Entwicklungsfahrzeug E-10

First written: April 17th, 2009 | Updated: June 25th, 2009

"A paper panzer"

The first time I saw a picture of this tank I fell in love with the incredibly modern design and pure lines. Then, some time later on a magazine there was a beautiful build of one and this made me want one even more.

But is was a resin model (by Accurate Armour) and with a price tag to match. So I decided to wait until a plastic model hit the market.

And finally did by the hands of Trumpeter along with another paper panzer – the E25.

I bought the kit only to find that some parts would not allow a build like I would like. The vinyl tracks were really under par and the link and length tracks were not that good either.

The decision I took to order a set of Friul tracks for it, with the cost involved, turned this "build for fun" into something a little more serious. Since I was in a shopping spree what else could I do than buy the IR set from Blast-Models? Nothing I guess, so I did buy that too.

This is the one I’m tackling now and I guess that the initial intentions of doing an OOB build are totally gone. I’m absolutely sure that I’ll be browsing my spare parts to create something in which I have all the freedom. You see, this tank never existed so it’s up to us to decide how plausible it would look like if it ever existed. Now, that’s a modeling style I might like.

Building starts

At first glance the kit looks good. It includes PE parts, link and length tracks and two types of vinyl tracks. They even include a early and late type sprocket (that really made me smile). Some flash is apparent and there are sink marks in many parts. Some of them very pronounced and some lighter but as I assemble it I can see that most of those sink marks will be far from view, so all is good.

The detail on the parts is good and crisp. Not to the level of a Dragon or a Bronco kit but very adequate for a good model. If they are the correct bolts or not, I can’t tell and probably no one can either. Advantages of building a paper panzer.

The kit is kind of big especially if compared with a Jagdpanzer 38(t) which was intended to replace.

I replaced the tracks with a set of Friul for Pz IV and they fit the sprocket beautifully. I bet that someone at Trumpeter measured the Friul tracks expecting that some customers might want to use them LOL. The road wheels (4 per side) are absolutely huge and they would dwarf a Tiger II wheel.

The gun was replaced by an excellent RB Model barrel (for this kit) and it fits well after shaving a little bit from the base. That base is longer than on the plastic barrel and would make the mantlet protrude too much. Easily solved with the help of my faithful Dremel and a sanding disk.

There’s not much to do on this kit. The parts count is low and it’s probably one of those kits that everyone will build differently by adding their own interpretation on the E-10. I’m still wondering what I’m going to do with it. The exhausts seem a bit out of place in the whole model and I have to figure out what I’m going to do with them.

Most of the work on the hull is done. The parts fit is good (not fabulous) and I just used a little Tamiya putty with acetone to fill some minor gaps.

I changed the exhaust arrangement because it seemed undersized when compared to the rest of the tank. I felt that those flimsy exhausts would spoil the "balance" of the whole model. I scratched a little something that is has a loose resemblance with the Pz 38 exhaust albeit a little bigger. After all we are talking of a 550 hp engine.

The tow cables were replaced by two made of string and Trumpeter conviniently included four shackles for them so I didn’t have to dive into the spares box to find replacements. The shackles are finely done and it was quite a surprise to see how good they were. If only Trumeter could avoid the flash and the very bad located sprue attachments points we would be eternaly grateful.

I looked at a few details on a build by Jan Peters and found some interesting mods he did on the commander and gunner hatches and I’m doig the same. I give all the credit to Jan for the idea. His stunning build is here (PlanetArmor – Jan Peters E-10).

I’m very close to a initial coat of primer but as usual I need to do the second track run and finish some little bits n’ pieces.

Painting

What paint scheme will I do? I have yet to decide that. Somehow a Dunkel Gelb white washed scheme is my favorite right now. After the almost disaster of the Pz III I need to insist. I won’t stop till I manage to do a good white washed paint job on a model.

I have a lot of good examples to improve my skills. And I’m going to follow them.

The other option is another of my personal favorites – the ambush scheme. Not easy to do but amazing if done right. We’ll see as the build develops.

