Panther II Hybrid

[43rdRecceReg]

...and thanks for the interior shots, Ralph!.
They certainly make this very alluring thread all the more comprehensive
You have some detailed refinements there; the type to inspire imitation.

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Bonjour, Fred.

The small hooks are from Schumo Kits. I believe these are made by Axel's Modellbau.

[FredtheFrench]

Thank you very much. I hope they re still exist...

[FredtheFrench]

Impossible to found. I have contacted schumo kits...

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Good luck with the search, Fred. If you're successful and find a supplier, be sure to let us know. Schumo kits are getting harder and harder to find. Bon chance.

[STHV]

Ludwig has them on his site, under Panther accessories, bought a set of them from him several months ago

[FredtheFrench]

Yes, but it is in plastic and cost for delivery is very expensive for 6 very small parts.

[STHV]

No they are metal, I got them for my full metal Panther Ausf D

I got the page wrong, it was on the profferional kits page
https://www.ludwigs-hobby-seite.de/Prof ... nther.html scroll down, they are labelled as PA-07

[SCHWEREPANZER]

With most matters involving the hull from the deck downward more or less finalized (the final configuration of the drive sprocket not yet fully decided upon), it's time to move on to the somewhat controversial concept of the Panther II turret design. I thought the matter had been definitely decided in the discussion found in Panzer Tracts No.5-4 where the authors, working from then newly found documents, concluded that the design concept envisioned for the Panther II was a narrow-faced 'Schmalturm,' but still mounting the 7.5 cm Kw.K 42 L/70 of the standard Panther. The 'Schmalturm" design was similar to, but designed separately from, the later Panther F 'Schmalturm' design. The authors debunked the idea that the Panther II was originally conceived as mounting the 8.8 cm Kw. K L/71 used in the Tiger II. The first picture, below, shows what the authors purport (in the dotted line drawing) to be the original concept design of the Panther II turret. When the hull of the Panther II was sent to the USA after the war, it had only weight rings in place of a turret mounted on its deck. After the rings were removed, the turret of a Panther G was substituted in its place creating the impression for historians that the Panther II was designed with a more standard turret in mind, a theory supposedly debunked by Jentz and Doyle. Then, I found a picture originally posted on another 'tanker's site' of what appears to be an original photo. The story, at least for me, became even more confusing. Take a look at the second photo.

Comparison (491x500).jpg (85.17 KiB) Viewed 3412 times

Not wishing to insult anyone, but wanting to cover at least most of the authoritative bases, the turret chosen for this "Paper Panzer" Panther II was the Asiatam turret used on models on the Panther F, but utilizing the 8.8 cm rifle used in the Tiger II.

I purchased a set of etching/scribing tools I had seen being used by Martin Kovac on his 'Night Shift" u-tube videos and etched out the pretty bad molded in 'weld.' The resulting channels created using the tools were cleaned up using thin liquid cement.

Foliage hooks, range finders (the latter thanks to PatrickH) and other turret detail have been added. The gray color seen on the turret side is not primer, but rather the texturing Tamiya Putty Basic Type mixed with liquid cement to create a textured effect to the smooth styrene described earlier. Difficult to see in this picture, I think later photos will capture the texture look better further along in the report.

Next, turret 'weld' added and primer laid down to soften the contrasting color mix of added parts. To be continued...

[Ad Lav]

Nice turret - I had one before for a Panzer IV project.