Panther Ausf D Build -- Finished!

Nicely done!  I like the look of Friul, but I just can't bring bring myself to spend the money on them.  No aluminum barrel in the re-release???  

Bummer, that's not exactly "Premium"...
 

yeah they are kinda pricey but I don't like the way dragon does the tracks for their panther kits.  The tracks that go around the drive sprocket have separate guide horns which tend to wanna come off.  So I just use the Friuls to overcome that issue.

Idk why some detail parts were taken out, maybe it was a cost issue?  Trying to keep the price down?  I had to upgrade the barrel as well b/c the kit's barrel just plain sucks and the Armorscale is an excellent replacement.  The only bad thing was the mantlet seems to be too small for the kit so I couldn't use it.

Looking good,nice sag on the Fruils

Hi Tankster,

Very nice start, the extras seem to include quite a lot of etch though!

Curious about the kit, this is a D right?

Thank you for sharing, looking forward to your next update :)

Very Best Regards

Johan

yes its kit #6299 Ausf. D.  I have the Ausf. A in the stash.  I'm debating on what pattern of Zimm to do on that one and whether to use a resin kit or epoxy putty for it.  

Got the roadwheels painted up today.  Paint them a flat black primer and then Gunze Sandy Yellow. 

I used a circle template to make the process easier. 

Here's the big kitty all done...

Closeup shot of the excellent Armorscale barrel

I added the wire leads from the grenade launcher tubes from strands of speaker wire.

Looks good!  One thing you need to attend to is the seam on your drum cupola.  That horizontal seam btn the top and bottom -- along the view ports' line -- needs to be puttied. The join where the barrel feeds into the mantlet looks messy too.  Maybe some filing is needed?  HTH

The barrel came with its own resin mantlet but that seemed too small when attaching to the kit's part so I used the kits mantlet part.  However the barrel end was too small so I added some Tamiya putty around the end to make the fit more snug.  I didn't pay too much attention to getting it neat but I can pretty it up. 

the main thing I was worried about were the wire lead in from the grenade launcher tubes.  I've never done them before and I didn't have any sources or pictures but so I had to ask around and go on what I was told.  It's a small detail that goes a long way IMO.

Nice work on this, I need to add an Ausf D and was thinking about this one. What tracks does it come with, its not the DS tracks is it.

I was just looking at my Panzer Tracts volume on the Panther D and even that isn't to clear on the wiring for the smoke grenade launchers. From what I can tell, you seem to have got those spot on.

Looks very good. Love those tracks and the natural sag. Just add some white glue around the barrel to mantlet join to smooth out the transition and tidy up the seam around the cupola. Here's a close up of a Ausf D Cupola:

http://data3.primeportal.net/tanks/daan_uiterwaal/panther_ausf_d/images/panther_ausf_d_11_of_31.jpg

It comes with the Magic Tracks, but for some reason the links that go around the drive sprocket have separate guide horns which have to be glued on.  They have a tendancy to come off if you fidget the track too much trying to get them back on after painting.  I'm not sure why as they're the same as the rest so they should fit the same.   All the Dragon Panther Kits are like this the Ausf. A PE and the Ausf F have links like this.  

That was the main reason I went with the all-metal Friuls. 

Ye, I have a few of their Panther kits with Magic tracks. I haven't built any of those yet, the G I am doing now has the DS with magic tracks as spares. Sounds like I am in for a struggle. The only kits I haven't replaced the tracks with Fruils are the ones with Magic tracks, and that's only because of the price. O well, thanks for the info.

Look forward to seeing more of your build.

So here's the kit, ready for paint.  It's pretty much a blank canvas now till I decide on the markings and paint scheme.  I have over 10 different options between the kit's options and my Kagero Topcolor's books.  Its been raining here so I gotta have extra time for the primer to cure and the touchups around the coupola before i proceed.

Here's what I have so far.  Its sprayed Mr. Color Sandy Yellow with generous splotches of Tamiya Field Grey.

Looking good Tankster!  I like your choice of Tamiya Field Grey instead of Olive Green.  Its a nicely "muted' green hue!

yeah Tamiya usually recommends to use XF 61 Dark Green on tanks but from my research it seems the Olive Green used early on was a lighter shade than in the later war years.  Idk why they call that shade Field Grey when there's not any Grey to it, unless they're referring to the German Uniform Color.  But I like the Field Grey color better than just the dark green so I'll continue using that.

I love that colour! the field grey looks better than the standard green ive been using!

Finished with the Schurtzen, I dinged and bent them out of shape and drilled a couple holes in a few panels.  After priming I painted them Mr. Color German Grey then applied Mr. Masking Neo with a sponge and applied Sandy Yellow and Field Grey on top when the Neo had dried and rubbed it off when the painting was complete.

Man, honestly---all you have to do is use a little superglue to cement those guide horns on and you could save yourself a ton of cash. And I don't know why you'd have to "fidget" the tracks much---Panther tracks don't take a lot of fiddling to put on if you plan it correctly,. Not trying to bust your balls, but for the price of those metal tracks, a little bit of thought could save you---and Bish---a bit of green.

This looks great so far. Should be nice when you get it painted up!

I like to paint the tracks separately from the wheels.  I used to paint them all at the same time but I get better results this way.  These are harder to get off and on because of the schurtzen hangars on the sides.  Yeah I do wish they would cost a little less but I can afford them.  This build is probably going into a show thats coming up in a couple months so I'd like to put a little extra into it.

Nice paint scheme, liking this.

And don't worry doog, while I do really like Fruils, I only intended getting them if I really have to. I already have about 30 sets waiting to be used, I think that's plenty unless I have no choice.

Good looking camo scheme on that!

Really nice work, there, Tankster. I especially like the camo work. I'm still struggling to get the schemes to look right. Thanks for the pics.

Here's the finished kitty.....the markings are:

'Black 214' of the 2nd Co., 51st Battalion, 39th Panzer Regiment
Operation Zitadelle, Kursk Salient, August 1943
Found abandoned after the Battle of Begorod in Borisovka, Ukraine.

You finished that off quick. Nice work, that's one great looking Panther.

Nicely done Tankster!  Beautiful build!