SimonT Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 (edited) Introduction The Sd.Kfz. 173 or schwere Panzerjaeger auf Fahrgestell Panther I (mit 8.8cm Pak 43/3 L71), first received the name of Jagdpanther on 29 November 1943 by Hitler himself, a month after he had been presented a full size wooden model (along with the Tiger II and Jagdtiger) built by Daimler Benz, on 20 October 1943. Two prototypes, Nr.V101 and Nr.V102 were completed shortly after, in October and November respectively of the same year. In January 1944, the first 5 production Jagdpanthers (built by Muehlenbau Industrie AG (MIAG)) were delivered and accepted by the Waffenamt inspectors. From then on, very slow production numbers were attained due to technical issues that were discovered during trials and remedied on the assembly lines and perhaps more so due to heavy bombing raids now targeting armour production sites. Improvements and manufacturing changes occurred frequently on the assembly lines and in the field and when I bought this kit, what we thought we knew was that there were 'Early', 'Mid' and 'Late' production vehicles. Then in 2005, this was all blown wide open by Thomas Jentz and Hilary Doyle's Panzer Tracts No.9-3. I will refer to this excellent book and others as I progress through the build. The kit I'll be (hopefully) building Tamiya's 1/35 Jagdpanther "Late Version" which, according to experts is still a reasonable kit if you want to build a later Jagdpanther, I'll cover what you can and can't build if you are a purist later on. As I go through each section of the build I would like to talk about the differences between the two designations that have now been widely accepted (wrongly in my opinion but we'll come to that) as G1 and G2 and the potential pitfalls you might come across trying to identify a Jagdpanther as one or the other. For now, here are the obligatory, I'm not cheating shots: Sd.Kfz. (Sonderkraftfahrzeug): Designation schwere: Heavy Panzerjaeger: Armour Hunter (Tank Hunter) auf: on Fahrgestell: Undercarriage (Lower Hull) mit: with Pak (Panzerabwehrkanone): Anti-Tank Gun Waffenamt: German Army Weapons Agency Looking forward to getting started! Si Edited October 11, 2020 by SimonT 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Always liked the Jagdpanther this should be a fun build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Yup... I always liked the look too. There’s the story of one acting as rearguard against a Russian advance, hull down. I’ll have to try and locate it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Callahan Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Always welcome to see anybody will build a Jagdpanther. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3talpig Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Anything with Jagd at the beginning gets my vote....should be a great build ...will follow with great interest Simon 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share Posted October 11, 2020 (edited) I managed to get the basic lower hull done (minus the rear plate) and the wheels done last night. Basic parts off the sprues and cleaned up: Sooooo many wheels: Dry fit, as well, you know, it's hard not to: This evening I've deviated from the instructions and built up the gun as it's the old fashioned two part affair. I figured if I built it early on and failed to get rid of the seam lines (or worse) then I could just order a lovely aftermarket barrel. In true tamiya fashion though, it seems to have gone together well and I think I still have a round barrel after some careful scraping. You can't see it properly in the image, but the cast texture is nicely done on the gun mantlet. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll start the modifications for making it a proper G2 as it's now known. Edited October 11, 2020 by SimonT Spelling 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Love the shape of JP !! Which camo are you going for ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Ahh !! Knew I'd find it !! The Rearguard by David Pentland. Preussisch Stargard, East Prussia, February 1945. Following the departure of the platoon's two other vehicles, after expending all their ammunition, the single Jagdpanther of Oberfeldwebel Hermann Bix remained to cover the withdrawal of all supporting infantry in the area. Hidden behind a muck heap, with only twenty armour piercing and five high explosive shells remaining he made the attacking Soviet Shermans pay a heavy price, destroying sixteen of their number before he too fell back out of ammunition. On the 07.03.1945 the Soviets succeeded in breaking through the sector of the 35. Infanterie-Division in the direction of Danzig. In response the armoured group of the 4. Panzer-Division was deployed to the area. Among the German armoured commanders was Hermann Bix, who led a group of 5 Jagdpanthers. The first Sovet armoured spearhead was shot up by his group. However since most of them ran out of ammunition in the process it was down to Bix to defend all on his own with the defending Grenadiers. Here he destroyed 4 lend-lease tanks. After this he only had 25 rounds of ammunition to take on a force of attacking T-34s, but it was enough for him to knock out 11 of their number. As Kleschau had been lost, Bix and 3 Panzers assisted a Grenadier Major during a counterthrust. With his support it was possible for this advance to liberate a trapped Volksgrenadier-Bataillon in the Klenschkau-Danzig-Ohra area. In the process 19 Soviet tanks were destroyed, including 11 by Bix himself. After this he was recommended for the Knight’s Cross by the 35. Infanterie-Division. The following press excerpt provides an overview of why he received the award as follows… “Oberfeldwebel Bix, a Panzer commander in the I. Abteilung of a Frankfurt am Main Panzer-Regiment, has destroyed 75 Soviet tanks over the course of 61 battle days. Of these, 21 were destroyed within the last week in the battle area south of Danzig. With this the 31 year old Oberfeldwebel from Strehlitz stands as the most successful Panzer commander of his Abteilung. Bix also holds the Wound Badge in Silver and the German Cross in Gold.” 