COBI Panzer VIII Maus Set 2559

COBI's Panzer VIII Maus is a 1:28 model built from 1,605 blocks, 39 cm long. Removable covers on the hull and turret give access to a detailed interior, the engine comes out, the hatches open, the barrel moves and the tracks work. The model is finished as the vehicle appeared under construction at the factory. All markings are printed.

No gearbox could handle it

188 tonnes is the number everyone quotes about the Maus. The interesting question is how you make it move.

A conventional tank uses a mechanical transmission: engine, clutch, gearbox, final drives. At 188 tonnes the torque involved would destroy any gearbox that could physically be fitted, and the clutch would burn out before the vehicle reached walking pace.

So the Maus does not have one. A petrol engine drives a generator, the generator produces electricity, and electric motors turn the tracks — the same arrangement as a diesel-electric locomotive. There is no mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels at all, which means infinite variation of speed, enormous torque from a standstill, and no gears to break.

This was Ferdinand Porsche's signature idea and he had used it before, on the Tiger (P) prototype that lost the Tiger contract and became the Ferdinand tank destroyer. It works. It is also heavy, complicated, and needs copper — a material Germany was desperately short of by 1943, which is a large part of why petrol-electric drive never went into mass production.

A model of something never finished

Two hulls were built, one received a turret, and neither was completed. The Red Army found both at Kummersdorf in April 1945 and assembled a single vehicle from the hull of one and the turret of the other. That hybrid stands at Kubinka outside Moscow and is the only Maus in existence.

In the COBI range

Set 3138 is the Maus at 1:35 with 1,353 pieces and two figures, and 3137 the Limited Edition with four figures including Ferdinand Porsche. Set 2572 is the E-100, the other super-heavy that was never finished.

Specifications

Pieces: 1,605 · Scale: 1:28 · Removable engine and covers, modelled interior
Model length: 39 cm (15.4 in)