Panther Ausf A late 2-20-10 I'm calling this one DONE!

Very nice work. I like your photoetch work.......this will look VERY good when you paint it!

Nate

Hey Dave,

LOL!  Yes my OCD is a killer as well!  Great job on the build and Zim it looks very clean!

I believe you have to have OCD to be competent in this hobby.

Nate, Thank you.  Every time I think I am ready to squirt some primer on this beasty I find another detail that I have yet to take off the mental check list. At least I've got some color on the road wheels. .

Ed, Yes you do have a raging case of OCD.   At least it is directed and focused as evidenced by your current Sherman build. I've been watching it come along nicely!

Disastermaster, Yes you are right about the OCD. Our type of OCD has no medications/treatment other than continuing with our hobby.  My wife looks at some of what I've and others have built and she has stated (cross my heart), "There is NOT medication enough".  She should know, she's an MD.

 I got a couple more things done last night before the day caught up with me. The MG mount on the coupla. I am going back and forth on whether or not to put an MG34 on it.  How often was it mounted/used.  If I had a P-47 coming down on me, my inclination would be to duck, slam the hatch, and scream at the driver to floor it! Anybody have thoughts on the mouting of the MG34?

Mounted the retention pins for the towing hooks.  Broke out the optiloupes for that one and it still crossed the eyes.  Mounted the rest of the tools. I'll get some pics up later today.

By looking at the closeup pics I have found more things that need to be taken care of. Wire for the tail light, figuring out how to do the spare track retention pins...on and on

Cheers

Dave

Beautiful work, Dave--really nice attention to detail!

The MG was only mounted on the turret if it was NOT in the bow. There was only one in the tank; since you've already got the nice brass one in the bow, it's a no-go that there would be a turret one.

Ahhhh...saved by a factoid! lol!

Tah tah tah taaaaa. Doog to the rescue.  Thank you man!  Of all my references that is NOT listed anywhere. I suppose if I had payed closer attention to the interior pics I would have noticed that there appears to be no storage for and "extra" MG34.  Ammo drums yes. Gun no. I like the brass one in the bow better. Thank you again

Cheers

Dave

Nice job on the PE work Dave and the zim looks nice also

the doog wrote:

Beautiful work, Dave--really nice attention to detail! The MG was only mounted on the turret if it was NOT in the bow. There was only one in the tank; since you've already got the nice brass one in the bow, it's a no-go that there would be a turret one. Ahhhh...saved by a factoid! lol!

Is this true with G's as well? I never knew that before.

Build is looking great Dave.

Looking awesome so far..Goodluck..:)

A nice clean build so far, the PE looks great. Keep up the posts.

 

Rob

Thank you for the comments guys. Spent a fair amount of time with the beast today, but it doesn't feel like I got all that far. I realized after I ran the wire to the tail light that I never put the head light on. Corrected that. This kit does not come with any tow cables or ends. Going to have to cobble something together for that. I don't know that I am any closer to getting color on the beasty yet.
Cheers
Dave
Here is a detail shot of the retention pins I added today

Detail of the spare track holder with retention pins.

A shot of the armored pot that is for the wire for the rear tail light.

Detail of the right side tools and pins.

The left side spare track holder is missing a pin. Fifth one back. After I had put a bead of CA on the end to hold it down, it shot out from the tweezers. I heard it hit something. I don't know where, but where ever it is, I am sure it is stuck. The back story for the kit is this... the (censored) thing broke off in the field!
Cheers
Dave

tigerman wrote:

the doog wrote: Beautiful work, Dave--really nice attention to detail! The MG was only mounted on the turret if it was NOT in the bow. There was only one in the tank; since you've already got the nice brass one in the bow, it's a no-go that there would be a turret one. Ahhhh...saved by a factoid! lol! Is this true with G's as well? I never knew that before. Build is looking great Dave.

I believe so--wBill will back me up on this, I believe? He's the one that told me!

Wow Dave you need to take something for your PE OCD!

Nice clean work!

Looking good. Very good.

Some very fine looking work there, Dave...PE is excellent.

Ed, You must have passed a virus on to my computer, 'cause now instead of taking something for my OCD, I am guzzling cold medicine. Remember what I told you about what my wife said about our type of OCD....
"There is not medication enough!". I've got a Tamiya FAMO that has two, multiple frets, sets of Aber PE. Now that one I may need to medicate for.

Dupes, Thank you. Upon reviewing some of the pics I need to tighten up some of the gaps on the Zim. Especially around the spare track holders. The shooting of color on the beast will have to wait yet again!

Doog, has wBill backed you up on this one yet? I went back through a couple of my Panther books by Jentz & Spielberger, and I can't find where you would put a second MG34.

Bullet21, Thank you.

I may or may not get anything done today. The bench is in the garage and it is not the warmest place right now, especially since the Rain Festival has kicked off here in the Pacific Northwest.
Good day to all.
Cheers
Dave

Looking mighty fine with the details Dave! Very nice work on all the little bits here and there, you've definitely got the "eye" for the detail!

