Late War Monsters

Well Late War Leviathans are going to be released by Battlefront.

When the Mid-War Monsters were released in 2011 I did get some of the TOG tanks, and also said in a blog post:

I do hope that we see future “monsters” for Flames of War, there are some nice concepts and ideas out there for both Early-War and Late-War

When the Mid-War Monsters were re-released eleven years later in 2022 I wrote something similar:

Hopefully they are popular enough, that we get to see more of them, maybe some Early-War Monsters and some Late-War Monsters as well.

Well here we are in 2024 and Battlefront have announced their Late War Leviathans.

We have seen the German Maus.

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built.

The Soviets have the IS3.

The IS-3 was a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944. Its semi-hemispherical cast turret (resembling that of an upturned soup bowl) became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks.

The US have the T28 Super Heavy Tank.

The T28 Super Heavy Tank was an American super-heavy tank/assault gun designed for the United States Army during World War II. It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

The British have the Tortoise.

The Tortoise heavy assault tank was a British heavy assault gun design developed during the Second World War, but never put into mass production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas such as the Siegfried Line and as a result favoured armour protection over mobility.

In addition there will be range of 1945+ models that can be used for alternate history games where the Second World War went beyond 1945. In the announcement video we have seen the Centurion Mk1 and US Pershing tanks.

These models will also be useful for gaming scenarios in the world of The Hot War series by Harry Turtledove as well as the Late War Leviathans background from Battlefront.

Eine kleine Maus

Panzer VIII Maus

The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces.

It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun.

The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.

Panzer VIII Maus

I’ve always been impressed with the 1/100th scale models from Zvezda as well as being good quality plastic miniatures they are also reasonably priced. My only real complaint is that the other types of models in the range are designed to fit the box, not the same scale of the vehicles. So the infantry figures and artillery pieces, are 1/72nd, some aircraft are 1/144th and even 1/200th. I have even seen 1/350th boats in the range. This is a pity. The1/100th scale vehicles though fit well with my other 15mm models.

I was intrigued the other day to see that my local model shop had the German super heavy tank Maus in their range of Zvezda kits.

Zvezda Panzer VIII Maus

I think it might have been priced wrongly at £3.50 as similar boxes (i.e. the bigger boxes) were £7.00. So I bought two for potential objectives or models for alternate history games set at the end of World War Two.

Zvezda Panzer VIII Maus

The model comprises two plastic sprues and look detailed and I think it will capture the feel of this monstrous tank.

Zvezda Panzer VIII Maus sprue

Zvezda Panzer VIII Maus sprue

The next stage will be to construct the models, even though it says snap-fit, I think I will glue the model together. I will also add some weight to the model too, so give it some heft and ballast. I think a super heavy tank, even at 1/100th scale, should be “super heavy”.

I wonder if Zvezda will produce any other models similar to this? If they did what would you want to see?