ARMOR - Panther (PzKpfw V) Group Build (any scale)

Hello everyone,

Just got my Tamiya G and crew at rest today in the mail, Heard the wife say " Honey, your boats here." I said " Thats tank, hon" went and opened the door and there it sit, good ole crushed box and all, was about to cry when I went to open it to check on the tank, luckily they put it in an oversized box, so the crushing didnt make it too my models. I was like, whew, So hopefully will look at them tonight maybe get them washed and ready to begin friday while I am off work for the weekend.

Still awaiting the Eduard barrel, and then Ill be good togo, decided to wait and do some more aftermarket items on my next build, due to some unforseen cash expenditures I had to make.

Thanks

Timbo

QUOTE: Note sure what you mean about the fillers on the engine deck, I haven't got that far yet, although the gap getween the rear hull plate and the radiator grills appears a tad too wide on the D kit - will check it out later.

Petbat, On the G I am building it has 4 large holes in the engine deck for the 4 retangular grates to go into, Now the holes are about half again as wide as the grates so there are some rectangular fillers supplied to fill the gap. I just wondered if the D had these or if Dragon had saw fit to change the design since it is a new hull.

Yeah there are some wide seams on the engine deck. I fussed with them last night. Someone found me a link to a new resin G cupola, but the dang thing was 20$..... I don't think so...

Kenneth, Sorry just checked my e-mail box (couldn't open it for 2 days) and just read your note. Thanks for the info on the cupola.....that's exactly what I linked to earlier, only at the PMMS site. I've actually held the cupola and it looked nice, but based on reviews I thought the DML parts would be okay..oh, well.

Note sure what you mean about the fillers on the engine deck, I haven't got that far yet, although the gap getween the rear hull plate and the radiator grills appears a tad too wide on the D kit - will check it out later.

Thanks again

Forgot to mention, nice MK tracks Kenneth.

How do you do your tracks Chris? I would like to try that method that one guy did about a year ago in FSM. Maybe.

I have thought about doing the tracks dirty also except maybe having some mud pushed in between the treads but not covering them up. Have not yet decided about maybe having some damage here and there on it.

Wow, I feel like Rip Van Winkle. I get home from work and there must be 20 plus posts. Took it pretty easy yesterday, finished installing grilles and the rear plate with storage boxes. So far so good. i feel another easy day ahead. I hope to start spraying Monday.

I know we have had many, many threads on tracks, but how do any of you guys usually do them. I want mine to look dirty , but not muddy.

No need to worry Frosty, Dragon's kit is 1/35.

Peter, you got quite a project going. Sorry to say I haven't built a DML recently, only one so far. I do have 3 patiently waiting to be built.

Need some help on the Ausf D here guys and girls:

The Dragon/DML kit comes with 2 types of cooling fan covers for the rear engine deck, one set where the ‘spokes’ radiate straight out from the hub and another that are skewed in a ‘vortex’ pattern. The kit instructions say to use one of each on the vehicle, but the only detail shots I have of the engine deck of a D show both as vortex type.

I am building a July 1943 (first time in combat vehicle). Anyone able to confirm if the one of each is right for the vehicle I'm doing? Thanks.

Petbat,
I am building a DML kit as well. I know what you mean on the sprue attachments, they are harder to tell if they are flush. Does the D have the fillers next to all the engine grates? Those are a pain to level and fill around.
Did you get the email I sent you about the tiger model designs copula for the D?

Good luck and get some pictures up soon.

Kenneth

Wow, play nurse to the sick wife for a couple of days and you sure miss a lot here!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Captain Caveman Peter have you seen these from WWII Productions http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35006.htm there click together Panther D tracks made in Austrailia, they look good heres the Pershing one they do to show how they fit http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35007.htm im going to ask over here to see if anyone imports them (mmmm i have an idea my Girlfriends Brother is coming over from Perth for a visit)

Captain, I have seen the SdKfz 250 http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35003.htm
and RSO (check out the link for another view on how to use them)http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35004.htm
track sets from this company at some local shows in the past, and I have to say they look supurb. I didn't have either of the parent kits at the time, so I wasn't to enticed to buy them then (How many times do we have to look back in hindsight and say to ourselves 'I should have bought that then'?)

