Ahh, it's catch up time. If only I had more of "that". LOL
Jack - Lots of great tips, especially on the figure painting. I enjoy those the most since it is an area that has to catch up to the rest of my skills. Practice, practice. 
Andy - Coming along just as I would expect! Very nice indeed. I'm kinda with Jack on the realism of the WW wear & tear. In my mind it was probably washed or worn off vs. chipping and flaking. But you can't argue the visual coolness. It just looks neat. Plus, it's not my Tiger. 
Malone - Very impressed with the amount of detail and the effort that goes along with that. I can't imagine the size of some of that PE. It adds a ton to a model that scale.
Eric - Sweet job on the camo. The rest is falling into place as well. I'm hoping the tracks work out for ya! As it stands now, you've got a winner on your hands.
Tojo - Excellent, excellent work, my friend! Sehr gut! Love those scrapes and scratches on the fenders. Very good weathering all the way around. Super job on the WW and very impressive figures to boot! What else is there to say? You should be proud.
Mike - That's great news! you've gotta be excited to get back into it. All that packing/unpacking is just tedious stuff. Hopefully, you've been able to create a work space that is special and fits your needs. Looking forward to some updates and pics.
Marc - My PB. 
Great SBS for the cobble road.I suspect you could do something similar for walls, etc. I wanna expand my horizons in the near future with this kinda stuff. It ill be very useful when I take the leap. Thanks! 
As for the dio, looks amazing. Top drawer job on the figures. Not to mention how fast you cranked those out. You definitely have a gear much higher than me. (I also noticed that this particular Panther driver is one of those idiots that you find yourself behind on the freeway - dragging his tow chain creating a wall of sparks and the possibility of a busted windshield. What a punk! LOL) Great little detail though. Love it.
Well, from my neck of the woods... I was able to get a little done yesterday. We lost power due to high winds, but I was able to divert some output from the generator my way for lighting on my workbench.. 
The pics might be a little darker than usual because of that, but not terribly so. Got a bit chilly down in the man cave too. Only single digit to low teen temps out there... Brr. Anyway, here we go:
Most of the work yesterday was focused on the rear deck. I noticed that Panthers have an open area just behind the exhaust grates at the very rear of the deck. The Italeri kit is designed to be solid straight up to the rear plate, so I took saw in hand to rectify the situation.. Here, the left side has been notched out while the right is in its original state.
I also ground down and sanded away the lower turret ring that was on the upper hull. There is still on on the turret, but I will leave it as it looks close enough now. We'll see if I change my mind or not later.
Here it is kinda "dry fit" together. (Thus the gap center rear) I added PE lifting hooks as well.
Added baffles in the exhaust tubes with stretched sprue. Almost screwed things up on the first attempt as the liquid glue really wants to pool in the tube. Gotta take extra care to not use too much. Added a handle to the tow pin. Not a big deal, but adds a little sumpfin' sumpfin'. Gosh, the exhaust brackets look huge here, don't they?
The engine is a nice touch in this kit. Here you can see the HL230(H) - for Hasenpfeffer variant - as it's not very true to the real thing. But this is what I had done some 20+ years ago and I don't feel like tearing it all up. I'll get pics that show it better next time.
Main gun squared away with the attachment of the muzzle brake.
Up next is a beautiful wedding. The marriage of the lower/upper hull. Haha. 