Paul's (tricky) Normandy Panthers in 1/35 & 1/16

tr1ckey66

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Hi Everyone


Well, this is my contribution to the 'Panzers' GB


3 Normandy Panthers 


I'm building all 3 together because i find it less time consuming. What I mean by this is: any research on the subject can be done in one go, and you are less likely to forget the stuff you're finding out; building can be done in batches, soldering for instance becomes more time efficient; and painting obviously becomes quicker as you're mixing the same colour for 3 vehicles; etc, etc. Essentially what i'm saying is that to do these 3 at once will take me less time than tackling the 3 on separate occasions.


Now these builds will be completed but the painting phase may well be out of the GB time scale, the reason for this will become apparent when you see the after market stuff to go with these 3 kits (see pics). But I do absolutely promise that these builds will be finished and I am starting tomorrow!


Anyway here's the kits...


The Tamiya 1/16 RC Panther G plus quite a few accessories (I will be converting this to the Early type G).





The Dragon 1/35 Panther G (Early) + a few bit and bobs (a set of Fruil tracks probably being the most expensive). This could end up being a mini-me version of the kit above possibly in the same markings.





The Dragon 1/35 Panther A (Late) + a cheeky aftermarket product or 2! (I think the tracks are Bronco but because I get rid of the packaging to fit them in the kit box I can't quite remember)





And finally a bit of light reading courtesy of my bookshelf...





I hope this is of interest and you'll join me for the journey.


Thanks


P
 
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D

dubster72

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Lovely! 3 Panthers to enjoy & that Tamiya 1/16 one is an expensive kit - I've seen them on eBay for £400-500  :o


Now I hope these won't go the way of your multiple Spitfire build Paul ;)
 

tr1ckey66

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Thanks Ian/Patrick


I think these will progress rapidly over the next two weeks and I hope to have all the build stages done by the end of July.

Now I hope these won't go the way of your multiple Spitfire build Paul  ;)

  •  

The Spits were all finished Patrick, I even built 2 more! but I just thought everyone would be bored stiff of Mk 1 Spitfires by then. If you mean will they get finished, well it won't be through a lack of trying. I'll be working fairly flat out over the next 2 weeks.


Cheers


P
 
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monica

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well Paul,you have my attention and interest on this build,all very nice German amour, 9_9
 
D

dubster72

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Thanks Ian/Patrick


I think these will progress rapidly over the next two weeks and I hope to have all the build stages done by the end of July.


The Spits were all finished Patrick, I even built 2 more! but I just thought everyone would be bored stiff of Mk 1 Spitfires by then. If you mean will they get finished, well it won't be through a lack of trying. I'll be working fairly flat out over the next 2 weeks.


Cheers


P

I must have missed them!  :/  I'll have a gander coz they looked great.
 

tr1ckey66

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...And we're off!


So it's July 1st and so the GB begins. I've made what I think is quite bit of progress on the RC Panther. I've completed the suspension and I'm well on my way with the wheel builds.


Here's the completed Panther suspension... 





Tamiya RC tanks adopt the same torsion bar system employed by real Panzers and the sytem is ok and fairly straight forward to fit. Previously I have replaced this system (on my RC Tamiya Tiger 1) for a much more adjustable spring-system from Wecohe. This time though I'm going to go with the stock system and I'll note the differences when running the 2 together.


And here's the track tensioning units installed...





Here's how the swing arms look...





The contraption holding the tank chasis up is a stand I knocked up to aid painting my Tiger and is really useful for 1/16 tanks.


Finally I forged ahead and steamed into the wheel construction...





Note the Hobbyzone work station!


The wheels are not yet complete as I've stopped in order to base paint them before going further. I can still remove the tyres...





And that's it so far. I'm fairly pleased with the progress today but I think it may slow down a bit for the next instalment. Tomorrow I tackle the rear stowage bins which means a day of soldering. Now don't get me wrong a like soldering but it could never be described as a quick task.


Till then I hope you like the progress so far.


Cheers


Paul
 

tr1ckey66

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Wow. Don’t seems a kit! Looks like an enginery project!!!

You're right Polux in these early stages an RC Tank build seems more like Meccano than a plastic model kit!


Cheers


P
 
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geegad

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Not only three but after market on them as well you are a brave man..


Ive always wanted a rc tamiya tank so must confess thats my favourite of the trio 


But im along for th ride on all three 
 

monica

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very nice progress on this one so far looking good, :D
 

tr1ckey66

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Thanks for dropping by guys (and gal!)


Soldering and Photo etch


Today i began work on the rear stowage bins for the RC Panther. These are photo etch items by Aber and were soldered together to maintain strength. As with all the 1/16 Aber fittigs with care the hinges and clamps can be made workable. That said this is not a quick process and the two bins below took all day and are still not finished!. I've made the hinges work but I've yet to add the clamps to secure the lids. I've also to add the various fittings to hang the bins on to the hull of the tank.


It's not much but is a lot of work...