I didn't know about the ones they have out for the Panther Ausf D, thanks for the heads up. Have to really look into these, as the others were pretty well priced over here and the DML ones are quite a bit dodgy:
4 ejector pin marks per link - one outside each guidehorn and two in between
Solid guidehorns
some flash

Geographically speaking, your girlfriend's brother is about 5000+ Km's, 'as the crow flies', from Warratah NSW so he may need some time to get them over in Perth. If you plan to build any of the other kits they produce tracks for, make it worth your while and get him to bring them all over at once (and give him 'Bill" (World Rugby cup for the uninitiated) to bring back here with him)

As to where I'm at in the build:
Filled the ejector pin marks on the hull sponson pieces and some of the other pieces. I am going to use schurtzen, but filled the sponson holes anyway.
Started the front hull drive train assembly. The transmission covers come in several pieces, but filler was needed where the front/side housings fit to the side of the forward hull - the outer drive component with the 'return roller' doesn't cover the full join here. Cut the front fenders from the sponson pieces in preparation for the replacement Part PE Fenders.

Started the turret, had to go for the optional side port without the rain guard as my piece had a bad sink mark in the middle and I wanted to preserve the slightly roughened texture of the kit parts. The D cupola comes in several pieces, but the two for the inner ring that has the vision blocks openings need a good dose of filler to hide the join - funny other reviews haven't mentioned this. In hindsight (again) I might have invested in this:
http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/tmd/tmd352091.htm (Where would we be without PMMS?)

Have to say I'm a little disappointed with the thickness of the sprue attachment points to some of the kit parts. No way as fine as Tamiya - Dragon still has a way to go here.

Wife's back to work, it's raining outside, Mr 3 year old's watching the Power Rangers, guess I got some time to build properly today.

By the way, has anyone else that has built a Dragon/DML kit recently, found it difficult to determine if the seam or sprue connection has been sanded completely? When I remove a part or sand down a part, the kit piece does not 'fade' to the same colour as the basic kit piece; The area that has been sanded/removed remains a darker colour (reminiscent of the silver grey plastic used by Airfix and Esci in days gone by) giving the appearance of the seam still being there. You have to be so careful not to sand too far.

Wildwilliam- Thanks once again. Always better to learn from someone elses mistakes . Good timing to since I plan on getting to those tonite. Looks like I'll have to check here before I do something just to see if theres a heads up. I'm going to try and get some pics up tonite to.

Kennethc,

do you have your pictures on the web, or are they only on your hard drive? if they are on your hard drive, you will be able to see them on your computer at home. however, you will not be able to see the pics from any other pc because you wont have access to that hard drive. if you need a place to post on the web, check out this thread:

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10017

if you have the pics posted on the web, then it is probably a "grammatical error" On the page that you type and edit your posts, there are buttons that do various functions. If you hover over the buttons, it will tell you what they do. Press the insert image button and you will get something like [blah][blah]. Insert your picture address between the two sets of brackets, [blah]address[blah], the picture should be able to be posted. Use this format for signatures, and posts.

If you have done these steps correctly, then it is probably an issue with the web provider that you are using and i have no idea how to fix it. Good luck,

edog


ps, check out the other forum subjects, this issue has been addressed several times before.

Derek:

QUOTE: I will be scratchbuilding the turret according to the article in the Sep. 1990 FSM.

I am impressed. I'm just not up to scratch building yet. I'm sure glad (and lucky) I got the Armor Research resin replacement turret before they went oop!
What kind of road wheel set did Kenneth send to you? The ones I've got are white metal, but they have no detail on them. They look like metal copies of Tamiya's inner road wheels.

Thanks

Bill

Claymore68
As you know I am using MK track on my Kitty...
You should definatly give the Modelkastens tracks a try. They didn't take me any longer to build than a set of fruils (about 5 hrs per track) They aren't quite as strong but they look great...

I am still waiting on my spare link kit to come from greatmodels, along with a half a dozen other things....

Kenneth

CC: Those are nice tracks thanks for the link.
Another type to try along with Model Kasten. I'm not dissatiafied with the fruil tracks, I just gotta try all the options!

