Meng Sd.Kfz.171 Panther Ausf.A Early (TS-046) 1:35

[Mike]

Sd.Kfz.171 Panther Ausf.A Early (TS-046)

1:35 Meng via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The Panther was Nazi Germany's answer to the surprise appearance of the Russian T-34 after the Soviet behemoth finally reacted to Operation Barbarossa, when Hitler unexpectedly broke their non-aggression pact, much to Stalin’s surprise.  Although the project had been in gestation some time before, they took some design cues from the T-34 in the shape of the sloped armour, resulting in the Panther that was intended to fill the gap between the Panzer.IV and the (then) new Panzer VI Tiger.  It was eventually supposed to replace both the Pz.IV and the earlier Pz.III that was really showing its age, but in reality it often fought alongside the Panzer IV, which was upgraded to be more resilient.  It was planned as a lighter, more manoeuvrable tank than the Tiger, and was fitted with a high velocity gun from the outset, which gave it enormous penetrating power that was only equalled by the British 17-pounder fitted to the Sherman that became known as the Firefly.  The sloped frontal armour gave it an increased effective armour thickness, but this was not so true of the side armour, which was comparatively weak, and this area became the preferred target of allied tank commanders, especially in urban combat where this was a telling issue.

 

Like most German WWII tanks it was complex to manufacture, so suffered in terms of volume produced, and this led to it being rushed into service with quite a to-do list of issues still to resolve.  Later production solved most of these initial gremlins, but loses in the interim were high with many being abandoned after failing mechanically during combat. Curiously, the Ausf.D was the first to enter production, with the Ausf.A following later in 1943, replacing attrition of the less reliable Ausf.Ds until they themselves were superseded by the Ausf.G, which became the final major variant with increased ammo storage, simplified design to ease production, and further improvements to reliability, although this was never fully remedied with a high rate of attrition due to mechanical issues, some of which resulted in catastrophic fires.  The Early Ausf.As had a number of overly complex aspects of the design that were later altered or removed entirely, such as the commander’s cupola that was redesigned for better protection, as was the shell ejection port, which was reduced in size.

 

A Panther II was planned, which retained much of the look of the original Panther, while improving armour and suspension.  They got as far as creating a pair of prototypes before the war ended, and a destroyed but still substantial chunk of the Schmallturm (smaller turret) can be seen at Bovington.

 

 

The Kit

This is a reboxing of the initial tooling from our friends at Meng, now with two additional sprues to depict early variant parts, and moulded in a more neutral grey styrene instead of the sand or red-brown of the earlier releases.  The box is typical Meng, with an attractive painting of a Zimmerit encrusted Panther on the front, with profiles, colour codes and information on the sides.  Inside are individually bagged sprues to minimise chaffing during transport, and plenty of parts.  There are thirteen sprues in light grey styrene, one in clear, plus three frets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, two of which are nickel plated, a decal sheet, two lengths of braided wire for the tow ropes, two strips of poly-caps, instruction booklet, and a pair of thick card information sheets in Russian, English and Japanese (I think?), which has become common with Meng releases of late.

 

First impressions are excellent.  The parts breakdown is sensible, the detail is superb, and the casting texture on parts like the mantlet (of which there are four in this boxing) is well done, while the wooden texture on the unditching block also worth a look.  The instructions are typical Meng, offering crisp isometric views of the build with an uncluttered style that still manages to get the point across.  You are informed that there are four decal options at the beginning, and advised that this will affect your choice of parts, so you should choose now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the road wheels, all of which are moulded with early rubber tyres before its scarcity forced the change to all-metal wheels, and they have a poly-cap fitted between the two dished wheels.  The three-part drive sprockets and four-part idler wheels also have poly-caps at their heart, so that wheels can be added and removed as needed throughout the build.  The lower hull is made up from two sides and one floor part, with two bracing double-crossed T shaped parts holding everything rigid inside, and two small holes drilled in the floor.  The rear bulkhead, final drive housing and the many suspension arms are inserted into the hull sides, and the towing shackles are also clipped onto the torch-cut ends of the side plates at this stage.  The pre-prepared road wheels, idlers and drive sprockets are all slid into place on the stub-axles, and an optional tow hook can be fitted under the rear of the vehicle directly below the jack, which is also installed now between the armoured single-tube exhausts. Either side of these the distinctive stowage boxes are added, with separate tops in case you wanted to leave them open or ajar.

