Panther D at Kursk

[richardcraig]

Now I don't take any responsibility for this...It's all Deano's fault!!
Seeing the little kitty got me looking through my stash as for something to build .. I opened Dragons Panther D kit and I found the box was filled with little goodies.. Mig fan covers ...Stowage boxes ... Aber PE and screens..
Eduard gun barrel... Friul tracks (already put together!! YEH!) and Echelons Decal sheet. SOOOO!! Here we go ..
This is the first release of the D with the suspension molded to the hull but it really won't matter as I plan on having it on a flat surface anyways ..
Here's what I've got so far..
Echelons decal sheet and that is the exact tank I'm building .. I have pictures of every side of 824 so I can get most of the features right..


Mig production parts to correct the fan covers and an early stowage box seen on some tanks including 824 at Kursk.


Oops! forgot to mention TMDs replacement cupola as the Dragon one has a seam right down the middle of the view ports... Just a lot easier quick fix..


I added some Mr Surfacer 500 to the mantlet..and added the the Eduard barrel..


I added some torch cut steel effect to the hull and turret joints.. I will soften this effect with a coat of Mr Surfacer but it's a start...



Added some welds to the the front and read using Evergreen strips melted with glue and the back of an exacto blade to creat the weld bead effect.


Exhaust were drilled out and an anti grenade pin added by drilling a tiny hole in the side and adding a piece of stretched sprue .


I found an old Verlinden set of fans in another panther box and threw them on along with some Evergreen sheet plastic to hide the empty interior .. I painted everything black so no judge will use a flashlight and say he can see grey plastic under my screens ..lol


Added the snorkel cover that is in the box but not mentioned in the instructions ... You need to check your references because not all D's had this but mine does...The piece really didn't fit together well and I had to do some cutting and filling to get it to look presentable ..


And that my friends is where I'm at so far..

Rick

[wing_nut]

Well whoever is at fault building a Panther is never a bad thing. And what a nice pile-o-goodies to go with it.

[tobias5555]

Very good start.

[wbill76]

Off to a good start Rick! Sounds like you hit the jackpot with the goodies inside this one for sure.

[richardcraig]

Yeah I do that ..I buy stuff and throw it in the box and forget what I have .. Then it's like Christmas all over again when I go looking through boxes,I found a Tamiya Panzer III with friuls , Aber , Voyager, Eduard,and Tamiya PE along with a TMD conversion to make an N... wooo hoo!

[Deano]

The Panthers really are rolling now , great subject and start with the build , gotta luv an Early D

[Tobi]

LOL, I'm exactly the same!

From time to time I make inventory procedure now. Got about 90% sortet out by today. A box full of Aber, one with Friul and so on.
Starting a new project means going through the stocks and checking what might fit. Also very pleasing!

Nice work on the tank. Wasn't aware that there were actually Kursk Panthers wearing a three tone camo. I know it depended from the battlefield environment and that not all Kursk vehicles were just overall yellow/green, but I didn't know this was even true for Panthers.

[richardcraig]

I didn't know it either but between the Echelon Decals and my references this tank was really this camouflaged.
Not exactly what I wanted to do(was thinking dark yellow with light overspray of green ) but it has all the options (snorkel, smoke dischargers, stowage box on the right side and even a box added over the left rear air intake) That and the fact that even when this panther was abandoned the stowage boxes on the rear of the tank were in perfect shape so no need to try and make them look banged up. What else could a guy ask for ??

[desertrat]

result!! box full of goodies, we getting kittyspoilt or what! loving what you've done so far, carry on sir!!

[deafpanzer]

Great start!!! Dig the decals you have chosen for this... pulling my chair over now.

[richardcraig]

Not much of an update ... Been busy with life since New Years ......But.. I still got a bit done ... I've decided to go in a different direction and use as much plastic as I can and only resort to PE when all else fails.. (hate the stuff!) So here is where I'm at..
Got the Mig air intakes on and of course the PE screens I had from Aber were way too big... Had me scrambling for a few seconds and I found the solution in a set of PE screens for an old Tamiya panther G kit I had sitting there..
I always use the back of a paint brush to form the screens to look like the crew walk all over them ..



rebuilt the snorkel as it looked crooked (still might be a bit but much better than it was .. I made the hinge from stretched sprue..



This is the Mig stowage box for the rear left side ... I also modified the one on the right side (forgot to take a picture ) by removing the reinforcement lines . Can't see them in the picture I have ..



Rebuilt the jack using parts from the Tamiya and Dragon jacks ..



And last but not least .. I've added Archer rivets in between the bolts on the wheels .. On 824 there are 5 of the wheels that were done and the others are the early type .. I have noticed that some of the interior wheels seem to have been re-inforced as well but can't make out if they were all done .. Hope not !! I've got two done so far... quite long doing each rivet one by one!!



That's it for now ..
Rick

[deafpanzer]

Love the look of weary screens!! I use back of the pencil eraser to bend them down too. Keep it coming Rick!

[Deano]

Great update , nice attention to detail !!!

[desertrat]

looking good like the worn mesh !!

[danb]

Great start Richard the Panther is looking mighty fine keep up the hard work

Dan B

[TRM]

Looking pretty good there Richard!! Nice work on the grills...well worn!! Feeling the paint for you with the wheels!! One of those necessary evils! keep up the good work!!

[wbill76]

Any progress is good progress Richard! Panther's coming along nicely.

[richardcraig]

In a rutt... put it away till the mojo comes back..sorry guys..

[wbill76]

Don't sweat it Richard, happens to all of us from time to time! It'll be there for you when you're ready to hit it again.