1:35 RFM Jagdpanther G2

[kyledehart5]

Looking really good. Issues notwithstanding

[handiabled]

For all the issues you have overcome this is looking fantastic! The pe details you installed really add to the overall look and it doesn't even have color on it yet

[hasenpfeffer]

Oct 15, 2023 9:48:15 GMT -5 reserve said:

It took me 2 1/2 years to complete the last full interior kit I did...'cause when I got to where you sound like you are now I walked away from it 'till I felt like pulling it off the shelf again. Interior kits are a large undertaking, they require a different paradigm, and the knowledge most of the work will be invisible don't help.

What ya got here is great, if it vexes you overly put it on the shelf for awhile and sneer at it when you go by. Man over plastic!

I hear ya. It all depends on your frame of mind. That day, week, or whatever. Sometimes I just don't have the patience required for what I'm doing. This is not an interior kit, but I think it shares a lot of sprues and instructions from the interior version. So you get more than usual. The roof is clear, for instance. Which I really - really do not like. It makes it so much more difficult to see any detail and how the parts are attaching. I ended up scratching it up with sand paper to help. but still.

[hasenpfeffer]

So, after much thought, I've found my biggest pet-peeve regarding this kit has to be the seemingly half-assed locating features for many of the parts. That mixed with very vague instructions - especially for PE parts. You are left to your own devices in many cases. Below is an example of the poor locating features I mention above. It caused me to glue the port fender in a bent/bowed position which later required me to carefully cut the front away from the hull so I could get it right. I take some of the blame for not being attentive enough, but RFM didn't make it any easier.

So, the fenders are only located by 2 small depressions on the hull side. They are located in the rear and in the middle and account for only 2 of 8 braces. The rest just floats on the surface until you glue them down. There is no instruction on how the front should lay in relation to anything.

The instructions:


The model:


My result: You can see the fender is way too high in the front and appears bowed overall. I, of course, did not notice this until later. The other thing I hate about this is that since it just floats on the surface it can easily "drag" glue over the surface where you don't want it. If I went back to do it again, I think I would attach the 2 braces to the hull first instead of to the fender like I did. (Better? IDK)  Maybe this will help someone in the future if they build this kit. Just FYI more than anything.


Fender corrected and roof completed. I was surprised at how much stuff goes into this area.



Here you can kinda see the linkage from the gun to sliding periscope hatch. It actually can be built in working order. In fact, most of the hatches can be.




Anyway, I have a lot of track links to clean up and assemble... I'm off to start that. After that I'll be pretty close to painting. Who woulda thunk it?

[406 Silverado]

Oct 21, 2023 10:32:15 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

So, after much thought, I've found my biggest pet-peeve regarding this kit has to be the seemingly half-assed locating features for many of the parts. That mixed with very vague instructions - especially for PE parts. You are left to your own devices in many cases. Below is an example of the poor locating features I mention above. It caused me to glue the port fender in a bent/bowed position which later required me to carefully cut the front away from the hull so I could get it right. I take some of the blame for not being attentive enough, but RFM didn't make it any easier.

So, the fenders are only located by 2 small depressions on the hull side. They are located in the rear and in the middle and account for only 2 of 8 braces. The rest just floats on the surface until you glue them down. There is no instruction on how the front should lay in relation to anything.

The instructions:


The model:


My result: You can see the fender is way too high in the front and appears bowed overall. I, of course, did not notice this until later. The other thing I hate about this is that since it just floats on the surface it can easily "drag" glue over the surface where you don't want it. If I went back to do it again, I think I would attach the 2 braces to the hull first instead of to the fender like I did. (Better? IDK)  Maybe this will help someone in the future if they build this kit. Just FYI more than anything.


Fender corrected and roof completed. I was surprised at how much stuff goes into this area.



Here you can kinda see the linkage from the gun to sliding periscope hatch. It actually can be built in working order. In fact, most of the hatches can be.




Anyway, I have a lot of track links to clean up and assemble... I'm off to start that. After that I'll be pretty close to painting. Who woulda thunk it?

Man that is CRAZY about those fender locating positions on the hull. Other than that it looks like you're doing the absolute best you can on a kit that is pretty tough to negotiate Dave. I'll be looking for the paint to start flyin on this one.

[handiabled]

For the difficulties you had adding the detail to the hull it looks like you nailed it perfectly

[deafpanzer]

Looking real great! I noticed I had same issue for my RFM Panther with its fenders. One side was little wrapped and it is too late to fix it now. Lesson learned… you are doing far better than I am!

