Hello,

Am curious as to its origins and usage. Has this been in use prior to the Panzer Tracts publications? Is this confined just to the WWII German designs? Thanks for your comments / insights.

Cheers,

Tat

From what I understand is any AFV that was either just a draft, or a concept, to one or two prototypes.

You see them in all nations and I believe it became popular with World of Tanks.

It's a term for German tanks that never made it beyond fanciful lines on paper (drawings). It started in the 1990s as a lament or disparaging term when kits of German fantasy vehicles were being released instead of real vehicles of other countries. "Ugh - another paper panzer. When is somebody going to make a decent kit of a Sherman?"

KL

Hi;

The Term "Paper Panzer's" goes back into the 1970s as well ! There were periodicals like AFV-G2 that the term can be read in some of the articles written at that time. Now it comes down to who you read and believe when they use the term "Paper Panzer's"; Some believe it only refers to Design Concepts on Paper or the Drawing Boards, and other's say it includes Prototypes also !! For example; The German WW-2 vehicle called the Mouse which A couple of prototypes were built or the E-series of vehicles that have been popular are absolutely in the Class of Paper Panzer's !!

CHEERS; MIKE.

I think of the term as applying to any combat vehicle which never entered production (design exercises, prototypes etc.) from any nation or era. I suppose even "what if" designs that the modeler has cooked up on his own could qualify so long as the model builder hasn't strayed too far from what was feasible at the time period. I can admire the skill needed to create some of the astonishing paper panzer models we see. But presumably they are the work of folks who have already built at least one version of every production military vehicle ever made and are just bored at the idea of yet another Tiger kit. Or maybe they're just showing off, LOL.

Thanks all for the replies. So it seems the term has been in use much earlier than I have known.