1/35 - German Panther Aus A - My First Historical Model

[KevWhalen90]

Hi All,

This is my first project in quite a while (7 years or so) and my first full actual historical kit so was looking to get back into things with my FAV of the German WW2 tanks.... the Panther.

The kit arrived yesterday all well and good, looking through all the parts and pieces seems fairly straight forward so I began today by putting together the rear section of the tank with the exhaust system and couple of wee storage units. All good!!

However, to add a bit of detail and texture to the model I had decided, in my wisdom, to also pick up an Eduard Zimmerit kit to add to the Tamiya model...... and here the issues of the day began!

First of all..... the Eduard kit has been produced for the "Dragon Panther Aus A" kit and so nothing actually fit to the Tamiya variant. I had initially thought to just drop the Zimmerit altogether for this first build but my tendency to make things harder for myself got the better of me and I decided instead to "modify" the etched brass and try to fit it that way.......

To be fair the stuff was easy enough to cut and shape (just time consuming) and overall I am pretty happy with the end result.... its a wee bit wonky in spots but hey...... aren't we all!? Most of the tricky bits are around the back sections so I am hoping the rest of the brass will be able to be altered to fit as well!

So the rear section is done and glued...... pics below..... and I would really love to hear some comments from anyone..... good or bad on your thoughts with how this has turned out so far......

Cheers,

Kev

 

[Dave Ward]

Kev,
Zimmerit was applied by hand - a form of putty/cement that was applied by trowel & rake, so it shouldn't be too regular! - any large gaps - that's where it didn't stick, or has flaked off! It's looking good so fat - the tricky bits are around the ball mounting for the bow machine gun.............
Dave

 

[KevWhalen90]

Kev,
Zimmerit was applied by hand - a form of putty/cement that was applied by trowel & rake, so it shouldn't be too regular! - any large gaps - that's where it didn't stick, or has flaked off! It's looking good so fat - the tricky bits are around the ball mounting for the bow machine gun.............
Dave

Thanks so much for the info Dave, much appreciated! Yeah I wanted it to look non uniform or symmetrical so will continue with this technique and see how it ends up!

Cheers,

Kev

 

[Jakko]

the Eduard kit has been produced for the "Dragon Panther Aus A" kit and so nothing actually fit to the Tamiya variant.

That is not surprising — you’ve got the ancient Tamiya Panther there, which has a well-deserved reputation for being very inaccurate. Have you noticed a whole row of roadwheels is missing yet?

 

[spanner570]

Kev, don't let your enthusiasm be dampened.

Enjoy the build, warts and all. It's a great kit to cut your teeth on.

The zimmerit looks good and shouldn't be neat anyway.

Have fun and be happy with the end result. I was, when I made my 'inaccurate' Panther.

 

[scottie3158]

Kev,
Cracking job mate the zimm looks good.

 

[Dave Ward]

Kev,
one of the most valuable resources can be found here SCALEMATES it lists a vast range of models, date of introduction, reviews and even downloadable instructions, it can be useful, when researching which model to buy!
Dave

 

[KevWhalen90]

Hey all,

Thanks again... really appreciate each comment and like!

Having a cracking wee time so decided to go ahead and give the turret a crack.....got it dry fitted just now and again hacked the Zimmerit to pieces to get it to "fit" .......

You may notice that on one side of the turret.... the Zim is in one big piece and the other has a large hole in it........ well guess who glued on the first piece and completely forgot about leaving an area for the tanks ID markings!! ... still.... i like the fact its going to be Asymmetrical....

Cheers,

Kev

 

[KevWhalen90]

Wow... what a

Kev,
one of the most valuable resources can be found here SCALEMATES it lists a vast range of models, date of introduction, reviews and even downloadable instructions, it can be useful, when researching which model to buy!
Dave

Wow... what a fantastic resource! Many thanks!

 

[Mark1]

Progressing nicely

 

[JR]

Nice start Kev, nothing like the the satisfaction in being able to use the PE in the end .Good for you .

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Kev, what can I say about PE...you either love them, hate them or just plain work with them to get the results you want. From your efforts I know you're not a bin guy. Great stuff and you get extra points.
If it looks good it is good.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[KevWhalen90]

Hi all,

Hope everyone has had a good start to their week!

Managed to get some more Zimm added to the upper hull and finish the turret of the Panther this morning....

Really liking how the flaws and blemishes in the brass ... along with the sections of superglue that have dried a bit chunky and have filled some of the wee gaps are making it look like an uneven surface and something that might look "applied" once the primer coat goes on.... if that makes any sense! lol!

Going to add some more Zimm to the hull and get all of the tools and accessories added before looking at the lower hull, wheels and tracks!

Oh........ and from just looking at the pics as i am uploading them...... the front hull machine gun "bulge" needs some too.....

Cheers,

Kev

 

[Tim Marlow]

Starting to look the part Kev. Quite brave tackling Zim on your first tank kit…..

 

[CarolsHusband]

My two penneth...

Kev,
Zimmerit was applied by hand - a form of putty/cement that was applied by trowel & rake

I think that's the key. Unless you were a plasterer, etc, any soldier charged with the job would have varying results. I have a Tiger 1 somewhere I Zimmerited with a thin skin of filler and a piece of plasticard cut to 2.5 mm. It's in no way perfect but I always thought it looked pretty good realistic.

I'll dig it out, take a pic & prove myself wrong !

 

[Tim Marlow]

I must admit, I wondered why the Germans bothered with it. It was another factory build stage that slowed down production and none of their main protagonists regularly used magnetic anti tank weapons. Oh, and apparently it caught fire quite readily as well, being made mostly from pine resin and sawdust

 

[Jakko]

That’s one of the great mysteries of Zimmerit, AFAIK: the only people using magnetic mines in any numbers were the Germans themselves, yet they’re the only ones with a widespread countermeasure to them.

The composition was apparently:—

analyzed by C.S.A.R. and found to be the following: Polyvinyl Acetate-25%, as binder or glue; Wood Fiber-10%, as filler; Barium Sulphate-40%; Zinc Sulphide-10%; Ochre Pigment-15%, for the dark yellow color.

(source)

It wasn’t really susceptible to fire, but it was thought to be, which is one of the reasons why it was discontinued. The difficulty of applying it and the resulting slowing down of production must surely have contributed, though: according to a text quoted in Spielberger’s Sturmgeschütz, after application, it was to be hardened with a blowtorch, then the pattern was applied, and a bit later on a blowtorch was applied some more before the Zimmerit was allowed to dry naturally. This in a country where resources were becoming ever more scarce.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting article that. Basically it is a heavy body acrylic paint with sawdust in then LOL….oh, and it would therefore chip yellow….not grey, as I have seen on models many times!

 

[KevWhalen90]

Love that.... thanks for all the info!! Yeh that's a really interesting wee article!! giving me some more ideas!

Thanks again for all the comments!

 

[Jim R]

Hi Kev
Late in - sorry. Great start and the zimm looks fine. It sounds as if you have cracked the most important thing about this hobby - having fun!!
Jim