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 9 minutes ago, Longbow said: Love the shape of JP !! Which camo are you going for ? She is my favourite tank of all time. Not sure yet, as she will be a G2 I’m hoping to still find some info on Sergeant First Class Hermann Bix’s JP, he was in the 4th Panzer Division and was ordered to take over a platoon of newly delivered Jagdpanthers. He proceeded to wreak havoc in the defensive lines against the Russians as they attacked through Prussia. Reference: Stockpole Military History Series: Panzer Aces It’s proving tough to find pictures of these hastily formed battle groups... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 That’s him, you star!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 16 minutes ago, SimonT said: That’s him, you star!! Be careful what information you pick through lol. Some of the Interesting-Webs information is "Questionable". That lower piece cabe from the citation, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 Yes you’re right, the image certainly is a G1 from a completely different unit. The citation is extremely helpful though, thank you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 I do like a build with a good back story, looks really interesting! Good to watch this come together! Atb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 13, 2020 Author Share Posted October 13, 2020 I agree, I find reading actual accounts related to the subject being modelled really keeps the interest up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3talpig Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 7 hours ago, SimonT said: I agree, I find reading actual accounts related to the subject being modelled really keeps the interest up Could not agree more 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Evening all, time for some honest opinions please. The Hull armour on the kit is a little too flat (though I could get away with it as so many great models have been done without adding texture) so I thought I would have a play and see if I could get something to look reasonable. Below is my first attempt using the schürzen from the kit as I'll replace it with PE. I'm looking specifically at the side armour on the fighting compartment, the tops will need a much lighter touch. What you think, too heavy for German armour or passable? Any suggestions? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Too heavy. Get close to the Panther or Tiger II glacis plates and they are very smooth. You need a very light texture. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soeren Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, SimonT said: Evening all, time for some honest opinions please. The Hull armour on the kit is a little too flat (though I could get away with it as so many great models have been done without adding texture) so I thought I would have a play and see if I could get something to look reasonable. Below is my first attempt using the schürzen from the kit as I'll replace it with PE. I'm looking specifically at the side armour on the fighting compartment, the tops will need a much lighter touch. What you think, too heavy for German armour or passable? Any suggestions? Thanks! Well I guess adding texture to any surface on model kits nowadays is the same as the recent change to have elastane added to the cotton of most brands of jeans. Edited October 15, 2020 by Soeren 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Very interesting i think I'll follow along. Can't offer much advice on this tank though, however if it was a Tiger ll it would be different I'm now an expert 😉 😀 👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3talpig Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 20 hours ago, SimonT said: Any suggestions? Humbrol putty thinned down and stippled on to the surface leave to dry then sand with wet and dry paper 2000 grit works well and that will give you a very subtle and realistic rolled armour.....the below piccy is a close up of my long term Tiger 1 which i completely resurfaced using this method . 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 ^^^ Yup. Fully agree with what Steve says there... As long as it’s sanded back, it should be pretty close. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Soeren said: Well I guess adding texture to any surface on model kits nowadays is the same as the recent change to have elastane added to the cotton of most brands of jeans. By eck he's right, there is a degree of elasticity in my jeans, and I don't mean the waistband before anyone chips in! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 56 minutes ago, Jasper dog said: By eck he's right, there is a degree of elasticity in my jeans, and I don't mean the waistband before anyone chips in! I buy my jeans from Walmart.... Wranglers... Made in China... Also, definitely elastic. Thats twice today I find myself ashamed 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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