modelling minion Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Well I think its about time I got my thread up and running at least, if not the actual build started. I am going to be building Tamiya's 1/48 Panther G and hopefully finishing it in a Winter camo scheme, I have a soft spot for these on both aircraft and targets, sorry tanks. Now I am far from an expert on Panthers (or quite a lot of things actually) so don't go expecting any deep knowledge on the subject in my build. I do like armour and used to build no end of it in my youth but have concentrated on wingy things for a very long time and I have been trying to fit some armour into GB's for a little while. A lot of the armour I used to build was German, they made some pretty cool stuff din't they, so I thought I would revisit some of my old subject matter and have signed up for this GB and the upcoming Panzer III one. The kit I will be building is the excellent looking Tamiya 1/48 G, which seems to be able to be built as either early or late versions of the G, so lets start with the ubiquitous box and contents shots; As you can see all is present and correct and eagerly awaiting some glue, which I hope to start using on it tomorrow. I like the ambush camouflage of the Panther featured in the box art but as I said I am drawn to winter schemes and in my searching I have found this one; https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/germany/tanks-2-3/panther-panzer/panther-ausf-g-winter-camouflage/ To my very untrained eye it looks like a late model G (it looks like it has the shot trap deflector on the lower mantlet) and it also seems to be splendidly Zimmerit free! I would appreciate any info that you experten out there can shed on this. Feel free to offer any advice and just generally poke fun at my build along the way. Craig. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Welcome aboard Craig ... No worries I haven't even started a thread in my own group build yet. Probably later this week when my current four are finished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Very nice choice !! Late G in the early months of ‘45. Possibly Hungary or Czechoslovakia... Heres one.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 8 hours ago, Longbow said: Very nice choice !! Late G in the early months of ‘45. Possibly Hungary or Czechoslovakia... Heres one.... Glad you approve of my choice, I wasn't sure if it was somewhere on the Westwall because of the dragon's teeth but Czechoslovakia makes perfect sense too. I like the camo on the one in your picture too and you can actually see the turret number and national marking on the rear bin if not the unit markings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 1 minute ago, modelling minion said: Glad you approve of my choice, I wasn't sure if it was somewhere on the Westwall because of the dragon's teeth but Czechoslovakia makes perfect sense too. I like the camo on the one in your picture too and you can actually see the turret number and national marking on the rear bin if not the unit markings. It could very well be the West Wall. I've been looking at so many photos of late Panthers, that I'm not sure where any of them were, any more 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 I stand corrected lol. It's Germany, January 1945, but the unit is unknown. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 35 minutes ago, Longbow said: I stand corrected lol. It's Germany, January 1945, but the unit is unknown. At least I can't put the wrong unit markings on it then! This is going to make a real change from aircraft modelling with a plethora of stencil decals, looks like I won't need to use any on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 24 minutes ago, modelling minion said: At least I can't put the wrong unit markings on it then! This is going to make a real change from aircraft modelling with a plethora of stencil decals, looks like I won't need to use any on this one. It will look great in those stripes, as well !! Looking forward to watching it come together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Actually managed some time on my Panther, I had a day off work and modelling time was available and I fancied a change from my T-28 (the wingy thing not the multi-turreted Soviet target) and am pleasantly surprised with how much I got done, not as much as some on here who can build a complete tank in a couple of days but much faster than I can build an aircraft. I started with the lower hull and added the plastic parts to the metal chassis; Then I started on the upper hull and added the rear plate and the parts required on the undersides; And made a start on the hatches and other parts on the upper hull; A quick question for all you Panther experten out there, would these parts pictured below be covered by wire mesh in real life? I have also completed the turret, Tamiya give you the options for either an early or late G and as we have established that mine is going to be a late one those are the parts I used; I have left the commander's hatch open as I plan to add a figure, and have fitted the anti-aircraft MG mount. Thats how she looks at the minute, I suppose the next job will be to join the upper and lower hull pieces. Thanks for looking and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Nice start, good choice, great company! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, exdraken said: Nice start, good choice, great company! Thanks Werner. Good company indeed my friend.👍 Any progress on your build? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 With my T-28 out of the way I have been able to devote some more time to my Panther and have been nibbling away at it over the past couple of days and have been able to complete the hull assembly. The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that there are now some mesh covers on the rear deck, the rougher looking ones are two that I made myself from some mesh and the others, including the circular ones, are from a Hauler set that was very kindly sent to me by @PlaStix to enable me to complete this task and I am very much in his debt as I would never have been able to reproduce these. Here's a closer look at the rear deck; So that is where we are today, next job will be to get some paint on her. the choice now is whether to put on a grey primer, a black one for counter shading or one in the red/brown primer colour used on German armour, decisions decisions! Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Well the T-28 turned out quite nice, time well spent in my book 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 12 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Well the T-28 turned out quite nice, time well spent in my book Thanks Dennis, I was really glad to get it put of the way as I didn't think I would ever finish it at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 That engine deck looks great !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Longbow said: That engine deck looks great !! Thanks, the etched set really makes a big difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Not had much time for modelling for a few days but have managed to get some pre-shading done on the Panther; Next job will be too get some Dunklegelb on, hopefully in the day or two. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Craig, I've just noticed something, the photo of your rear deck on the 22nd October showed the louvres over the right hand air intakes, then when you got the p/e mesh, you applied it over the louvres, the mesh should go on the intake and the louvre go on top of the mesh. like the nearest Panther in this photo. Sorry I did not notice it earlier. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Bugger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 50 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Bugger! Or words to that effect, try some blu-tac to remove the two right hand mesh, when I used it to mask my King Tiger it was very good at removing the mesh, even though I didn't want it removing. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 minute ago, Retired Bob said: Or words to that effect, try some blu-tac to remove the two right hand mesh, when I used it to mask my King Tiger it was very good at removing the mesh, even though I didn't want it removing. Thanks, I will give that a go. Its my own fault for not knowing enough about the subject matter and not checking references thoroughly. I am grateful to you for pointing my mistake out as i would much rather I got things right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 3 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Its my own fault for not knowing enough about the subject matter and not checking references thoroughly. I am grateful to you for pointing my mistake out as i would much rather I got things right. I know what you mean, if you had all the paint finished then found out.... The usual mistake with the louvres is fitting them to all 4 air intakes, most kits and p/e frets for late Panthers supply 4, so that happens often. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 19, 2020 Author Share Posted November 19, 2020 Finally managed to get some time on the Panther and have used it to get some paint on her using Revell's sandy yellow to represent dunklegelb. It has gone on a bit too thick in places and has wiped out a lot of the pre-shading, never mind, a lesson learned. This is what the hull and turret look like now; The wheels on the other hand were given a coat by brush of the same colour, building up the colour gradually by several coats being dry brushed and they look like this; I'm happier with how they look. The track pieces have been given a coat of black to act as a base and have been dry-brushed with a gun metal colour and look like this; I still have to remove the etched pieces which I put over the louvres on the rear deck by mistake and assuming that goes well the next job will be to look at masking and painting the green and brown colours, once I have decided which paints to use that is. Thats it for today so thanks for looking and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 Had some time today so removed the surplus PE grills and got the other two camo colours on freehand, not the best spray job I ever did but then the real thing was often rough and ready and I have yet to apply the copious amounts of white zigzags all over it. Anyway this is what she looks like; I have to decide if I am going to put any markings on her or not as the one picture I have seen of her doesn't show anything, I will probably add the national markings and might even add a turret number, any thoughts on this guys? Well thats it for today so as usual thanks for looking and any comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 Winter camo successfully applied. I have now made a start in dirtying her up by adding some home mixed mud and and a dark grey wash, 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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