Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe: The Lion That Never Roared

A “Paper Panzer” hence it existed only on paper though some sources say a hull was found in the closing days of WW2 for it. The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion in English) was designed to have the L/70 high velocity gun and a 1,000 horsepower Maybach engine. The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (“Lion”) was a proposed German heavy tank design that never progressed beyond the drawing board, making it one of the many so-called “Paper Panzers” of the late war period. Conceived as an intermediate step between the Panther and the massive Maus, the Löwe was intended to combine heavy armor protection with greater mobility than Germany’s super-heavy designs. It was planned to mount the high-velocity L/70 gun and be powered by a 1,000-horsepower Maybach engine, giving it formidable firepower on paper.

This model represents a realistic late-war “what if” interpretation of the Löwe, imagining how it might have appeared had construction progressed far enough for a prototype to exist. Built and finished to emphasize weight, scale, and industrial brutality, the weathering reflects a vehicle undergoing trials rather than combat. Acrylics, washes, and restrained aging were used to suggest a machine caught between concept and reality - an armored lion that never had the chance to roar on the battlefield.

Char 2C - WWI’s Colossus, WWII’s Relic

The French Char 2C remains the largest tank by volume ever to enter production, a true armored giant conceived during the final stages of World War I. Designed as a breakthrough vehicle, the Char 2C carried a massive crew of 12 and embodied early interwar thinking that emphasized sheer size, firepower, and psychological impact. Unfortunately, it arrived too late to see combat in WWI and by the outbreak of World War II it was already obsolete - slow, mechanically complex, and vulnerable to modern anti-tank weapons.

One of the most well-known vehicles, Char 2C No. 92 “Picardie,” broke down during the 1940 campaign and was captured intact by German forces. Its ultimate fate remains unclear, though it was almost certainly scrapped. This model represents the Char 2C in 1/35 scale, built from the Meng kit with the tailskid modification added. Subtle weathering and restrained aging were used to emphasize the vehicle’s immense scale and mechanical presence, capturing the look of a technological marvel that history ultimately passed by.