who has aftermarket parts for panther A?

no problem.
hopefully v8tj97 is still checking this thread.

Thanks for finding it Ed. I didn't know they'd moved it over there. Duhhhh. Teach me to not look at the new group!

first - wipw - a thousand pardons! don't know how i could have forgotten!


next, the Panther GB is on page 2 of the GB section,
but here is a direct link.
be advised, v8tj97, this build thread is over 100 pages long!!
the official start date was Dec 1, by then there were 25 pages of posts !!
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9124

as the thread will show, it is a group sharing ideas, suggestions research, tips,
stories & general fellowship while working on kits that are connected by some
theme. in this case, any Panther tank, any version, any scale, any aftermarket . .

I've done the search everyway I can think and can't find it anywhere. I guess it got deleted, probably because it was so big and totally inactive. Sorry.

I'm having probs locating the great Panther Group build thread. Clue me in as to what this group build thing is....It sounds interesting.

Boy, Ed, thanks a lot! I built one too, ya' know!! sniff, sniff!! lol

What's been said above is right on, v8. To build mine up, I used a bunch of AM parts. I put Model Kasten tracks on it (I'd go with Friulmodelessimo if I did it again! The MK tracks are beautiful, but very fragile. I struggled with them for a long time!)

I also used an Armor Research resin turret w/white metal barrel. It's no longer available, I believe, but you might find one somewhere. Certainly easier than scratching one like claymore did. (He did a beautiful job, by the way). I also used a set of Armor Research road wheels that are for this kit. They are still available in white metal (what I used) and in resin, I believe. They fix one of the most noticable problems with the kit which is the lack of interleaved road wheels. The metal ones match the kit inner wheels and have no detail cast into them. The resin ones look pretty accurate. Check at greatmodels.com and do a search on armor research panther and you should find them. I also used a set of AR's engine grills for this kit. Last time I checked, they were still available, too.

If you can find that old thread, pictures of my Panther are near the end. (It's well over 100 pages long. I believe it still holds the record for the longest post, at least on the armor side!

Here are some pictures of my Panther. The first two are before the ambush pattern and weathering were applied.





This one is after the weathering was done. I used Archer transfers for the turret numbers, but didn't get the center one sealed well and it floated off when I washed the turret.


In this one, you can see the added, center road wheels. They are the double set of wheel in the center of the track runs.


Good luck.

v8tj97,
welcome to the forums!
all i can add is when you are scanning the enormous Panther GB thread,
keep an eye out for posts by Claymore.
and then pop over on the link to his site.
he built the A, scratchbuilt the turret, used an Aber PE set & Fruilmodel tracks.
i am sure you can get some ideas from his posts in the GB (group build)

good luck & welcome.

A good source of information on building a better Panther A from the old Tamiya kit is an article by Tony Greenland that appeared in FineScale Modeler in September 1990:

**Accurizing Tamiya's 1/35 scale Panther Ausf A**

This issue is available from Finescale's parent company, Kalmbach Publishing, for $4.95 at the following link:

http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/fsm900901.html

This article includes a template for scratchbuilding an accurately scaled turret. Highly recommended. I found the article in one of Kalmbach's modelling books.

Alex

That is pretty cool, though I've never seen that camoflauge pattern on a Panther before.

Here is the link for the site. http://tanxheaven.com/ljs/panthermodljs/panthermodljs.htm
Didn't know if you had seen it. Thanks again.

Good, you're on the right track. I built the G version, nice kit. Let me know if the Jagdpanther is a winner. Is that the D-Day commemorative that comes with all the goodies mentioned earlier? Great deal if it does. Yah, use the Tamiya kit as a tuner kit for the Dragon's. Good luck.

Thanks tigerman! I'm already into this kit. I have a Dragon kit on the way as well as a Dragon Jagdpanther. Not gonna sink too much into this one, but I found a site with some super good building photos of a "G" version. I'll check the panther group build. thanks again.

Hi and welcome v8tj97. You got yourself a bit of a lemon. That is a pretty dated kit and quite inaccurate. Too bad, i would have recommended the Dragon D-Day special edition with an aluminum barrel and pe grilles. Also the indy tracks are included as well. I'd go to any of the major onlines and do a search and see what you can come up with. I guess it depends how much money you want to sink into it. If I were you, I'd sell it and get the Dragon. Just add up the replacement parts: indy tracks, pe grilles, aluminum barrel. Sorry I guess I'm of no major help. A couple of members in the Panther Group Build thread did a few Panther A's from Tamiya, they did a lot to them.