around 54-55 kg.

I can't imagine what one would weigh using relatively scale thickness plates and 40% larger. I believe Kian said the size of the plates
required would surpass their machining centers' capacity.

I'm glad I have this one and an E100 as well but these are large enough...although if 1/6 Maus or E100 came available I'd be compelled to 'rescue' it....

Jerry

As I stated in that post its not realistic to do and therefore I don't think it would ever happen.
then proceed to list more reasonable and realistic options.

Doesn't mean I can't be silly right?

[David Brady]

I'm sure a batch of 30pcs would sell if produced...the ultimate Toy.

Count me in ...would I want a model weighing 250k to 300kg and the answer is yes

I've seen a steel tiger 1 with a weight of 250kg and I'm sure there is a leopard with a weight approaching 300kg in 1/6

Please add this to the survey Armortek

E100 or Maus.

Think of all the fun you could have trying to recover with flat batteries.

Cheers

[Chris.Marshall]

Agreed, a bit of silly is a nice bit of light relief. Or for the Maus, very heavy relief. It's what I call 'thought projects' those things that are fun to research or plan out but one knows that there will never be the time or the capacity to turn into reality. I have a few fairly serious thought projects all of which I would love to build, but I'd have to live for another hundred years to complete them, and that's just the practical ones, there is also a myriad of less practical thoughts.

The Maus is one of the semi practical ones, but certainly a long way from a commercial proposition in 1/6. I could see one of the experienced builders here making a good go of it, and it would indeed be quite a monster. Over the last 50 years model engineering ( that's what this all boils down to ) has come a LONG way. When I first started, 3 1/2" gauge was the norm for locomotives and 5" gauge was considered BIG, today so many people work in 7 1/4" NARROW GUAGE.... that's loco's in the 1/2 ton to 2 ton range, my current near complete standard gauge loco is a good 0.25 tons, For traction engines 1" scale of 2" scale were the norms, 2" was big..... 3" was a relative rarity. Now the standard is 4" sale and there are a lot of people doing 6" i.e. half size. Same applies to tanks where 1/6 is the norm for R/C models, I used to think, many years ago that 1/16 was HUGE.... We have also come a long way in manufacturing techniques and availability of lower cost machinery for the amateur.

So the result of that slight ramble is.....

The Maus,

A really interesting thought project for many of us. I can visualise turning up to a model show and ' crushing ' it

Not commercially viable as a kit.

But, certainly well within the capability of the builders with large equipment and a good skill base. It's probably easier than a half size compound road locomotive ( Think Fowler Super Lion here.... ).

So when it's lunch time and our brains are fried, it's a nice little escape. Now where did I put that slab of 2" thick 'castal' plate

All the best,

Chris.

[Chris.Marshall]

Haaa ! !

I just found out it's called PBLE ..... Projects Beyond Life Expectancy......

That hit a nerve.....

Chris.

[Sjouke Kooistra]

probably true

[Jerry Carducci]

As I stated in that post its not realistic to do and therefore I don't think it would ever happen.
then proceed to list more reasonable and realistic options.

Doesn't mean I can't be silly right?

Absolutely a healthy helping of silly is a good thing! Wanting a giant model isn't silly, it's ambitious!

I'm the last person who has any basis to comment on what others want. If a 1/2 scale Ratte is what
someone wants then that's what they should build....

I just know the damage I've done to the back door (missing part of the bottom rubber seal) of my garage driving my King Tiger out into the yard;
I can only imagine what an even larger model what do...


Jerry

[Chris Hall]

It’s silly …… amazingly silly. A run of 30 for something where only two (at best) actually existed ?

If Armortek saw a market for such a thing, I’d advise then to ask for 75% of the cost up front. Otherwise all those “I must have one of those” types will just drift away …..

[Jerry Carducci]

It’s silly …… amazingly silly. A run of 30 for something where only two (at best) actually existed ?

If Armortek saw a market for such a thing, I’d advise then to ask for 75% of the cost up front. Otherwise all those “I must have one of those” types will just drift away …..

Definitely 'out there'. With regards to the ratio of originals to models of 2:30 - consider how many Tiger I models have been built over the years (in all scales) vs how many of those were originally built...

Happily, logic and reason are often put away on the shelf temporarily when modelling subjects are considered...viable sales are another story.

I'm personally rather a later comer to the 1/6 party having spent so many years in 1/10 (which I still enjoy); for years I swore 'those 1/6 are just too large'; well quite a number of 1/6 models later I disavow any knowledge of the previous 'me'.

So who am I to rain on someone's scale ambition. I can just see Liam making steel tracks for a 1/6 Maus, the shipping costs alone would make many people turn white.

As much as a Maus is a fun mental exercise I'll still lobby for a:

Revised M2/M3/M16 ( M9?) half track
Sexton or Priest
M18 Hellcat or M10

oh yeah and maybe a US 155mm "Long Tom" - there have been virtually no US artillery pieces made in larger scales. Of course then we would need
something to tow it around with....

Jerry

[Ralph Gerharz]

I have built two armortek tanks that are not realy tanks.
An Elephant and Mk.IV
So i am ready To ask the powers that be, to kindely hear my cries.
FT 17 or an offshoots of the FT17 as this truly is the definition of tank.

Thank you

[Alex Easten]

I have built two armortek tanks that are not realy tanks.
An Elephant and Mk.IV
So i am ready To ask the powers that be, to kindely hear my cries.
FT 17 or an offshoots of the FT17 as this truly is the definition of tank.

Thank you

I second FT17.

[Simon Peck]

I have the steel Tiger I David refers to above. At least I’m pretty sure I do, as it’s a one off. Although It’s a little more than 250kg, and on its rare outings makes far more mess of the lawn than an Armortek Tiger I.
I’d vote for a Willys Jeep.

[David Brady]

Hi Simon,

I was aware you bought the model, a nice thing for sure.

A link to Bruno Arnold leopard 278 kg




Cheers

[Gerhard Michel]

Well, big and heavy tank models have their own charm and fascination; may be using either a huge original like the 'Maus' or a bigger scale like 1/4, which is not unusual in Germany. At Reinhold's international tank festival in Hausen there are about 15 models in 1/4 scale and about 30 models in 1/6 scale and others. The only commercial manufactured 'Maus' till now in 1/6 scale weighed about 230 kgs (made of glass fibre reinforced plastic), scratch built heavy 1/4 scale tanks (steel / alu) can weigh up to 620 kgs. A planned, but only partially finished King Tiger in 1/3 scale would have weighed one ton.

I don't have such sorrows, because all my tanks habe to enter or leave the basement through a window that is only just big enough to let pass a 'normal' 1/6 scale model.......