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

Good idea Tigerman. i think I saw that and a Panther A at Hobby Lobby for about $35.00.

guys, remind me, when are we starting? (or at elast meant to be!)
i'm getting a bit confused with this and the 109 group build on "the other side"!!
just got back from weekend away to find that i bought tamiya's early panther g on evilbay for $12.50...now that's gotta be good!!!
now i just don't know which one to build: dragon's d (kursk), tam's steel wheel, a tam a i bought on friday ot the g i just got!!!

Planned start is Dec. 1 but I believe a few have started some preliminary work (There's a lot of road wheels to sand!).

thanks claymore,
i was wondering, has everyone already decided their camo schemes and units/markings?
i'm looking for inspiration here... (as mentioned above i have a number options open to me thanks to an evilbay frenzy!)
i know the panther looks sooooo cool, but for me it's as much aboout knowing unit history or the battle the tank took part in etc etc as much as the looks of the thing.
i'd love to hear from you guys...

nick

Great deal nmayhew on your G. Maybe I ought to look at evilbay more often. I missed out on some guy locally selling Tamiya and other kits for $10-$15 each. He had thirty, they sold out in a heartbeat.

BTW, my G doesn't come with any unit markings, so I'm a little stumped.
I assume they were in the Wiking or Gross Deutchland units?

"It is well that war is so terible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Looks like I'll be doing Tamiya's Panther G kit with the PE zimmerret. Got it for $26 looking around at other sites this seemed to be a good deal. Now just got to get a few current builds off the bench before this starts.

welcome to the build Chris

im still making my mind up about a Late Tamiya Panther G in Berlin with some steal wheels and extra late bits added
or a Early Dragon Panther A in Italy or the East
or a Tamiya Panther G early in Normandy
or late Dragon Panther A in Normandy
ive got a Verlinden Panther G zimerit set (its not very good might make it into a panther pillbox)
ive got Eduard barrels for both A and G and some Eduard PE sets including PE Zim i dont think ill use it, i want to try it myself
and ive got a whole library about the Panther family
i hope i can make my mind up

Chris who had the G for $26 if you don't mind me asking. Did they have a late G for around that?

Jon, you definately have some optons there.

Nobody is going to build a Bergepanther it looks like. We should take a poll at what will be the most popular Panther build. My guess is it will be a G, but which version?

"It is well that war is terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Tigerman- I got it on Ebay, and I just checked and they have no more kits they are offering. The cheapest I saw it on the web was I think $50 and went up to $75 at one place. I was just figuring I got a good deal on it. Plus me being a snot nosed rookie at German armor I could'nt tell the difference between an early,late or a just in time Panther.

Chris, you and nmayhew have got it figured out- evilbay. I can't believe some fool would sell out so cheap. His loss is your gain. By the way...all Panthers are good. [

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

QUOTE: Plus me being a snot nosed rookie at German armor I could'nt tell the difference between an early,late or a just in time Panther.

Come on, there's only 100+ changes in the production Panthers! You don't have 'em memorized?

I'm not complaining tigerman.
Derek- I know I know but wal-mart still hasn't gotten in the Panther"s For Dummies book yet.

Let me know if they come out with a Weathering and Washes For Dummies. I need one!

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

tigerman hi
i just did a search on evilbay in models and kits, "1/35 panther"...
there is a late tam panther g for $15, then you have the postage.
i buy from this guy all the time; he some negative fedback but if you read it, it's cos the guy is literally selling hundreds of kits evry week and sometimes he just forgets...i never had probs with him, and i don't think he's dishonest (his replies have always been polite and helpful).
he is exceptionally good for tamiya, and if you want to stock up in advance ie use cheapest and slowest shipping.
it does make me cry however to realise how cheap these things must be in japan!!
if the link below does not work, his user name is heiheihei999

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3152699396&category=2589

hope this works (not very good at the techie stuff!)

regards,
nick

Hi guys,

I just happen to have a Panther A sitting here that I started over 2 years ago and didn't get very far. I figure this looks like a good time to finish it. This will be my third tank model and the prev two didn't come out that great so I’ll be looking for plenty advice. The kit I have is the Tamiya 35065. Is this the dreaded old panther kit I read about at the beginning of this thread? Any heads up points would be appreciated.

hi jamesr,

i'm sure the rest of the guys will be glad to help.
any ideas for markings etc?
archers dry transfers has some good options, but their website doesn't specify which A early/late...duh!!! we'll call in the experts!!!
good to have you onboard....
regards,
nick

QUOTE: Originally posted by Captain Caveman if you cant make your mind up about shulzen on or off, try it with some missing

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I may leave most of them off, and just add a few to show how they hung on the hooks. Then I'll just bend the hooks for the rest to show how they were blown off or torn off while driving in broken terrain.

What's all this "already started building" stuff? I thought we were starting December 1!

I think the "For Dummies" series for German armor would be a great idea! There were so many changes it is almost impossible to keep track of them. I also will probably will do some schurzen on and some off but my problem is now compounded by a factor of 2. I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some figs. I saw earlier and ended up with the Panzer Crew at Rest, Recon Team, a Kubelwagen, and a Panther A to go with my Panther G![:0] Now I need another crew for the second Panther. Does the madness ever end!?

