Academy 1:25 Panther G - 8/25 Onto the next problem

[Tojo72]

Boy this some next level stuff,I cant imagine all thst detail work,but i'm just checking to make sure there hasn't been too much going on here 🤔 anyway you can go full bore again starting tomorrow !!!

[chromdome35]

I haven't touched it since the GB was announced...Looking forward to getting back at it!!!

[Joe Rix]

Just checking in on you and your Panther Brian. Any activity or updates since the GB kicked off? Everything you've done so far is absolutely impressive and I'm itching to see some more.

[406 Silverado]

Jun 3, 2023 7:09:14 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

Just checking in on you and your Panther Brian. Any activity or updates since the GB kicked off? Everything you've done so far is absolutely impressive and I'm itching to see some more.

I'm in that crowd too Brian. Updates?

[hasenpfeffer]

Yeah, why the hell isn't this done yet!?! Where are ya Brian? LOL

[406 Silverado]

Jun 3, 2023 7:16:24 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

Yeah, why the hell isn't this done yet!?! Where are ya Brian? LOL

[chromdome35]

I have been swamped with work and travel. Our company is undergoing a global restructuring and I'm knee-deep in the middle of the effort which means I haven't had very much time this month for modeling. I have been chipping away at my AT-ST which I'm trying to finish before I start working on the G. I will try to get something showable done on the panther in the next week.

[deafpanzer]

I know the feeling after working for the corporations for more than 20 years! Hang in there and we will keep the door unlocked for now.

[chromdome35]

I actually do build models as much as the evidence might suggest otherwise lately.

I got some bench time today and finished up the low-hanging fruit on the main hull stuff and started working on the turret.

I still have major fender work to do on the hull, but since all the fenders are photoetch I will save those until I have the running gear all sorted out.





I have an aftermarket barrel for this; however it is wood and the opening in the kit mantlet is MUCH smaller than the base of the barrel, so I will either have to drill out the mantlet or sand down the barrel base.

I put the kit barrel on for pictures and to get an idea of what this will look like





Some other details I need to add:

The mantlet on the Panther was cast and very rough as you can see from these pictures I took at the US Army Armor Collection.



I also need to add some texture to the turret, and work on the weld beads and flame cuts.

[kyledehart5]

Photoetch fenders? Yikes. Can’t wait to see the updates. That’s looking good so far. And those are some nice reference photos.

[Tojo72]

Good to see some progress,a wood barrel? That's differnt,where did thst come from.Never heard of anything like that,

[chromdome35]

Aug 13, 2023 5:26:25 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Good to see some progress,a wood barrel? That's differnt,where did thst come from.Never heard of anything like that,

I hadn't ever seen wooden barrels before either. While I was searching for aftermarket stuff for the build I came across this excellent shop in Poland

JadarHobby Shop

[Joe Rix]

It is indeed very good to see you under way again Brian. Very nice attention to detail as usual. Great pics of the mantlet. The wooden barrel is definitely interesting. It appears to me in your photo that the wood barrel is a bit larger and longer than the kit one. Is it truer to scale?

[chromdome35]

Aug 13, 2023 10:25:05 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

It is indeed very good to see you under way again Brian. Very nice attention to detail as usual. Great pics of the mantlet. The wooden barrel is definitely interesting. It appears to me in your photo that the wood barrel is a bit larger and longer than the kit one. Is it truer to scale?

Yes, it is exactly to scale (based on my reference materials) vs the kit barrel that is slightly short.

[Joe Rix]

Aug 13, 2023 10:36:22 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Aug 13, 2023 10:25:05 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

It is indeed very good to see you under way again Brian. Very nice attention to detail as usual. Great pics of the mantlet. The wooden barrel is definitely interesting. It appears to me in your photo that the wood barrel is a bit larger and longer than the kit one. Is it truer to scale?

Yes, it is exactly to scale (based on my reference materials) vs the kit barrel that is slightly short.

That's good to know. If there was anyone who would be on top of accuracy it would be you Brian. Great stuff buddy.

[chromdome35]

I need opinions please, see the end of the post...

I've been working on the turret and mantle. On the sides, I textured first by crazing the plastic by spreading Mr Cement S over a small area and stippling with a very stiff brush.


Then using the reference pictures in my previous post, I added the Frankenstein bolts that stick out of the side of the mantlet. I also added the little square patch that is on either side of the inner mantlet and added some weld beads around all.




I then set out to replicate the mold seam that crosses the mantlet as is visible in the pictures above. To accomplish this, I used the smallest styrene rod that I have which is .02mm. I used TET to attach it and soften it so I could hit it with the back of a knife to distress it.



And came out with this.


I then textured the mantlet and turret sides with Tamiya Gray putty cut with TET to give it more viscosity.

And that gave me this


And


After wet sanding the turret sides are smoother than the pictures make them appear. I have not sanded the mantle hoping to achieve a texture similar to the photos I took.


I think the mold line is too prominent and the texture might be too rough, what say you? Please don't hold an opinion if you are scared you might offend me, I promise that won't happen.