Primer done and now it’s just the fun part. I really like the little details I added. The model looks plausible and I just hope that the paintjob won’t spoil the result.

In a couple of days I’ll have a few more pictures of the progress. Stay tuned.

Base Coat

The base coat is done and ready. But not without some troubles. It seems that the painting process is becoming my worst nightmare. I decided to use Tamiya paints and Tamiya Enamel thinners. All seemed perfect after the brown/yellow coat but when I started to apply the base color it started to go downhill. For some reason I can’t really explain the top of the model became rough like an anti slip coat.

I’m not sure if it is the shortest drying time of the mix but it looked really nasty. The matt paint was rough and grainy and I had to decide a course of action. Fine sand paper was the solution and I pretty much saved it, but more trouble was waiting with the application of a gloss coat.

The Tamiya clear varnish didn’t work at all. It just turned the base color in a multitude of odd shades of yellow and much darker than the original. I had to paint the base coat again. At every attempt the grainy effect was there. It was becoming a real mess. In the end a coat of Vallejo gloss was the only thing that saved the paint job but not without a multitude of coats to get was can be described as a mild satin look. The Tamiya matt color was sucking the gloss varnish like a black hole. Amazing. I would never expect that kind of thing to happen.

After several hours for painting a one color base (with 3 different shades but a one color nonetheless) I managed to find the result acceptable. Geez. The things I think will be simple have the tendency to turn into complicated and painful exercises. This seems a test from the Gods to make sure I know what I’m doing.

Chipping, Washes and Filters

I did the chipping with a lighter color than the base and a brown red color over it in corners or areas where some wear is expected to happen. A few spots here and there and I tried to keep the model a little worn but not ready for the junkyard.

I used some oils diluted with turpentine to enhance recesses and areas that I wanted a little darker. I applied the oils in spots and then they were blended with a soft brush and turpentine. A pin wash with raw umber oil was then applied again on the recesses and details to create some additional contrast.

Weathering

In this model I used all the tricks that I know and some that I didn’t know. The underside of the hull was coated with my mud mixture – lightweight wall filler with pigments. Over that dry coat some dry pigments of different shades where later fixed with MIG Productions pigment fixer.

The front and the back were done with pigment diluted in white spirits and to give that dirty look and some dry pigment applied on top and fixed with the same product.

The wet look on the wheels, front and back were done with the MIG Wet and Damp effects. I did some splashes with a brush wet with pigments diluted in mineral white spirits and that was it.

The figure

It’s by Miniart from the Winter Crew set with a Hornet head (they are the best no doubt about it). It has a very good pose for it’s intended use and it was just a metter os some adjustment to make it look very good. It sure compares with a resin figure and after all we only see the top half, so it’s a cheap and good alternative.

The figure is the only thing still waiting for the last painting details. I don’t want to handle it too much because the parka was painted with oils and takes a lot of time to dry. Then I will paint the belt, gloves and the inside of the hood with the Oak Leaf camo pattern.

Final Veredict

This was my first built Trumpeter kit and I think it’s quite a good model. Of course that the tracks could be better, the flash in some parts could be better too but we need to understand that this kit sells for half the price of a Dragon or Tasca kit.

The instructions are clear and complete even for a tank that never existed. I change quite a few things, from the fire extinguisher to the tracks but the detail of the included parts was at a good level.

Discussing the accuracy of a kit based on a tank that never existed is a little ridiculous, but the overall lines are very well depicted and some details are very plausible. The Accurate Armor version has a more sensible exhaust location if we think about the design principles of this tank. Th rear hul could be opened to remove engine and transmission in one go. For this reason having the exhaust on the top deck seems logical, but this design could have existed even with my imaginary exhaust.

I recomend this model to anyone that wants to spend some time doing a fun model open to all sorts of creative freedom. Go for it.

Specifications

Panzerkampfwagen E-10

Type : Tank Destroyer
Length : 6.91m
Width : 2.86m
Height : 1.76m
Engine : Mybach HL101 (550hp) X 1
Armament : 75mm Pak39 L/44 X 1

Pictures

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