What if units.
 

Hello all, long time no see, I have been a little busy but I am back again.

I recently came across this site whilst trying to convince myself I had indeed modded all the units I wanted into my copy of the West German OOB. As you can see I am quite disapointed with myself.

Here is the link. If anyone has any ideas about making these units or would indeed like to lend me a hand and create Icons for them, I would be most greatful.

The link is to a German site. The relevant data is however easy to understand.

Link: http://www.nast-sonderfahrzeuge.de/frameset.htm

Kitbash!
 

Aren't most of these kits about late-WW2 prototypes that were actually produced in very small quantities (like the Maus and the T95)?

Only the "Leopard-III" looks postwar (oh, and the Jaguar KwK, but that one is a variant of the KaJaPa-90 with a 88mm HV gun).
The concept exposed here is interesting, though, well... 95tons and 2000kW? in 1985? Typically the kind of overweight armor projects that would never have made it into production whatever the political context, just like the MBT70 hardly 15 years before.
And, sorry to be a nitpick, but the fact that the pics are from a kitbash of Challengers and a Marder turret does nothing to make it credible... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I have still to find realistic data about a successor to the Leo2.
The NGP program was interesting, but I don't think anything could have come out of it.
Be sure I'll have icons done for it when I find one! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Kitbash!
 

Disclaimer
I am going by memory here so take what I say with some caution.
Most of the vehicles belong to the E series.This was a german scheme to rationalize the mess that was late war AFVs production by replacing most of the vehicles then in use with a single family, ranging from 5 tons APCs to 100 tons super heavy tanks.These vehicles were characterized by a great degree of components standardization (IIRC for example a single type of roadwheel was used for all vehicles) and particular attention was given to easiness of production (the suspensions were MUCH simpler to make than previous models). As I said there were vehicles to cover all the roles:
E100 100 tons Maus lookalike;
E75 75 tons King Tiger lookalike;
E50 50 tons Panther lookalike;
E25 25 tons tank destroyer;
And so on.
In most of the cases they did not get beyond the "half completed prototype lying in the factory" stage, if the got that far.There may have been a Marder or a Nashorn lookalike completed and pressed in service but my memory is a bit fuzzy on that one.
Hard data is scarce (or at least it was when I did my research).There are some stats around for the E100, the E25 and some of the lighter tank destroyers.I found very little about the E50 and the E75, to my frustration.

Re: Kitbash!
 

The ones I think are most interesting. Are the Bueffel (the early APC), the Jaguar, the Krokodil and the alligator. I had a stab at modelling an E 100 and E 75 in game. They worked out fairly well although it was largely guess work. But those units I mentioned above along with the Büssing NAG seem to me to be the most model worthy. The Leopard III also looks fairly convincing. I am pretty sure there was a project to develop a leopard III; wether that, the model, is what they came up with is beyond me. If anyone knows please tell me.

Oh and please don't tell me that thing with two barrels in the chasis was it or I will have to pop down to my local Mercedes dealership and kick some ***.

Re: Kitbash!
 

I thought bits of it looked familiar. Grey looks good on it though, don't you think?

Re: Leopard-III
 

Hmm, silly as it sounds, it seems that that monstrous two-barreled SPG was indeed a prototype for a new-generation MBT...
Still, it was apparently a 70s post-MBT70 experiment relying on the experience of the Swedish Strv-103. The idea of a cheap, highly mobile ambush tank with decent armor, good concealing abilities and high firepower made some sense for the Bundeswehr at that time, given its defensive mission.

Re: Leopard-III
 

Good point. Still it wouldn't make a good MBT because as you said it is an SPG.

Re: Leopard-III
 

Here is a link with some material on the E series
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz9.htm#eseries

By using the info provided and a Maus icon you should be able to model the E100 in fairly accurate manner.A
Panther F icon should be good enough for the E50, but for the data you will have to to make some speculation on the basis of the Panther II.I guess that with some Marder icons and some speculation some of the lighter tank destroyers could be modeled.

Here is also a link on the E25, although no icon will be a perfect match.

http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/E25-R.htm

Re: Leopard-III
 

The E-100 I have already modelled. The E-50 I have also modelled using a Tiger II B chasis and an edited Panther F turret.

I could post the chasis of the E-100 up, if you like. It was one of my first.

Re: Leopard-III
 

~Advice~

Just so you anyone looking for done shps does not waste their time. This file and the next are not what you are looking for. This file and the next is only a template. The third set of files entitled "Export" is however full of units (mostly E series and some German engineering leopards thrown in for good measure).

These are the units I would like you guys to have a look at. Both are AA vehicles.

I tried to create the turrets, the chasis were no problem, but both caused me some major problems especialy the Panther variant turret, which is a curious shape and one I am not accustomned to.

The second one, an E-100 AA variant is difficult also because of the double barrel setup.