[hasenpfeffer]

Oct 22, 2023 21:21:25 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Looking real great! I noticed I had same issue for my RFM Panther with its fenders. One side was little wrapped and it is too late to fix it now. Lesson learned… you are doing far better than I am!

Figured it was similar, since the kit seems to share parts/sprues with some Panther variant. I was also wondering earlier about the fit of the rear idler arm to hull. This one was very sloppy, so I am anticipating that it may be the same for my Panther G (the one you're building).

[mz3]

I have the same issue with the idler on my build.

[hasenpfeffer]

Oct 30, 2023 23:44:12 GMT -5 mz3 said:

I have the same issue with the idler on my build.

Not surprising as I think they share some sprues. Something to look forward to when I build that Ausf G.

[hasenpfeffer]

I think I have pretty much wrapped up the build portion. I say that and still have 1.5 runs of the tracks to clean and build... and there are some small things. Like, I don't have any more 0.75 mm tow cable. So I have 1 and not 2. Plus any extras I decide to throw on for looks.

Here it is all joined up. A few more struggles for me on this kit. The lower hull is a little twisted. It is something you may want to pay particular attention to if you build this (or any other kit where you build the tub). The upper hull didn't fit perfect, but well enough for me. I'm sure I introduced the flaw when building, but it would be nice to have some feature to help make/keep it more square, like a firewall or something of the sort. I also had a hell of a time with the headlamp bracket (PE). My big ole hands just couldn't seem to get it glued to the lamp body. I gave up and made one from Evergreen. Maybe not as good, but it'll do. I don't usually add texture to the armor plates, but I figured I'd go ahead and see how it turns out. It makes it look a little cooler in the meantime I suppose. I used Mr. Surfacer 1500 for a subtle effect.






And those Flammenvernichter shrouds, extensions, or whatever they are seem like they are a little thick for the scale.


Another thing to maybe keep in mind if you build this is something I alluded to earlier, and that is the upper/lower hull marriage. I would suggest doing it earlier than what the instructions call for. I can't tell you how many times I've bent and broken off PE from this thing. I think I have set a new record! LOL

[dupes]

Sooooo many parts in modern armor kits. I mean, the result is fantastic, but wow! That's a lot of work compared to slamming a Tamiya kit together.

[Joe Rix]

Despite all the myriad of parts you have done a masterful job of assembly Dave. It looks great in fact. This is going to look really sharp with some paint dressing it up. Superb work.

[Tobi]

Looking really nice and crying out for color.
Is it just me or are the weld beads on the frontal armor a little bit exaggeratedly recessed by Meng?

[Tojo72]

Great looking cat,I like the added texture

[hasenpfeffer]

Oct 31, 2023 21:13:40 GMT -5 dupes said:

Sooooo many parts in modern armor kits. I mean, the result is fantastic, but wow! That's a lot of work compared to slamming a Tamiya kit together.

I know. I'm wondering how crazy a modern - modern armor kit is gonna be. Like the Leopard 2A6, or Merkava in my stash.

The thing I don't really understand is that they provide a lot of PE, which is great, but with no alternative. If the shape is too complex or too small for your skill level, you're kinda SOL.

Oct 31, 2023 22:57:41 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

Despite all the myriad of parts you have done a masterful job of assembly Dave. It looks great in fact. This is going to look really sharp with some paint dressing it up. Superb work.

Thanks, Joe. Thinking of doing my first ambush scheme.

Nov 1, 2023 6:09:14 GMT -5 Tobi said:

Looking really nice and crying out for color.
Is it just me or are the weld beads on the frontal armor a little bit exaggeratedly recessed by Meng?

Yeah, I think so Tobi. I think they are all a little over pronounced. Goes to show that if you really care to get them right, you're probably gonna do them yourself. And I know you meant RFM. Meng was the Panther Ausf D. There are definitely things I don't like about this kit. LOL, as I've made known! Not a fan of the clear roof either.

Nov 1, 2023 7:20:51 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Great looking cat,I like the added texture

Thanks Tony. I'm hoping it looks okay under paint. Under a hard edged 3 tone scheme it probably won't be all that noticeable anyway.

[Tobi]

My bad. Meng, RFM, same same... LOL

[handiabled]

Color on this is going to look amazing! I don't envy you having to handle it while you paint it without breaking anything off

[hasenpfeffer]

Nov 1, 2023 10:19:21 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Color on this is going to look amazing! I don't envy you having to handle it while you paint it without breaking anything off

Ha! I sure hope so.

