Just checked the Trumpeter site, they have released the E100B last December, so it shouldn't be long till it hits the shelves.

http://www.trumpeter-china.com/war513/products/en_message.asp?id=548

Didn't notice till now that it has nightfigthing equipment -- maybe this is the reason why DML jumped in and did their own special edition kit.

Good candidate for the the WWII Experimentals campaign.

Cheers

wow ... 1/35 is not normally my scene .... but that is one tempting kit

I've looked over the sprues, and Trumpeter's kit has good and bad features. I won't comment on the turret, since that is entirely conjectural.
The upper hull has the King Tiger style hatch module for the driver and radio operator's hatches, with the ventilator in between. That segment was missing from the prototype when it was captured, but that is the configuration shown by Hilary Louis Doyle in his drawings (Dragon has the hatches reversed, and no ventilator at all, as shown in a wartime artist's conception--I find the Trumpeter/Doyle version more likely, as the hatches would foul the turret if arranged the other way). Trumpeter also appears to have the driver's periscope in the right place and the right size, as opposed to Dragon's which has the insert too small and too far outboard. There should be a knob on the very rear of the engine deck at the center, as shown on the Dragon kit. It isn't on Doyle's drawing, but it is visible on the prototype. Not certain what it was, but is appears to be about the right size and shape for a radio antenna mount (and there doesn't seem to any other provision for one on the tank).
The Trumpeter lower hull has a final drive similar to that of a King Tiger, with lots of bolts and strengthening ribs. When I saw that the old Dragon kit had a smooth, featureless, tapered cylinder for the final drive, I thought it had to be wrong and started looking for a replacement. But when I got the Spielberger book, photos of the captured prototype show that's exactly what the tank had. So it appears the "improvement" on the Trumpeter kit is bogus, in this case. The idler mounting was also the sharp, rhomboidal shape shown by Dragon, rather than the rounded item on the Trumpeter sprue.
Sigh. Since I would like to model the prototype as it would probably have appeared on completion, it looks like I'll end up kitbashing a Trumpeter upper hull with a Dragon lower hull and turret (but with the alternate Maus armament parts).

Haven't seen the kits as yet. Would you think that DML's special edition E100 correct the upper hull errors you pointed out? or would it just be a repackaged E100 with figures and IR gear?

The pictures of the prototype model they've released appear to show the original E-100 moldings with a few additional parts for the IR gear. Still, we won't know for sure until we see the actual kit sprues.
If you build the Dragon kit, you can salvage very good replacement parts for the driver's periscope and the armored exhaust castings from the Dragon King Tiger kits, which include extras. Also, Dragon's original kit instructions have the track tension adjustment ports installed upside down. They're dome-shaped castings at the bottom left and right corners of the tail plate. The instruction draftsman thought the caps were drain plugs and placed them on the bottom. They should actually face the rear, providing access for the adjustment wrench. Up to you if you want to do anything about the drivers' hatches.

Thanks Gerald -- its wait and see then. Have an unbuilt earlier Dragon E100, and am a bit intrigued on what makes this new release a special one. The shops here told me to expect new Dragon / Trumpeter kits to come in this month -- so am hoping its part of their shipment. Planning to get a couple of Trumpeter's for some What-ifs, probably a Krokodil, if I can get hold of some reference plans. Cheers, Tat