 

The tracks are individual parts that are glued into track runs and draped around the wheels until they set up, and here Meng have helpfully included a jig that will allow you to make up a length of tracks at the correct slope and sag for the return run from the drive sprocket to the second road wheel, which forms a gentle curve and would be tricky to achieve without help from the jig.  Each track link is free from ejector-pin marks, and has a pair of guide-horns that you will need to glue into place.  This is a manual job, so prepare your tweezers and a good playlist to listen to or documentary to watch whilst you plough through this necessarily tedious part, building up 87 links per side.  Each track link has three sprue gate, but the guide-horns only have one on their base, so it's swings and roundabouts.  Given the level of detail visible on the external side of each link though, it is worth having those sprue gates to ensure there is no under-shoot on the detail.

 

The upper hull has a number of rectangular holes in the front, sides and top, with only some of them making sense initially, until you realise that the glacis and side walls are added separately to give you all the detail. The circular radiator vents are separate too, as is the engine hatch and the two crew hatches at the front of the tank.  The crew get clear periscope blocks, while the perforated engine deck vents are covered from the inside by inserts that well-represent the radiator baths and the fan in the centre.  The small wedge-shaped skirt at the rear of the sponsons are also added from separate parts layered over the moulded-in sections, and the underside of the sponsons are closed in by two plates that sit on turrets moulded into the upper hull, and holds them in place while you add all the brackets for the Schürzen parts later, which were fitted to pre-detonate shaped charges.  These nickel-plated parts are fitted later, and if scraped gently after painting should reveal some of their bright metal underneath.  The upper hull is detailed with all the usual parts you would expect, such as the armoured periscope covers; mesh screens on the engine deck; stowage bracketing; spare track links; pioneer tools; gun cleaning kit; towing cables with plastic eyes and wire ropes; the aforementioned skirt plates with separate PE clips; mudguards with PE brackets and width lollipops; lifting lugs and so forth, that are added to the hull after joining. 

 

The turret is constructed on a skeleton framework using individual panels that are detailed up during the build.  The rear has a hatch added that can be posed open or closed with the pistol-port cut out and fitted with a hatch, the sides have small ports in the sides cut out for three decal options, while the roof is initially fitted with a mushroom vent, vision block and aerial base.  The gun's breech is depicted in three parts, with a pair of poly-caps linking it to the two pivot points that bracket either end of the inner mantlet, which is then hidden by one of the two new cast mantlets that are included.  The styrene barrel fits snugly into a keyed slot in the mantlet, and has a three-part flash-suppressor added to the front in styrene, plus the very tip of the coaxial machine gun fitted through from the inside of the mantlet.  The Anti-Aircraft (AA) machine gun that fits to the commander's cupola is an MG34 on a simple ring-mount with a belt-feed of ammo from a cloth bag, and that is glued onto the ring after it is fitted to the top of the cupola once the clear vision blocks and hatch cover have been put in place.  The completed cupola fits into the roof of the turret with a key ensuring correct alignment, then the mantlet with surround are added to the front.  The turret is a drop-fit, but the gun can be locked in place by using the supplied travel lock, which has a length of simulated chain wrapping over the top.

 

Markings

Four markings options are included with this kit, all of which will require you to either purchase the Zimmerit decals I’ll be reviewing shortly, or to apply your own the old-fashioned (and sometimes messy) way.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• No.1102 HQ 2nd Battalion, 23rd Panzer Regiment, Wehrmacht, Eastern Front, Winter 1943
• No.221 1st Battalion, 15th Panzer Regiment, 11th Panzer Division, Wehrmacht, Eastern Front, Autumn 1943
• No.613 2nd Battalion, 5th Panzer Regiment, Waffen-SS, Kowel, Poland, Spring 1944
• No.102 Command Vehicle, HQ 1st Battalion, 4th Panzer Regiment, Wehrmacht, Florence, Italy, Summer 1944

 

 

 

 

Decals are printed in China, with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  You can see our review of the Zimmerit decals (SPS-077) that will simplify the whole process here.

 

 

Conclusion

This is an excellent representation of an early Panther Ausf.A from the box, but add the previously release suspension and track sets and some Zimmerit decals that are available separately, and it will make up into an even more stunning model.  Detail is exceptional, and the build should provide plenty of pleasure due to the fit and finish usually associated with Meng kits.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of