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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 2, 2023 16:58:52 GMT -5
And, off we go! LOL, I get the feeling that all of the build threads are gonna look a little similar at this point... The plan as it stands is to build it pretty much OOB. We'll see if I can stick to that.  Most likely not!
Here's a pic of the goodies that come in the box. No metal barrel.  Lots of plastic sprues and looks like plenty of detail.
Instructions and a leaflet with 4 paint schemes.
In typical Panther fashion, I present instruction number 1.
One pretty cool thing that MENG does in this kit is give you sets of both 16 and 32 bolt pattern wheels. Drive sprockets as well. Who doesn't need a whole set of Panther wheels in the spares bin?
Here's a shot of all of those lovely wheels assembled. I did NOT glue the outer road wheels together as the instructions want you to because I am not sure how they can be assembled onto the suspension that way. The instructions show all of them going on at once (as a single unit), but I am not so sure it will work that way. I will wait until I can test fit these bad boys before that happens.
The tub went together without drama. Everything locates and fits well.
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Post by Tojo72 on Jun 2, 2023 17:40:05 GMT -5
Good start Dave
Try not to embarress me too much when I start my D model also
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Post by chromdome35 on Jun 2, 2023 18:31:10 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing your build log on this kit, I have had my eye on several Meng kits and have their D9R dozer in the stash. Interested to see how yours goes together.
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 2, 2023 18:44:47 GMT -5
Good start Dave Try not to embarress me too much when I start my D model also Ha! Thanks for the compliment? Maybe we can just teach each other a thing or two. |
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 2, 2023 18:47:15 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing your build log on this kit, I have had my eye on several Meng kits and have their D9R dozer in the stash. Interested to see how yours goes together. Thanks, Brian. the only other MENG kit I have built was the Leopard 1A5. Cool kit... but I hated the tracks. I think there were a bazillion parts and they were kinda fragile. I have the M1A2 and if the tracks are the same I WILL be buying AM. |
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Post by Leon on Jun 2, 2023 20:49:24 GMT -5
Off to a nice start Dave!
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Joe Rix
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Post by Joe Rix on Jun 2, 2023 22:29:50 GMT -5
Right nice start Dave. Appears to be a rather sharp kit. I'm interested to see how this all goes along for you as I have the Meng Jagdpanther in my stash. Keep it coming brother.
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Post by deafpanzer on Jun 3, 2023 6:00:03 GMT -5
Awesome! Ausf D is the only variant that I am missing... now I want to get that kit. You can be such a bad influence...  |
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 3, 2023 6:20:24 GMT -5
Awesome! Ausf D is the only variant that I am missing... now I want to get that kit. You can be such a bad influence... LOL! I'm the bad influence? It's not even built yet, my man! |
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406 Silverado
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Post by 406 Silverado on Jun 3, 2023 6:37:04 GMT -5
I'm in on watching this one come together!!!
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 4, 2023 19:25:09 GMT -5
A little forward progress... I made it through step 4, which is basically attaching the suspension arms. I'm not sure why there is a 2nd part on the backside of the arm... It seems to me that this could have just been molded with the main part. But maybe there is a reason of which I'm ignorant. It also is taking me a bit to get used to the MENG instructions style. I was literally lost for about 10 minutes trying to decipher the Suspension A, B and C thing. My mind, when seeing that, went straight to "I have to make a choice", which is not the case.
Not sure why I decided to start painting the wheels, but I did. I made a jig for these too. It turns out that Quick Wheels had already solved my dilemma in a much better way. LOL, but I beat them on price, baby! Anyway, these were primed with Mr Surfacer 1500 Black, then I painted the rubber with MRP-173 Tyre Rubber (I didn't care about any overspray) and then shot them with Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner. They look more brown here than in person.
Only real note so far is that the raised welds at the joints didn't come out quite as they intended. I don't know if I will rectify this or not as they aren't terrible. There's something there. Also when I test fit the inner road wheels there is a lot of misalignment in the fore/aft direction that I may need to address (sorry, no pic).
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armornutii
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Post by armornutii on Jun 5, 2023 10:00:38 GMT -5
One really good thing abojt Greman armor....we all get REALLY GOID at doing road wheels. Looks like we gots a bumper crop growing LOL.
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bbrowniii
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Post by bbrowniii on Jun 5, 2023 17:38:01 GMT -5
That's a sharp looking kit!
That extra set of wheels is certainly a nice bonus!
Looking forward to your progress!
