This is the 1/35th scale model of German Panther Ausf A based on the early
Tamiya
kit. This version of the Panther was the most produced in the war. It's
design came
as a direct result of the shock of the Russian T-34 superiority over the
earlier Panzer
II and III's during the Russian campaign. Compare this design to that of
the Russian
T-34 on the other pages and you will see a remarkable resemblance. Note
the sloping
armor on the hull and turret and the much more effective 75 mm gun. This
tank was
by far the best meduim tank of the war. One drawback of the design was the
running
gear and it s maintenance. you will note that to repalce the inner bogey
you had to
remove a total of FIVE bogeys surrounding the one to replace or service
it. Although
the design was better for traversing obstacles and speed and
maneuverability. This
is a representative version of the "Totenkompf" SS Panzer Division. These
early
Tamya kits were originally motorized so I had to fill in the holes and
remove the
molded in axle tubes and fill in the holes in the lower hull. In addition
I had to fill in the
area under the side hull surfaces as these areas are open on the model.
When you
add the side skirts you cannot even see in that area, but I know the ara
is filled in as
the real tank. The side skirts are sheet styrene with little tabs to
simulate the
attachment hangers. The hanging brackets were made from strips of cut up
strips
from a soda can attached per the reference photos. Zimmerit was applied to
the hill
surfaces, but not to the skitrts on this one. I finished this tank a
little differnt from my
others. After first painting the overall hull, turret, road wheels the
standerd dark
yellow, I assembled all the major compinents (I also painted the rubber on
the road
wheels too.) into a near competed assembly including the skirts and
tracks. I then
applied the contrasting red brown and dark green camoflage pattern. I
applied gloss
to the decal areas and applied the decals. I also glossed over the road
wheels and
wicked in some dark was into those areas to show grime I added all the
tools,
machine gun, tow cables etc. I then shot Dullcote over everything to give
it an overall
flat finish. Then i used Tamiya red brown thinned to a 70/30 alcohol/paint
ratio and
oversprayed the entire model from about 6-8 inches away to give it an
overall dirty
weathered look. I just kept spryaing until it looked right. I then mixed a
very light tan
(buff) from red brwon and white in the same 70/30 ratio and sprayed this
on the lower
road wheels and tracks to simulate dust and dirt. A little drybrushing
here and there
and it was done. I found this technique on the net and I will eventually
post it here.
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