CGD has two great announcements today, 1) the release of the MAUS II Panzer 46 model, and 2) the introduction of the ABS-L printing material.
"Maus" - The Super Heavy Tank "Maus" project began with a meeting between Hitler, Speer and Porsche in June 1942. Two prototypes were built but unconfirmed sources claimed that there might be five prototypes built before the war ended. The surviving exhibit in Kubinka Museum has the hull of the first prototype and turret form the second prototype.
Battle Ready Treatment - Since the Maus was still in prototype stage before the war ended, this model was designed with enhancements to reflect what the tank would look if it went into mass production.
As Hitler criticized the prototype Porsche turret mounting the 128mm gun as a toy, and insisted on a heavier 150mm or even 175mm gun, the turret was replaced with a Tiger II styled turret with Infa-rot device for the commander. This turret design eliminated the "shot trap" present in the Porsche Maus design.
A MG 34 was installed in hull front to be operated by the radio operator for close quarter defense. Spare tracks were strategically placed on the side next to the two internal fuel tanks as additional armour.
The 1000L fuel tank on the first prototype was intended for a flamethrower as secondary weapon insisted by the Wehrmacht. The request was cancelled soon afterward. A rack for jerry cans and tool boxes for maintenance were installed instead.
Available in 3 formats:
- Fully painted in 3 Colour Disruptive Camouflage scheme. Weathered and no assembling required.(See Here )
- Fully painted in Dunkelgelb scheme. Weathered and no assembling required. (See Here)
- UNPAINTED and UNASSEMBLED. This model contains five parts: chassis, turret, gun and a pair of tracks. (See here) (for the painting guide (See here))
1. What is ABS-L?
ABS-L is an acrylic resin used for 3D printing. It is NOT brittle as regular acrylic material. It is strong and tough when properly structured, and flexible when thin. But it still will break if bended too much.
The material is printed in a resolution of approximately 250dpi, or 0.1mm thick layers, to give a smooth model with sharp details. Sometimes layering effect appears on sloped areas of the model which is a characteristic of 3D printing.This material can be cut, sand, filed easily. It accepts regular model paints readily and can be glued with instant glue/super glue/Cyanoacrylate glue.
2. How does the ABS-L material compare to the nylon material previously used?
ABS-L has a smoother surface after painting and the details are sharper than the nylon supplied by Shapeways printing process
3. Other benefits?
The new printing printing process and quality assurance is undertaken within CGD workshops and all items are checked repeatedly throughout the manufacturing process.
For more info and images, including a painting guide - please see the CGD ABS-L info page (here)
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