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reserve
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Post by reserve on Jun 5, 2023 18:43:59 GMT -5
Much of this new mold stuff out there has an element of inexplicable complexity. I can't figure this out neither. Complexity aside it appears to be shaping up well and now ya got the roadwheels out of the way so smooth sailing from here no?
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Post by tcoat on Jun 5, 2023 19:15:13 GMT -5
Watching for hurdles for my Meng Bergpanther build.
One build review I read said that the poly caps are a bit to wide and need about 30% cut off for the wheels to fit properly.
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406 Silverado
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Post by 406 Silverado on Jun 5, 2023 20:33:11 GMT -5
This does seem to be a different instruction style. I think I'm still baffled by that one Dave.  |
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 5, 2023 20:36:43 GMT -5
One really good thing abojt Greman armor....we all get REALLY GOID at doing road wheels. Looks like we gots a bumper crop growing LOL. That's for sure! My last 5 now will be 3 Pz IIIs and Pz IV and this Panther. God help me! That's a sharp looking kit! That extra set of wheels is certainly a nice bonus! Looking forward to your progress! Yeah, so far it looks pretty darn nice. There is even subtle surface detail on the steel plates as well as rough casting for those. I'll try to get some more detailed pics of that as I move along. Much of this new mold stuff out there has an element of inexplicable complexity. I can't figure this out neither. Complexity aside it appears to be shaping up well and now ya got the roadwheels out of the way so smooth sailing from here no? LOL, I know. I like to think there is a reason, but maybe it is just to drive the part count up.  Let's hope it's smooth sailing. I've had those track sprues in my subconscious... Watching for hurdles for my Meng Bergpanther build. One build review I read said that the poly caps are a bit to wide and need about 30% cut off for the wheels to fit properly.  I don't know about the poly caps on mine. They seem fine so far as they are not interfering with the construction of the wheels. I haven't built the outer road wheels yet though. My issue seems more of the axle perpendicular-ness (if that's a word) to a z-plane (think parallel to the lower hull sides - you want the axles to be perpendicular to that plane in the other 2 directions, x and y). They don't form a straight line in that direction which is annoying. I'll get a pic of that as well for the next update to make my jabbering more clear. I saw that others were replying with these multiple quotes in one post, glad I was able to figure that out as well. 'Til next time! |
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 5, 2023 20:39:34 GMT -5
This does seem to be a different instruction style. I think I'm still baffled by that one Dave. LOL. It is their way of showing that there are 3 different styles of arms on each side. 5+2+1 But since you're not building it... |
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Post by 406 Silverado on Jun 5, 2023 20:42:47 GMT -5
This does seem to be a different instruction style. I think I'm still baffled by that one Dave. LOL. It is their way of showing that there are 3 different styles of arms on each side. 5+2+1 But since you're not building it... DOH!!! Got me there. But hey....at least I'm watchin' and learnin'.  |
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Post by armornutii on Jun 6, 2023 7:57:34 GMT -5
One really good thing abojt Greman armor....we all get REALLY GOID at doing road wheels. Looks like we gots a bumper crop growing LOL. That's for sure! My last 5 now will be 3 Pz IIIs and Pz IV and this Panther. God help me! That's a sharp looking kit! That extra set of wheels is certainly a nice bonus! Looking forward to your progress! Yeah, so far it looks pretty darn nice. There is even subtle surface detail on the steel plates as well as rough casting for those. I'll try to get some more detailed pics of that as I move along. Much of this new mold stuff out there has an element of inexplicable complexity. I can't figure this out neither. Complexity aside it appears to be shaping up well and now ya got the roadwheels out of the way so smooth sailing from here no? LOL, I know. I like to think there is a reason, but maybe it is just to drive the part count up. Let's hope it's smooth sailing. I've had those track sprues in my subconscious... Watching for hurdles for my Meng Bergpanther build. One build review I read said that the poly caps are a bit to wide and need about 30% cut off for the wheels to fit properly. I don't know about the poly caps on mine. They seem fine so far as they are not interfering with the construction of the wheels. I haven't built the outer road wheels yet though. My issue seems more of the axle perpendicular-ness (if that's a word) to a z-plane (think parallel to the lower hull sides - you want the axles to be perpendicular to that plane in the other 2 directions, x and y). They don't form a straight line in that direction which is annoying. I'll get a pic of that as well for the next update to make my jabbering more clear. I saw that others were replying with these multiple quotes in one post, glad I was able to figure that out as well. 'Til next time! Jabbering about x,y,and z planes?  Is that algebra? THERES NO ALGEBRA IN MODEL BUILDING!   |
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Post by lowlife on Jun 6, 2023 8:19:18 GMT -5
looking good so far, im used to 4 wheel cars so im not looking forward to the wheels on my tank build !