There's been some debate on the topic of just how many MGs were issued for tanks outfitted with the AA ring on the commander's cupola. The "official" armament for Pz IVs for example lists only 2 MG34s and some have argued that for those vehicles, the AA MG had to come from either the bow or the coaxial when mounted since they didn't have space inside for a 3rd MG to be stowed. Others have argured that the official loadout for Panthers and KTs on the other hand include 3 MGs (bow, coaxial turret, AA) but haven't really been able to anser the question about where the 3rd MG would've been stowed internally when not mounted on the AA ring. I'm not a Panther or Tiger expert so I don't know if they were treated differently from the Pz IVs for example in terms of # issued. I didn't know there was a difference when I had this discussion a while back with Karl/doog so unfortunately the waters aren't as clear as I once thought they were. That's the thing about German armor, it's very hard to establish clear-cut absolutes in many cases as exceptions often abound depending on just what type or detail you're looking into. Sorry I can't be of more help than that, but I'm still inclined to remain in the camp that takes the view of the AA being one of the two already issued MGs. 

Bill and Karl,
I realized I needed to amend and earlier entry, in regards to the second MG. Bill reminded me that the tank already has two MGs. I failed to account for the coaxial MG. I agree with you Bill, where would you put the third MG? I am no Panther expert (though I do enjoy them), though I have tried visualizing the interior, with the Jentz & Spielberger books in my lap. No it is not a scientific process, more an artistic use of spatial awareness. Pack into the turret and hull:The main gun; 80 some odd rounds of 75mm ammo;two MG 34s; several thousand rounds of MG34 ammo; radios; transmission and drive train; turret drive mechanisms; Oh yeah and seating for a party of five. Throw all of this into a BIG blender and add copious amount of movement cross country, guns firing, being fired at, reloading, finding your target, smoke, noise, and what ever else you can think of to make the interior even less hospitable than it already is. Where in blazes would you put a third MG? It being another chunk of metal in which to run into whilst you are being jostled inside of an armored can. Uggghhh. I think I need to back off on the cold medicine now, for I am running at the mouth. Sorry guys.
Cheers
Dave

This is some superb model building, i can relate to all the added PE and the cavalier zim as i did the same treatment to a jagdpanther recently so i know how long some of those smallest details can take . Your work looks super clean I look forward to see what you do with the old paintbrushes.

Well I actually got some color on it today. The down side is that the alcohol that I thin my paint with may have reacted with some trace amounts of flux on the PE. Oh well, I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve to fix it. All is not lost.
This is just the first of several light coats of Tamiya Dark Yellow. I'll be adding additional camo. Not sure which scheme yet. The decals will be Echelon Decals for a Wiking Panther ... probably Sophie. the same decal set has several for Goering Panthers Ausf G. There are a couple I may try with a couple of kits in the stash
Cheers
Dave





I painted the rubber first using Tamiya Nato Black. I then used circle stencils to paint the inner portion

Looks superb so far Dave. Nice to see someone still paints the wheels off of the hull. I just can't see how it would be easier to paint everything after complete assembly.

Looks fantastic so far! I really admire the zimmerit and your overall attention to detail - including how many MG's there would be. Thats why I love these forums, not only do you get to see some awesome work, you learn while you're at it!

Nice work so far!

Tigerman,
Thank you for the comlipent. I always paint my road wheels like that. The closest I have come to painting them on the vehicle is the last Sherman I built. It was a Tasca and I assembled the bogies with wheels and, painted them then I mounted the bogies.

Oddmanrush,
Thank you. Having the correct number of MGs is but one aspect of the OCD flaring up

Cheers
Dave

Stickman,
Thank you for the compliment

I took a couple more detail shots. This time of the road wheels. Tigerman reminded me of why I paint the road wheels off vehicle. I feel that I can better detail them, so I thought I'd post a couple of pics as I go back to work tonight (12 hour shifts). Ahhhh, the weekend is over. Bummer.
The way I distress the rubber on my road wheels (I pretty do it on all my armor, nothing showroom fresh), is lightly skim the edges and inner portion (the part which contacts the track) with a cylindrical Dremel bit. I set the speed as low as I can and have at it. I don't worry about mold seams yet. After I've gotten to all of the wheels, I'll take a large square of 600 or 800 grit sand paper and, drag the wheel across it while rotating it between my fingers. Once I've made a full revolution of the wheel, I'll check for any remaining mold seams. If there are any left a couple of light passes from a curved #10 blade will cure that.

Cheers
Dave
Here is one of the outer road wheel. If I remember I'll post compare/contrast pics with freshly painted and weathered.

This is of the middle road wheel

Clever idea on the Dremel Dave. I've always wondered how durable the rubber were on these tires and how fast they would become damaged/worn. Anyone know?

Tigerman,
I don't know how long Panther wheels lasted but, they did last longer than that of Panzer III's and IV's.
I've seen footage of a Panzer (on You Tube I think it was) where several road wheels on one side were missing rubber.
Cheers
Dave

Good effects here.