Also saw a guy at Hobby Lobby carrying some wood bases with beveled/routed edges but otherwise unfinished so I went hunting for them. They have several shapes and sizes up tp about 12" x 12" and they would make great bases for displays and small dios.

tigerman: I like the poll idea, we should start one closer to build time though so everyone can figure out just what they are gonna build. I have two choices now and that seems to be a low count compared to some of the others.

Nick, thanks for the info. How much does this guy charge for shipping? Where does he live?

Derek it looks like you're going to be busy, but sounds like a cool project.

Welcome Jamessr. Yup, it appears you have the old Panther A. Tamiya only, made the one. I built one when I was about 13. LOL Back then I didn't really care about authenticity. I even painted it Panzergrey. Aside from the holes in the bottom for a motor there are other inaccuracies that I'm not sure of. You may want to try your hands at indy tracks, which would enhance your model. Also engine grills for the rear deck are recommended. Have fun.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

tigerman hi again,
did the link i posted not work? it did when i just clicked on my own post, but then i suppose that's why i don't work in IT!
he is based in hong kong and will charge $14 airmail and $9.5 sea mail.
his stock of tamiya stuff is huge, especially 1/35 armour
like i said, he's good if yu want to stock up and don't necessarliy need stuff asap...
...even with airmail his price still compares very favourably to those i have to face in the UK: i think www.hannants.co.uk is the best euro site i've found (and by far the best organised/comprehensive anywhere on the web), but they still want to charge me equivalent $43 for that same kit before shipping!!!
now you see why i champion evilbay!!
regards,
nick
ps if anyone knows any better sites esp UK based, i'd love to hear...

Thanks for the info Nick.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Sorry Nick, I forgot to say that I did check out that link you gave me. I've heard from some sources that ordering overseas may cost more in postage than the kit itself.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Derek- Those wood bases are great. I have used nothing but those and after a good staining and coat of polyurithane? they look great. I have also thought of trying out those pieces of wood with the bark still around the sides. I think that might look good also.

Jamesr to the forums and to the Panther build

"ps if anyone knows any better sites esp UK based, i'd love to hear" that go's for me aswell
Nick. What do the HM customs charge you when it arives here?

Chris. is your Wife going to be joining us all on our Panther build? or is she going to make her P38 lightning


December the 1st it will take me that long to make my mind up

Come on Jon, you haven't picked out which Panther type, what camo job, what unit marking, zimmerit or zim, schurzen or no schurzen. Sheesh. LOL Well, I'm sure your not alone.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

caveman i've never been charged duty on kits, although i just got done for £28 (!!) on my iwata eclipse from dixie art...all because they refused to ship to my friend in NJ, USA who would have brought it back for me.
i am not amused and will get round that next time.
it still worked out loads cheaper though which is the ridiculous thing..all i've got to do now is learn how to use it!
rgds,
n

Jamesr, Welcome to the forum

We're glad you're here.

In regards to your question about the Tamiya A. Yes, it's the kit you've seen so much negative about. It is an old model of a Panter A Late. It's not a bad kit oob, if you want to build a kit and are not concerned with the accuracy (or lack there of) of the kit. It can be (and is) still a fun build. There are several easy things you can do to help it out. The first big thing is to fill the motorization holes in the bottom of the hull. Just back the holes from the inside with some sheet plastic, fill the holes with putty, and sand it smooth. Next, dry fit the upper hull to the lower hull and turn the tank upside down. You will notice there are big gaps in the hull right above where the wheels go. Cut somemore sheet plastic to fit in the holes to fill them in to match the molded part of the upper hull. Glue them in flush with the molded area (you might want to put some scrap plastic in above them to support the new pieces), let them dry, and again, fill with putty and sand smooth. The next two things I'd consider will drive the cost up, those being after market, independent link tracks (Friulmodel makes metal sets, ModelKasten makes plastic working ones, but are getting very hard to find), and possibly an aluminum barrel. Also, make sure you'll want to get some "screen" gratings to go over the molded engine grates on the rear hull. These really make a difference. Other than that, you can go wild with internal detail sets, engines, radiator fans, photoetched tool clamps, etc. It all depends on how deep you and your wallet want to go.
By the way, this is the model I'm doing for this build. I'll be adding a few of these am parts to it. Hopefully, someday before it all starts, I'll get a camera I use to post some pics on the site.

Good luck with whichever way you choose to go, and welecome again.

Bill

Hi, Panther builders!
I'm not joining the build (but I do have Dragon's Panther II waiting in the closet...hmmmm....), but I have been enjoying this thread, and thought I'd toss in my about schurzen: I don't think it looks good on Panthers. Just my opinion, of course! To me, a big part of the "Panther Look" is the cool track sag, which would be covered up by the schurzen.
Also, ya gotta admit, that's some pretty crummy looking schurzen! Just a buncha rectangular plates, with no character at all!

Anyway, just my opinion on Panther schurzen.

Looking forward to some pix here, fellas!

Just found out about an article on tamiya's Panther A by Tony Greenland, in the Sept 1990 FSM. I am gonna have to get that issue.