[stikpusher]

Very nice work adding the texture and other surface details. That looks way better than what you started with.

[chromdome35]

Thanks, what do you think about the mold line I added? Too pronounced or ok?

[hasenpfeffer]

IMHO, if you are trying to replicate the pictures you have it's too big. It doesn't look like an artifact from the seam in the moulding cast like it's supposed to represent. It looks more like a feature of the mantlet. I'm not sure you can just sand it down either because it will just be flatter and not narrower. Maybe stretched sprue to a smaller diameter? Maybe put 2 lines of tape parallel and close together and stipple in some of that putty mix? I wouldn't say it looks bad, just not quite what I think you're looking for.

[chromdome35]

Aug 13, 2023 19:46:40 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

IMHO, if you are trying to replicate the pictures you have it's too big. It doesn't look like an artifact from the seam in the moulding cast like it's supposed to represent. It looks more like a feature of the mantlet. I'm not sure you can just sand it down either because it will just be flatter and not narrower. Maybe stretched sprue to a smaller diameter? Maybe put 2 lines of tape parallel and close together and stipple in some of that putty mix? I wouldn't say it looks bad, just not quite what I think you're looking for.

Thank you for the feedback!!!

[reserve]

Right idea wrong size. If it were me I'd just heat and stretch some sprue to the right size. This may take a few tries but it's cheap and I'd bet ya got plenty of sprue to work with

[deafpanzer]

Did somebody say wood?!?!? This is definitely the first time I have seen a wood barrel! Fantastic work adding the details and texture to the turret!

[chromdome35]

Tonight, I sanded down the mold seam I added. I think it looks much better than before.

I turned my attention to the barrel...

The base of the barrel was too large to fit through the hole in the mantlet so I started trying to hand sand it down and quickly realized that would take a very long time to do it right, being the impatient person I am, I decided to try a quicker way. I wrapped the barrel in tape to protect it and mounted it in my drill vise. Once I had it pretty centered I braced it on one side with my hand (gloved) and held a 100 grit sanding stick against it. It worked perfectly and it took about 10 minutes of going slow to have it down to the right size.



After completing that I realized that I didn't have to even do that because if you look at the reference photo, you can see that the start of the bevel at the base of the barrel is supposed to be flush with the mantlet and it wasn't going to be.




So I decided I needed to drill out the mantlet to allow the barrel to be in the proper position. MAJOR pucker factor time...I was only going to get one shot at drilling out the mantlet, if I screwed it up, the model would most likely be toast.

I measured, braced, and held my breath as I threw caution into the wind and went for it.

It came out perfect!


The barrel set into the hole perfectly; however, after drilling it out, there was nothing on the backside of the mantel to hold the barrel in position.

I solved that by using Epoxy Scuplt to fill in the big hole in the mantlet and I embedded the barrel into the Epoxy Scuplt. I spent a while ensuring it was straight on all axis and am leaving it braced in place to dry overnight.

I think it worked out ok.



I have never done anything like this before and I was scared I was going to trash all my work on the model. I'm pretty darn pleased with myself tonight.

[stikpusher]

Very nice work on fine tuning the mantlet! The wooden barrel strikes me as odd, intriguing, and cool, all at once. Why not a wooden barrel? It can be shaped and turned just as well as a metal barrel.

[chromdome35]

Aug 15, 2023 0:39:54 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Very nice work on fine tuning the mantlet! The wooden barrel strikes me as odd, intriguing, and cool, all at once. Why not a wooden barrel? It can be shaped and turned just as well as a metal barrel.

I had never seen a wooden barrel before this one. I am wondering if the painting needs to be any different or if I can just use my normal Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500.

[Leon]

That wood barrel looks really nice Brian!

[406 Silverado]

I really can't say anything about not being at the bench Brian. It's been a few weeks since I've been to it myself. I either don't wake up in time or there's something else going on in the morning that has prevented me from getting back to it. Initially the mold line was too prominent but it looks like you took care of it by sanding it all down. The texture is right on. I'll have to say that the wooden barrel is a bit out of the norm but looks like you're going to be just fine in using it.

I'll be joining back in the fun myself this week sometime. Great to see you back at it buddy.

[Steve Zuleski]

Excellent progress, Brian. That fine detail work on the barrel seemed to do the trick, awesome! Ya, I've been away from the brushes myself, so no worries. I'm building two rocking horses, taking a break from the JS figures. Keep Ruckin On!

[406 Silverado]

Aug 15, 2023 4:59:26 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Excellent progress, Brian. That fine detail work on the barrel seemed to do the trick, awesome! Ya, I've been away from the brushes myself, so no worries. I'm building two rocking horses, taking a break from the JS figures. Keep Ruckin On!

I can only imagine the hell you're going through with that set Steve but you're up to your normal amazing work on it bud.

[kyledehart5]

That looks like quite an adventure! Nice job nailing everything down. I also say nice work on the sanded down casting line and the texturing. Very cool