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Post by Tojo72 on Jun 6, 2023 8:21:02 GMT -5
Good clean job on the roadwheels
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Post by Joe Rix on Jun 6, 2023 8:45:58 GMT -5
Looks good so far. I'm just finishing cleaning up my road wheels. Like you, I figure I'll go ahead and paint them and have that task out of the way.
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Post by chromdome35 on Jun 8, 2023 9:43:39 GMT -5
I think your weld beads look great. This is shaping up to be a beautiful build.
50% Tamiya / 50% MLT is always a winning combination. I like the Hull Red on the road wheels. I'm assuming you'll use that as a "primer" and paint over it then do some chipping?
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 11, 2023 16:25:53 GMT -5
That's for sure! My last 5 now will be 3 Pz IIIs and Pz IV and this Panther. God help me! Yeah, so far it looks pretty darn nice. There is even subtle surface detail on the steel plates as well as rough casting for those. I'll try to get some more detailed pics of that as I move along. LOL, I know. I like to think there is a reason, but maybe it is just to drive the part count up. Let's hope it's smooth sailing. I've had those track sprues in my subconscious... I don't know about the poly caps on mine. They seem fine so far as they are not interfering with the construction of the wheels. I haven't built the outer road wheels yet though. My issue seems more of the axle perpendicular-ness (if that's a word) to a z-plane (think parallel to the lower hull sides - you want the axles to be perpendicular to that plane in the other 2 directions, x and y). They don't form a straight line in that direction which is annoying. I'll get a pic of that as well for the next update to make my jabbering more clear. I saw that others were replying with these multiple quotes in one post, glad I was able to figure that out as well. 'Til next time! Jabbering about x,y,and z planes? Is that algebra? THERES NO ALGEBRA IN MODEL BUILDING! Well, I am an engineer, so I suppose it's bound to happen. |
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Post by hasenpfeffer on Jun 11, 2023 16:35:11 GMT -5
A seemingly small update since others have managed to get so far along. I spent most of my weekend moving 6 yds of mulch after trimming and weeding. So much fun! I finished painting and scratching up the road wheels. I tried to make it pretty subdued since the plan is a fairly new vehicle heading into Operation Zitadelle. The color looks a little green in the photos, but doesn't appear that way in reality.  Adding the exhaust, stowage boxes and jack to the rear plate pretty much finishes up the lower hull (minus the tracks, of course).  |
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Post by Joe Rix on Jun 11, 2023 23:12:09 GMT -5
Really sweet progress Dave. The paint on the wheels is very well done. You did a great job on chipping the rubber on the wheels. That looks quite realistic.
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Post by deafpanzer on Jun 12, 2023 22:42:52 GMT -5
I HATE moving mulch and I am glad it only happens every two years as we order between 10-12 cubic yard! Glad to see your panthers with wheels on!
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Post by 406 Silverado on Jun 24, 2023 20:34:30 GMT -5
A seemingly small update since others have managed to get so far along. I spent most of my weekend moving 6 yds of mulch after trimming and weeding. So much fun! I finished painting and scratching up the road wheels. I tried to make it pretty subdued since the plan is a fairly new vehicle heading into Operation Zitadelle. The color looks a little green in the photos, but doesn't appear that way in reality. Adding the exhaust, stowage boxes and jack to the rear plate pretty much finishes up the lower hull (minus the tracks, of course). You guys really make this look way too easy ya know. What you consider to be a small update would take me a month to get done. Lookin' really good so far Dave! I've never moved that much mulch before but it doesn't sound like very much fun. |
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Post by Tobi on Jun 26, 2023 0:30:52 GMT -5
Like Joe pointed out the wheel rubbers are looking outstanding under paint. I didn't recognize this in the first shots after the clean-up. Maybe you want to do a little tutorial showing your steps and tools?
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Most likely not!
Lots of plastic sprues and looks like plenty of detail.
Let's hope it's smooth sailing. I've had those track sprues in my subconscious... 
I don't know about the poly caps on mine. They seem fine so far as they are not interfering with the construction of the wheels. I haven't built the outer road wheels yet though. My issue seems more of the axle perpendicular-ness (if that's a word) to a z-plane (think parallel to the lower hull sides - you want the axles to be perpendicular to that plane in the other 2 directions, x and y). They don't form a straight line in that direction which is annoying. I'll get a pic of that as well for the next update to make my jabbering more clear.
Is that algebra? THERES NO ALGEBRA IN MODEL BUILDING! 