QUOTE: Originally posted by wipw Derek: QUOTE: Fruil tracks are done, time to move on and try some PE...or maybe the engine pack...or the new turret! What sort of turret do you have? You are doing the Old Tamiya A, right? Bill

Yeah Bill, I'm doing Tamiya's old A. I will be scratchbuilding the turret according to the article in the Sep. 1990 FSM.

those tracks look nice capt caveman. there doesn't seem to be any drilling required either like the fruil ones. might give those a try next time i use AM tracks if they're available for what i'll be building

as far as my panther is concerned i haven't had much time this week so far so i got prety much nothing done other than one track i finished last weekend. hopefully later in the week or this weekend i'll get a chance to get started.

Derek:

QUOTE: Fruil tracks are done, time to move on and try some PE...or maybe the engine pack...or the new turret!

What sort of turret do you have? You are doing the Old Tamiya A, right?

Bill

claymore68
Good to hear they arrived. The idler and drive sprocket should be there in a couple of days. I should have sent them all together..... wasn't really thinking....oh well.

I am gonna send pictures in this evening I hope of my progress so far.

Kenneth

QUOTE: Originally posted by wildwilliam Frosty, don't get too bogged down in the details. i doubt the Germans made 2 identical models of the 1:1 versions!

I agree

QUOTE: Originally posted by wildwilliam Derek, i can read it ok, but there are probably color combos that would be easier to read. btw, you took the carraige returns (line feeds?, blank lines?) out of my text. (between the paragraphs) that makes it look even denser than normal.

Probably a result of the "beautify" button in my HTML editor, I'll add some breaks (probably on the weekend).

QUOTE: Originally posted by wildwilliam All, i am open to comments, criticism, suggestions abt my posts to the build site. if you want less yakking, i can shut up a bit. ed.

Keep yakking, that's part of the experiance.

Kennethc: The road wheels arrived. Thanks, these are much nicer than the originals (and they are all here)!

Fruil tracks are done, time to move on and try some PE...or maybe the engine pack...or the new turret!

Frosty,
don't get too bogged down in the details.
i doubt the Germans made 2 identical models of the 1:1 versions!


Derek,
i can read it ok, but there are probably color combos that would be easier to read.

btw, you took the carraige returns (line feeds?, blank lines?)
out of my text. (between the paragraphs)
that makes it look even denser than normal.

All,
i am open to comments, criticism, suggestions abt my posts to the build site.
if you want less yakking, i can shut up a bit.

ed.

Did you get the fax, Frosty..? Anything useful in there?

QUOTE: Originally posted by tigerman Jon or Frosty, isn't Dragon supposed to release an Ersatz M10? Should or could be out by now? Anyway, good luck Frosty on your adventure.

why am i not surprised 2 hear this little bit of news ? LOL.... at least i didn't spend 6 months scratchbuilding and get it almost finished only to see it announced in the magazines !
well, even if the Dragon release is in 1/72, i don't think i'll wait for it 2 arrive on the shelves, because i want to keep to the group build timetable and i like scratchbuilding.
and by doing it myself, mine will b at least a little different from the rest of 'em.

frosty

Does anyone (else) have troubles with the white text on the background? I'm thinking of changing the background and some other things so let me know what you think.

Thanks to wildwilliam and edog for their contributions to the research section.

Now I'm gonna build!

Jon:

QUOTE: im thinking of useing Milliput for the Zim as i cant get tamiya putty over here anyone know whats the bast colour box for milliput Black or Red

I've read that the standard, grey Milliput will work well for Zim. I don't know what color the box is. Sorry. Hope that helps.

WW:

QUOTE: does anyone know if you can use epoxy to put big flat pieces of PE on styrene? because i have some 20 min epoxy that would give me plenty of time to get the big pieces of zim on straight!

Yes, you can use epoxy. It would you a lot more working time, as you say. I think you would even be able to use 5 minute, but of course you wouldn't be able to do as many pieces at once.

All I got done was a little more putty thrown at the hull bottom. Hope to get the wheels base painted today and the rims blackened tonight, and somemore sanding done. (I'll be sanding forever!)

