Panther ausf. G

[406 Silverado]

Jul 26, 2023 16:22:21 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Slow and low that's the tempo....

Finally made a bit of progress




I'm 100% sure that pe part on the bottom is on backwards, upside down, reversed and/or just plain wrong. The instructions say not to use it if I "choose to assemble as the movable status". So I assume it will eventually get knocked off, problem solved.

Good progress MZ.

Say....Isn't that a Beastie Boys tune??.... Beastie Boys-Slow and Low

[mz3]

Yeah, I figured with as long as it's going to take me to build this, I might as well start some slow jokes.

[buddho]

The first Ive heard of this kit...wow. Gonna watch this one closely.

[Joe Rix]

Excellent progress mz. Your perceived slow progress is producing excellent results.

[mz3]

Sloooooooooooooooooooow......









Some progress. Just little bits on the turret. I'm doingvthe steps in order right now, so turret will be done in about 6 to 8 weeks.

Also, I haven't checked anyone elses posts about the rfm panthers, but I found a step to make building the cupola easier. Leave the pe parts, y59, off until a10 is on. That makes it TONS easier!

Next update un 10 weeks.

[chromdome35]

Looking good, how are you feeling about the complexity of the kit? That cupola looks pretty complex....lots of parts.

[Joe Rix]

Looks like solid progress to me despite the amount that it is. Don't worry, you are in good company. I'm stalled at the paint stage.

[deafpanzer]

Impressive!!! I admit I skipped that photoetch part because I will have a commander in the hatch... that part scared me somewhat!

[mz3]

Sept 17, 2023 22:56:57 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Looking good, how are you feeling about the complexity of the kit? That cupola looks pretty complex....lots of parts.

I'm loving it! The more I get into it, the better it gets. Having said that, I probably wouldn't recommend this kit to the faint hearted. There are a lot of very small pieces. There are a lot of pieces period! Probably well over 1,000. I can't find any official parts count and I'm certainly not going to count them. Typically issues with the instructions. The post above, the pe doesn't actually fit on the clear parts the way the instructions say. If you do it like it says, you need to squeeze the ends of the pe together slightly to get them to fit. It almost seems like the pe was made to be put in after everything else is set, the way I eventually figured out. I'm starting to see typical, run of the mill fit issues, nothing nasty so far.

The next several steps are turret interior. I'll have to start figuring things out. I'm thinking about leaving the turret part posted above unglued.

[mz3]

Working slooooooow...






I basically just stacked the hull and turret together to get some motivation. Gun is finally completely done, except for the really small parts that WILL get knocked off before paint.

[Tojo72]

You really got your hands full,but your making progress

[Joe Rix]

No matter the pace, you are making excellent progress. And good looking progress it is.

[reserve]

Working fast on a complex model just burns you out. What I've seen so far is very nice so why mess with success?

[kyledehart5]

Good progress. I agree with the others. Speed certainly doesn't make a difference

[mz3]

So now I'm getting serious, other projects are either done or soon to be done. And there are like a million small, very small parts to work on now.




That's about 3 1/2 hours of work right there. Just the turret bottom. Only lost one pe part.

This is what I like, this is what I wanted. A good, hard kit to build to get me 100% back into this hobby. I love it!!!

None of the larger parts are glue in right now. I will start painting these tomorrow, at least primer.

[mz3]

2 updates in 2 days...!?!?!

So instead of painting, I decided to keep pushing forward on getting the turret done.





The pe is very thin and I have been replacing some of it with various other things. I've also found that there are more(alot more) parts that can/should be attached in later steps. It seems like the steps weren't really well thought out. Having said that, I still think this is an awesome kit!

[hasenpfeffer]

Looking awesome! I agree that RFM has some steps in illogical order. It was the same for the Jagdpanther. You're doing a much better job than I.

[mz3]

Photo etch...






Not fun, but looks good. I've stated before that the pe is pretty thin. Makes for some frustrating times when it doesn't stay straight. 7 pieces across and 2 lengths down the middle on the front. Then just 3 parts on the rear. On the sides there are little mounting points, the pe has tiny holes. A very nice touch by RFM.

I found a couple ejector pin marks under the suspension that I completely missed before glue everything, so damn it to that I guess. I'll try to do something with them later. Maybe the interior will be too busy for anyone to notice.

[handiabled]

Wow that is a busy interior with all of the fine detail you added! The turret interior looks outstanding so far

[mz3]

I have a huge headache....

Primer...






I think I need to change the filters on my booth. Mr surfacer 1500 black. For the hull I skipped a bunch of steps and just grabbed the parts I needed to get the paint on. There's a lot that just didn't need to be in for priming and the first layer of paint. There are a few areas I need to touch up/sand a bit. Nothing major. Now I need to go get some fresh air.

[chromdome35]

Looking good! Take care and protect your self.

[deafpanzer]

I think you are not supposed to inhale the primer fume or it will give huge headaches afterward? Love those Mr Surfacer primers!!!

[stikpusher]

Nov 17, 2023 9:13:25 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

I think you are not supposed to inhale the primer fume or it will give huge headaches afterward? Love those Mr Surfacer primers!!!

So says the guy with the avatar showing himself all masked up

[mz3]

Nov 17, 2023 9:13:25 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

I think you are not supposed to inhale the primer fume or it will give huge headaches afterward? Love those Mr Surfacer primers!!!

Usually I don't. I have a over the range hood I modified for use as a painting both. It's roughly 720 cfm. I buy waterever charcoal filters I can find that fit in it and tape any area not covered. The blower is so strong I don't need a "both" around it. It sits on the end of my desk. When I paint I open the window behind it and have no issues. Until the filters get clogged. 😮‍💨

[mz3]

WOW what a pain in the ass!






Finally got the engine done. If you build this kit, make sure your tweezer skills are good!
I've been fighting this and the engine bay for 3 days.


I had to take out the pe frames on the bottom and redo them to fit, replace one pe part because it broke, sand down the plastic "caps" for the suspension that poke out.

I figured out why all of our idler wheel arms are loose. There are parts inside the hull that hold it in place. Those parts aren't included with the other kits. I would have taken a pic, but I was losing patience fitting everything together and had to start glueing.

Luckily I think that's the worst part. Everything else seems straight forward and easier to put in place. I'm still trying to leave some of it unglued so it can be removed. But it seems I won't be able to leave as much as I'd like because of the way construction is.

[deafpanzer]

Looking real good! I think I am going to grab this kit if I see it at one of upcoming shows. I have a Tiger with full interior and I always wanted one for Panther too.

[mz3]

This kit would be awesome for a diorama in a shop taken apart. There are lots of parts that get covered up if you build it straight. Under the plates and walls in the engine bay there are nice pieces. There are gears inside the housings for the drive wheels. I think there is a wheel completely taken apart.

The only downside, like already mentioned, is the order of the instructions. I've been skipping ahead several steps and looking for potential issues. I've found a bunch more. There's so many I just stopped keeping track of them. It feels like every other step there's something that is out of order.

Still a great kit!

[Tojo72]

Wow,that is one detailed kit,very nice.

[mz3]

I've been staring at this thing for a while now, I may have to glue the engine in place. That's a huge disappointment for me. There might be a fix, but it involves cutting part of the walls out and maybe attaching them to the upper hull part. But my brain good now not work, so I'll hit it again in a few days.

[mz3]

More progress...








I ended up just cutting the top of the openings out so the engine can be removed. I also went ahead and glued all of the engine stuff together. Makes it easier to take it out. Too many interlocking parts to leave them all separate. At this point I only have to run a small bit of wire and the engine bay is complete. I think I can finish by the end of the year.