Carrera Revell Panther - World Of Tanks (03509) 1/72 Carrera Revell

[Julien]

Panther - World Of Tanks (03509)

1/72 Carrera Revell

 

 

The Panther was Germany's answer to the surprise appearance of the Russian T-34 after they finally reacted to the invasion that was Operation Barbarosa.  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.  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 to make 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 weaker, and this area became the preferred target area of allied tanks, especially in urban combat where this was a telling issue.

 

Like most German WWII tanks it was complex to produce, so suffered in terms of volume produced, this led to it being rushed into service with quite a list of problems still to sort out.  Later production solved most of these initial gremlins, but loses in the interim were high with many being abandoned after failing 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with the Ausf.A following later in 1943, replacing attrition of the less reliable Ausf.Ds until they themselves were superseded by the Ausf.G, which became the final major variant with increased ammo storage, simplified design to ease production, and further improvements to reliability,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 cured with a high rate of attrition due to mechanical issues, some of which resulted in catastrophic fires.

 

World Of Tanks is a popular online Game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to-play, but participants also have the option of paying a fee for use of "premium" features. The focus is on player vs. player gameplay with each player controlling an armored vehicle, from the time of Pre-World War 2, to the Cold War-era. This is mainly online with PCs, but is now available on other platforms as well. 

 

 

The Kit

Here Revell have re-boxed the Zvesda kit from 2012. The tank is a panther D but this is not mentioned in the instructions, or on the box. This is a "war gaming" kit and as such there is not a massive parts count, but there is a fair amount of parts and detail for the scale. There is a lower hull part, two sprues of parts and a set of tracks. The tracks are not rubber, but seem to be a more flexible plastic.  Revell have obviously released this kit in conjunction with World Of Tanks. Inside each kit there is also a set of Special Bonus & Starter Pack codes for the game.  Starting off the end of the suspension arms are attached to the lower hull along with the front gearbox parts. The driver sprockets and idler wheels are then built up. The inner and middle layer of road wheels are provided as single parts fitting to each side, the outer layer of wheels are single wheels which then go on. Adding the tracks the completes the lower hull. To the upper hull next are added pioneer tools, additional track links, tow cables, and a starting handle. A mid level plate which fits between the two hull parts is now made up, this mounts the track guards. Exhausts are added to the rear bulkhead and this can then be fitted. The turret is then built up with the gun and mantlet being added. The turret fits to the upper hull and this then to the rest of the tank. 

 

 

 

 

 

Decals/Stickers

There is both a sheet of decals and one of stickers. As well as national markings for the tank there are a wide range of markings which I suspect are available in the Game to mark your tank. 

 

 

Conclusion

This seems to be a good looking small kit, and although a "snap together" kit it should build up into a good looking model. 

 

 

 

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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