First the bin





Working hinges...





And the pair of almost complete bins on the instructions...





Hope to get these complete tomorrow and make a start on the front fenders.


Cheers


Paul
 
T

tommy1drop

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Cracking start Paul, definitely following this build,looking forward to the next update buddy.
 

monica

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nice work with the bins,they do look good,and worth all the time, :D
 

tr1ckey66

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Thanks guys


Hopefully tomorrow I'll have the bins done and maybe some front fenders.


Cheers


P
 
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tr1ckey66

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Got the front fenders done yesterday. The way these are constructed really feel like the real thing. Where appropriate tiny bolts are used and strengthening beams under the fender echo the real thing. Each bolt you see here has a tiny nut holding it in place underneath and all this needs to be soldered. The hinges for the cutaway fender (this cutout is to allow the front towing shackles to move freely) are again working items as can be seen in the photographs.


The left hand fender...





Working hinge..





Both hinges and the underside showing the tiny bolts and strengthening beams...





Finally I bought some after rmarket RC motors which have more torque and better scale speed. I soldered on the necessary wires and crimped on the fittings to connect to the RC.





I'm waiting for some new pinion gears to fit to these new motors.


Tomorrow I'm continuing soldering and move on to the small but important side fenders


Cheers


Paul
 
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tr1ckey66

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Still soldering on!


Finally got the front fenders, side skirts and rear bins completely finished.


The work done since the last post:-


Soldered the clamps onto the bins. Again, these are workable items and were rather frustrating to put it mildly! Still they are on and they do work. I've shot the bins with a match for size comparison and I hope this illustrates how soldering such items, and keeping them freely moving, is a bit of a challenge.


Here's the bins...








The side skirts and front fenders...





A close up of the side skirts...





I deviated from the Aber instruction a little here. The instructions would have you attach the schurzen hangers to a modified kit part. I thought this would be a weak point so I made attachment points from brass tube and soldered them on - much stronger! The brass tube is inserted into the kit's upper deck (unseen).


And attachment points for the front fenders...





I've just noticed that the joint on this needs a bit more work!


But which Panther to model?


Whilst working on all this brass etch I've been turning my attention to which Panther I want to depict.


My criteria were:-


Early Panther G (obviously)


Normandy campaign


Preferably in the British/Canadian sector


Good photographic reference available


A bonus would be if it had interesting features.


Now several Panzer Divs spring to mind when applying the above filter but I've narrowed it down to these vehicles.


First up 12SS Panzer HJ


Panther 308 formally 126 of HJ











This tank was eventually captured by the allies but not before it had been in a few fights. On the turret's right rear there's a rather large piece of zimm missing with what looks like a square weld patch underneath - evidence of repair?. This kitty has been in the wars! Formally of the first company, tank 126 was, at some point, handed over to the 3rd company and renumbered 308.


Panther 135 of HJ


This a really familiar subject, as anyone who has built the Tamiya 1/35 early Panther G will recognise.











This tank was also captured by the allies and the ref photos are excellent.


Another very recognisable Panther G in Normandy this time Pz Regt I./24


Not the same tank as above but the same unit and features...





Note the tube for the barrel cleaning rods has been moved to the rear deck, also spares wheels have been bolted to the rear 3/4 of the turret and finally spare track is hung from the turret. These Panthers however operated more in the American sector.


Finally a 9SS Panther Hohenstaufen








At this moment I'm going with either of the HJ vehicles and I think '135' is in front but I'm still a little undecided.


Anyway there's still time to mull on that there's plenty to be getting on with!


Tomorrow I'm going to take a break from soldering and make some alts to the upper deck. The molded plastic bins need to be removed as do the driver's and radio op's hatches (these will be replaced with working versions).


Till then...


Thanks


P
 
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tr1ckey66

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Open tank surgery


Took a break from the soldering yesterday and did a bit of work on the Panther's hull.


First up I removed the front moulded-on fenders in readiness for their brass etch replacements.





I then removed the moulded-on rear stowage bins from the rear hull plate and filled the subsequent holes with plastic card, ensuring this was perfectly flat.





Then came the removal of the driver's and radio operator's hatches from the deck. Once these we're cut out I created a 'lip' for the new working hatches to sit on. This was done by marking a hole slightly smaller than the hatch openings and cutting this out of plastic card. This was then stuck to the underside of the deck.





And then the new hatches were prepared for fitting.





I'm a little unhappy with the hatches at the moment. These hatches are cast in resin and as such have small variations in plate thickness. This results in the hatch laying unevenly on the deck. I think I'll probably rebuild these hatches using plastic card and take the fittings from the originals. In this way I can ensure the hatches lie flat on the deck.


Finally I prepared the left hand radiator fan cover for this 'early' G type Panther. The Tamiya kit is actually a later type Panther G with the raised left-hand fan cover for the crew compartment heater which wasn't present on the early version.





Next up - reworked hatches and a look at Zimmerit.


Cheers


P
 
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