Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

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dgsselkirk
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by dgsselkirk »

I have those and tried and tried to get the right angle without creasing but to no avail. I think I am going to try little butane torch next time and heat them up to bend...
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by ALPHA »

dgsselkirk wrote:I have those and tried and tried to get the right angle without creasing but to no avail. I think I am going to try little butane torch next time and heat them up to bend...
Never tried them with plastic tubes...copper and brass usually works well...sometime yeah ..you have to heat the brass before bending..even copper if it isn't annealed ;) do that on a hot plate or stove top...and let it cool a little :D

ALPHA

PS. Those racing stripes better work lol ...if they don't ...I want a refund :haha: :haha: :haha:
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dgsselkirk
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by dgsselkirk »

Well this certainly is taking a while! Now that summer has come to a close I hope to really get on this damn tank and finish it! did some more PE the fire extinguisher. This little bastard took over 4 hours. The little clip on the lid, yea, that thinner than a human hair! But man, compared to stock HL it is awesome.... Basically you take the stock one and sand everything off so all you really have left is a plastic tube. Then you go nuts with the PE. The only thing the kit really doesn't have is the handle so I fabricated that and also didn't use the rod that comes with the kit I use some small copper pipe I have for the main stem and used the rod for the secondary pipe. It is pretty incredible to look at. Almost a shame it's going to get paint but I am going to decal it so it catches your eye...
Sorry, the pics are a little blurry, my camera has a hard time focusing in that close...
Panther A 266.JPG
Panther A 266.JPG (50.29 KiB) Viewed 4823 times
Panther A 267.JPG
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Panther A 268.JPG
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Panther A 272.JPG
Panther A 272.JPG (48.92 KiB) Viewed 4823 times
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PainlessWolf
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by PainlessWolf »

dgsselkirk,
I too know about the bewitchments and amazing sights ( and sounds ) that come along with tiny, metal and minute detail. Your fire extinguisher is a Beauty!
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
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dgsselkirk
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by dgsselkirk »

Thanks Painless!

Decided to take a little break from PE and do some welding. The method I use is milliput and a flat jewelers or eyeglasses screwdriver. I tend not to do the big welds and try to keep it to scale although older eyes and shaky hands are catching up to me. Also as I did on the lower hull replace the periscope cover with brass so it is more to scale. Removed a couple of bits that are not usually on the "A"'s and sanded smooth. To do a final smoothing I just brush Tamiya thin regular model glue over the area and it gives it a nice finish...
Panther A 277.JPG
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Panther A 278.JPG
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Panther A 276.JPG
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Panther A 280.JPG
Panther A 280.JPG (54.62 KiB) Viewed 4815 times
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by ALPHA »

JUST PAINT IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!! :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: Dang Dgsselkirk...you be giving the words rivet counter new definition ;) ...Just kidding ...Great work...mostly because it's more than I would do :haha: :haha: :haha:


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dgsselkirk
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by dgsselkirk »

I know Alpha, I'm getting there! LOL! sometimes I do regret what I started but I just look at stuff and go "I can make that better" :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Once these last few details are done it will be ready to go. I hope to wrap them up this weekend as I have another commission coming Monday.

So here is the fitting of the other side front tools. It is a different set up from the "G" on both sides so it all had to be scratch built and it took a while! I have some really good little pieces of hardwood to make the jack stands out of and I take some brass strips and using my pin vise drill in a bit to represent the screws on the real thing. I think they turn out not 1/2 bad... I still have to add some PE clamps and general clean to finish it up.

Also tackled the back cable holder. I think it is obvious why they changed this on the "G" . A hollow pipe spot welded vs a solid more substantial post on the G. To try and help secure it better I drilled a hole right through the body, soldered a thicker piece of wire into the tube, put it thruogh the hole and applied the soldering gun to the top of the tbe pushing it into the plastic just a touch to secure it better with the side benefit that it creates a little ridge which looks like the solder line on the real thing. :D Clip it off from the back added a touch of glue and they should stand up not too bad driving around but this "A" will be a bit of a shelf queen me thinks....

Panther A 281.JPG
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Panther A 286.JPG
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Panther A 287.JPG
Panther A 287.JPG (33.45 KiB) Viewed 4789 times
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by ALPHA »

COTTER PINS??????????????????????? :wtf: You need an intervention Dgsselkirk ........... ;) ............. :haha: :haha:


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dgsselkirk
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by dgsselkirk »

I love my little cotter pins! LOL! O.K. so here is about 14 hours of painful work! :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

The second tool rack on the "A" only contains the sledge and one rod tool with large hex driver on one end. (The "G" has 3 tools) I wanted to make the holes on the one end like you see in this pic of the Littlefield Panther. And I must say thanks to Vladimir Yakubov who has an invaluable gallery of at least 500 or 600 pictures of the Littlefield Panther build. If you want to do any kind of detailed build use that source. It is absolutely awesome with high resolution pictures. :clap: :thumbup: :clap: :thumbup: :clap: :thumbup:
Panther A 292.JPG
Panther A 292.JPG (59.04 KiB) Viewed 4772 times
So it was really hard to make that hex tool! (Sorry, the actual name for the tool escapes me at the moment) I first tried to form the tool using an old one but drilled it and it was too thin. Broke. Tried a piece of styrene. Broke. finally brass tube about the right size. First one broke. Second one success! Once the holes were successful I took a small hex driver I had and cut the end off to place in the brass rod. This is the one you see here. I didn't mount it because I need to be able to remove right now for paint. Also I am now waiting on wingnuts to finish the frame to match the Littlefield. Also you will see my first attempt at the Voyager buckets. They really are awesome! I find the standard after market ones to heavy and thick. These are great and you get 4 in a pack in 2 sizes. I must also say the Voyager early clamp set is relatively easy to work with compared to Aber. They don't require any solder and only glue for the frame of the clamp to the hull mount. Very nice price too! :-) So like I said, wingnuts, cotter pins, and small chains will all be added later once we paint. Speaking of which I think it is pretty much ready FINALLY!!!
Panther A 288.JPG
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Panther A 289.JPG
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Panther A 290.JPG
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Panther A 291.JPG
Panther A 291.JPG (55.69 KiB) Viewed 4772 times
2 buckets are for you Ralph! :D
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Re: Converting HL Panther "G" to a Late "A"

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Jeez Mr Selkirk, its almost a shame to cover it with paint !
Im glad you are though :thumbup:
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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