Panther Ausf. G "Last production", Academy 1/35

[george]

Hi guys. It's time to start....

[armornutii]

  Ohhh excited to see how Acadamy armor is. Don't think I've built one yet.

[Tojo72]

And we're on our way

[deafpanzer]

Have fun!!!

[stikpusher]

Jun 1, 2023 17:52:16 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Ohhh excited to see how Acadamy armor is. Don't think I've built one yet.

Me too! Except I know that I’ve never built one. 😉

Actually I’ve built plenty of Academy armor, just never their Panther.

[Joe Rix]

Nice selection George. I'm all ready to see you start punching out this beaut.

[406 Silverado]

Jun 1, 2023 17:18:11 GMT -5 george said:

Hi guys. It's time to start....

Will be watching this one come to life........

[Leon]

Rock and Roll George! We have a lot of nice Panthers started here.

[george]

There are some areas to improve in this kit, one of the main issue it is the solid guide horns on the tracks. This type of tracks did exist in real life but there is no evidences they were used on combat vehicles at war time. I will install 3D printed tracks from Heavy hobby PT-35007.

[deafpanzer]

I like the aftermarket tracks! Hope it wasn't too expensive?

[adt70hk]

Cool!

[george]

I'd say reasonable and affordable price, in fact not the most expensive option at the market. Quality is good, but there are some track links not printed completely, about 8-9 pieces.

[Joe Rix]

Those should be a very nice enhancement.

[adt70hk]

Jun 3, 2023 21:26:11 GMT -5 george said:

I'd say reasonable and affordable price, in fact not the most expensive option at the market. Quality is good, but there are some track links not printed completely, about 8-9 pieces.

That's a shame!  Hope it doesn't impact the build too much.

Andrew

[deafpanzer]

Gotcha! Thanks for the head up. I trust that they threw in extra links to make up for misprinted links.

[george]

The fit to kit's drive sprocket is perfect.

[ogrejohn]

Nice track work!

[Tojo72]

Good job on the tracks,check these out also,I used these a couple of times,reasonable prices too.

quickwheelstore.com/quicktracks/1-35quicktracks.html

[george]

Thanks for the link. I have couple sets for Pz.IV  chassis,  the quality is outstanding but never tried to paint and weather it yet.

[reserve]

You appear to be having better luck with this brand of track than I am with mine

[406 Silverado]

Missed the latest updates on this one altogether george. Those tracks, aside from the few that you're having trouble with, look fantastic!! The fact that they fit that well around the drive sprocket is just icing on the cake. Keep the updates comin' bud as I'll be looking forward to them.

[george]

Hi guys, sorry for slow progress.
Here is finished turret: the parts fit is perfect, I reproduced cast seam line on the gun mantlet, scratch built some details on turret. Just after photos recalled about rain guard over the gunner sight - will do it later. Thanks again to Chromdome35 for reference photos.

[406 Silverado]

YESSSS!! Glad to see this one back in progress and good to see you here bro! This is looking SHARP!!!!

[george]

Hi guys, sorry for slow progress in my build - it's hot and busy summer in Canada).
Another small issue in Academy kit it's a front plate of the hull's roof. I'm using a David's Coyne picture from his interesting blog on Track-link site as a reference.



It should be a bit thicker. There are some different ways how to fix it, I chose the messy one - plastered with Tamiya putty (basic type) thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner. After sanded - it turned out quite good,BUT.... After a big piece of putty flaked away, the adhesion was weary poor (. So I cleaned the rest of putty with model chisel and putty fell off very easily. What a fail.
So I removed some details from the roof and scratch built new cover from thin plastic - Should have done it from the very beginning. Detail not glued yet.

[stikpusher]

Hell, at least you're making progress! That's more than I can claim. Very interesting bit of work you did on the top deck area between the driver & radio operator hatches and the glacis plate. No periscope there for the bow gunner/radio operator?

[deafpanzer]

Looking good George!

[reserve]

Not a race sir

[Tojo72]

Hey,It's summertime lots going on,it's moving along nicelu

[Joe Rix]

Just glad to see your making some progress George. Very interesting issue on the Academy kit. Your final solution looks great.

[406 Silverado]

The way you executed that change is nothing short of brilliant and it turned out GREAT!! Looking forward to seeing the details on there george! It's good seeing you back on the forums buddy.