1:16 E-50 ausf.M build

[Zephyr505]

Greetings from a fresh italian recruit everyone!
Hope you're all doing well

Just as i wrote on my recent introduction, during the last events i took part in I had the honour to meet Stephen, the owner of La Fabbrica di Gulliver.
During our collaboration I decided not only to help him design scale models, but also to design my very own tanks.
As my first topic and 3D printing project, i chose a special vehicle, forever stuck in the what-if semi-historical limbo.

The entwicklungserie has always been very interesting to me, both from a historical and gaming point of view. Vehicles like the E50 and E75 will always be fascinating for every german history buff, never built in metal but put on paper in hope of standardizing mechanical parts for serial production. Like many of You may know, there's a game out there that decided to represent them in virtual form: one in particular stands out, with the placement of the transmission in the rear. A modification that was only requested by the army before the end of the conflict but, like the vehicles themselves, never came to be.

Well... i don't know about you, but i'm tired of just looking at a bunch of pixels. I think it's time to transform all that virtual stuff and make it real!
Therefore, without futher addo, i'd like to introduce my first rc 1:16 scale 3D printing project: the E-50 ausf.M!

RC E50M front.png (338.44 KiB) Viewed 225 times

RC E50M rear.png (341.28 KiB) Viewed 225 times

But first...a few considerations.
- The project will be built entirely in Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing, with aluminum metal sheets to reinforce the hull.
- Commercially available parts will be used, marked in red colour in the renders above (Taigen zamak wheels for the running gear, hatches, various little details, etc...).
- For now plastic tracks will be used. If something breaks under the weight of the completed model, metal tracks might be considered.
- Absolutely NO TORSION BARS. We're aiming for a more historical suspension system... i guess we'll find out what that means soon enough
- The vehicle will be powered by a simple 4000 mAh NiMH battery and an Elmod FusionX board, paired with a Visaton XL speaker and Taigen premium steel gearboxes.

And... i guess that's it for now! Printed parts are already on the table:

20250724_175633.jpg (2.61 MiB) Viewed 225 times

Soon the construction will begin...
Buckle up, it's gonna be a wild ride!

[HERMAN BIX]

Thats smoother than a gravy sandwich mate, love it.

[Stormbringer]

I am Interested in seeing this progress

[Gbo]

Is that expensive now sls? Last machine I used was about 40 years ago at Pirelli head office Milan and very very expensive.

[Zephyr505]

Thats smoother than a gravy sandwich mate, love it.

It's heat/chemically fused nylon, the material is not glued together like in common PLA filament printers. Everything is fused together: the surface roughness is quite similar to real metal, for armored vehicle models it's definitely of great help. watertight and mechanically optimized parts. No polishing required, perhaps only in a few spots to remove excessive material or small deformations

Is that expensive now sls? Last machine I used was about 40 years ago at Pirelli head office Milan and very very expensive.

Sadly, yes. Let's just say that the... "situation" the world is in nowadays is not helping with the prices... in the last three years everything started becoming more and more expensive, this kind of printing did as well.
We're looking at around 700 euros of 3D printed parts. Not counting electrical equipment, cables, board and accessories.
It's a one time only project for sure , but you only live once
However, there are ways to decrease the price and optimize your print. It all comes down on how the parts are nested together in the stl file. The least volume occupied in the printer the better.

25/01/2026 EDIT
Turns out the service i contacted to print the parts uses MJF instead of SLS now. I Guess they unexpectedly decided to get new machines... ah well, even better . I edited the previous posts accordingly.

Asfor the project, i'm awaiting delivery of the aluminum sheets.
After the weekend I should be able to start working on the hull.

[tankme]

Cool project. I think if the files were made for sale, I would try and build it off my regular 3D printer.

[Zephyr505]

Cool project. I think if the files were made for sale, I would try and build it off my regular 3D printer.

I'm afraid I can't make it available publicly for now:
- Regular 3D printing is not possible at the moment without redesigning several shapes, tolerances and wall thicknesses.
- This design has been patented by the company that owns the game it came from. I really don't want any problems that may come from that. If, and i quote IF i'll ever be able to sell it, it will happen when i'll be able to do so from a legal and burocratic point of view.
- No stl files will EVER be made public. Too much time and effort went into this project to redistribute it directly. Other options might be considered, like a pre-assembled model or a diy kit.
I can't promise it will ever be available publicly, it was born as a personal model and it will stay like that for now. If it becomes popular or interesting enough though, i might explore the possibilities to make it available... only time will tell


Now...
Since we touched the subject... a little introduction:

The model has been designed entirely in Solid Edge 3D, all while carefully building 3D models of every component available on the market like wheels, tracks, hatches, etc...
Every part had to be transported in the virtual world in order to create the end product.

As for the dimensions, I used an old blueprint that can be easily found online by anyone:

The most keen observers will surely spot how the company's game designer used historical components like King Tiger crew hatches and front light, round engine ventilation grills, King Tiger wheels and tracks, but also a turret that is essentially an elongated Schmalturm.
All of these components are well known and have historical dimensions available to the public: by using such dimensions i've been able to put this drawing in the correct scale and start designing the whole vehicle from scratch.

We're essentially looking at a King Tiger that had a rather unfortunate encounter with the hydraulic press channel :
the hull is approximately 439 mm long and 221 mm wide.
From the ground up to the turret commander's hatch the tank is 175 mm tall.
With the gun pointing forward the whole model is 586 mm long. At the moment we can predict a weight oscillating around 5 kg.

Why this much weight though? Well... that's because we'll use a full metal running gear but also these, freshly delivered today:

20250812_161423.jpg (2.73 MiB) Viewed 24 times

Since the space inside the printer is (sadly) not unlimited, i had to split the hull in four parts: front, two sides and the rear. The hull roof is instead split in two removable upper panels, that will allow access to the electronics and gearboxes inside.
These seven aluminum sheets will reinforce everything for maximum stiffness.

So far everything looks fine:

20250724_175602.jpg (2.04 MiB) Viewed 24 times

I'll need to work a little bit on the metal sheets, but the real assembly process will begin soon.