[hasenpfeffer]

So, I've been doing a little here and there. I managed to finish one of the track runs last weekend while watching Michigan pummel Purdue. I also primed everything and painted the road wheel, etc., the Dark Yellow. I'm using AK Real Colors on this one, the Dark Yellow is RC061 (After '44). I tried using MRP Red Oxide Fine Surface Primer, but it is either too thin or the RFM plastic is really frickin' greasy. I did try degreasing it after the 1st coat and didn't fair much better. The primer just seemed to pool away from some of the details. I followed it up with a thin coat of good ol Tamiya Hull Red to try to patch up some of that weirdness.



It looks like the RC Dunkelgelb has far less green in it than the Tamiya (original DY). I haven't tried the new versions for late war, so I can't compare them at the moment. Looks pretty good to my eye though.


A couple shots of that amazing road wheel detail. RFM nailed this for sure, those bolts/nuts and rim/tire separation are fantastic. Not to mention all of the raised tire detail. Some of the best I've seen. I primed, then varnished and hairsprayed these before the DY coat so I can chip them up a bit.




Back to cleaning track links...

[kyledehart5]

Stunning details. and gorgeous paint. Looking really good now.

[Steve Zuleski]

Wow, great work, even after all the troubles!

[406 Silverado]

I saw this and got distracted with something around the house.....probably one of my dang dogs getting into some sort of trouble and forgot to come back to this so I apologize for not chiming in sooner. Thats crazy about the primer pulling away from the details like that but it looks like you've got it tackled with the usage of the Hull Red. Those tracks look frickin' great Dave. You could literally write a good book with the great information that you put into your threads and I learn something every time I look in on one of your builds.

[deafpanzer]

The wheels are looking sharp! Thanks for reminding me that I need to paint my wheels ASAP!

[hasenpfeffer]

Well, nothing huge to report. I finished the track runs and have them primed and sprayed with some MRP Dark Rust as a base color. I started weathering up the wheels a little. I used some HS between the primer color (Red Oxide/Hull Red). The AK Real Colors Dunkel Gelb seemed a little more reluctant to let any water in to allow for chipping. I resorted to very light sanding and scratches from my tweezers. I think the effect turned out pretty well even if it was way more labor intensive. It could be that I let them sit before chipping for over a week too. Who knows? Pin wash added with Abteilung 502 Shadow Brown + White Spirits.




Now I gotta stop putzin' around and figure out how I'm gonna pull off a hard edge camo. Gosh, only a month to go!

[armornutii]

  Silly putty, yep silly putty doesn't leave marks , make a hard edge, and is reusable. Andy has a similar product on his website as well. Comforms over detail and around curves.
    Not much to report sheesh. A TON OF ROAD WHEELS

[tcoat]

Nov 29, 2023 19:03:21 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Silly putty, yep silly putty doesn't leave marks , make a hard edge, and is reusable. Andy has a similar product on his website as well. Comforms over detail and around curves.
    Not much to report sheesh. A TON OF ROAD WHEELS

This^^^^^

Thick silly putty give a bit of a haze at the edge but not a real soft edge.





Thin gives a sharp edge.





And boy oh boy these pics show I need to do some dusting! Can't see it in real life.

[hasenpfeffer]

Nov 29, 2023 19:03:21 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Silly putty, yep silly putty doesn't leave marks , make a hard edge, and is reusable. Andy has a similar product on his website as well. Comforms over detail and around curves.
    Not much to report sheesh. A TON OF ROAD WHEELS

LOL! Yeah, but I've been doing them for MONTHS!

Thanks for the tip. I was leaning towards something like this, but I need to acquire it. I need to stop being lazy. I tend to buy stuff in bunches. So, I'm nearing that...

[Tojo72]

Nice sharp lines on the wheels,how do you handle masking them.

[hasenpfeffer]

Nov 29, 2023 21:44:37 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Nice sharp lines on the wheels,how do you handle masking them.

Same as the Panther. I made a "poor man's" Quick Wheels mask. Unfortunately for me the wheels were different enough from the Meng wheels that I had to make new ones. There was a tiny bit of overspray that was more than taken care of with the pin wash in that groove.

*Edit: Okay, so I didn't cover that in the Panther build... so the same concept as my MiniArt Panzer IV. But here is a picture I took and didn't post there for some reason.

Recessed to hold the wheel centered in place. You spray from the other side.