I can't decide what I'm going to do about zim. The resin turret I bought has such nice "cast" texture, I hate to cover it up.

good luck, all.

Bill

Chris,
glad i could help!
here is a tip that will come in handy if you have not done them already.
(of course you might be clever enough to work this out on your own.
i have to do everything wrong first, in order to make the obvious, well obvious
there are probably 2 right ways and 1 wrong way to do this.
guess which i did. TWICE ).

(i was putting the pieces on as i removed them from the fret so as not to confuse them)

when you put the PE Zim on the edges of the rear storage boxes,
orient the boxes as they will sit on the tank.
the top edge gets no zim.
you can either:
a) put the bottom piece on first, and then make sure your edges meet
when you put on the two sides.
or
b) put on a 'side' piece, then the bottom, then the other side,
mating the edges as you go.

do NOT put the two sides on, then put on the bottom last!
because the PE does not stretch.

all i could do then was make sure the most noticeable corner
(the outside corner of each piece) closed up neatly.

do yourself a favor; don't do it the way i did.

i was going to put the boxes in the freezer this morning before i left for work.
but they looked better in the morning than they did last night when i
re-learned what a blockhead i am.
and i did not feel like undoing almost all of the little bit of work i got done.

i emailed Derek some more pics & words
(not including last night's 'triumph')

and i bought Sharpies & Silly Putty.

tonight i will try to put the large back panel PE Zim on the storage boxes.
(or is that stowage boxes?)

does anyone know if you can use epoxy to put big flat pieces of PE on styrene?
because i have some 20 min epoxy that would give me plenty of time to get the big pieces of zim on straight!

ed.

Just got my Royal Model PE set for this panther and I am impressed!!!!!!!!! This is exactly the type of set that have been looking for. It has a lot of small parts, but they don’t get ridiculous like Aber can most of the time. At first glance it looks more detailed than Eduard usually is, but you wont have to remove the molded on clamps and replace them with pe ones. I know some people like to do this but royal model does provide the handles to fit onto the existing molded fittings. If I were to design a pe set for the intermediate modeler (like myself) this is how I would do it!!! The kit also comes with some resin parts. You don’t have to remove all tha molded on detail from the fire extinguisher, just to put it back on with pe. Royal models gives you an excellent resin one!!!

A few things that I did notice, but do not see as being major problems:

• The instructions have mislabeled at least one of the parts
  
• My kit is missing on of the resin “spurs”. Fortunately this spur deals with details on the inside of the drivers, and radio man hatches and I do not intend on having them open.

Also got my eduard barrel and it is everything I expected it to be, superb!! This is my second eduard barrel and I am very pleased. These are the best barrels I have used.



that makes:

• Tamiya Panther G "late"
• Eduard barrel
• Royal Model update

i hope to add some tracks latter, but we will have to see.

On day 2, I decided to go for the putty-zimmerit... Spead a thin layer of the suff where it's needed and let dried. Two hours later, I started engraving the squared pattern with a blunt knife. That went OK. I then used a brand new blade to engrave the vertical pattern into each square. Well, I started anyway. Lots of them squares!

Everything's peachy so far..!

I finally got started! Put zim on the front, back and one side of the bottom hull. I don't think I have ever gotten so much glue on my fingers. It looks ok pretty much sealed down all the way around, just got figure out where to put the glue so it don't squeeze out. Got to do sanding around some of it. Thought I did pretty good though with my first try at pe. Thanks for the heads up on removing the large pieces wildwilliam, those seem to be the ones I have the most problems with, had a couple of close calls. Did'nt get much done but did get a good bit done on my new web site. Not really satisfied with the one I have now so thought I would give it another try, I'll post the link in a couple of days to get y'alls opinion before I go with it. Hopefully I get more done tommorow plus they are calling for nasty weather come thurs. so probally no work.

Peter have you seen these from WWII Productions http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35006.htm
there click together Panther D tracks made in Austrailia, they look good
heres the Pershing one they do to show how they fit
http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35007.htm

im going to ask over here to see if anyone imports them (mmmm i have an idea my Girlfriends Brother is coming over from Perth for a visit)

yeah Dragon are bringing out a Ersatz M10
but its not out yet