Taigen Panther G with a British twist

[michaelwhittmann]

I don't know the history, but you do nice work

[LordLudikrous]

Hello and thank you everyone for the positive feedback, its very encouraging. Apologies for not updating in what feels like forever – it’s been a combination of things including just very busy with life events in general but also I’ve been knocking out a ton of Warhammer. Another reason is that I’ve got almost no experience in painting wood and my efforts on my Tiger, while passable at the time, leave much to be desired, so I’ve been keen to get that nailed down before proceeding.

I have to say it is an absolute godsend that the tools are on a separate sprue rather than moulded into the hull like on the Tiger, it’s a shame though they couldn’t have left the track segments off to save me the effort of cutting them off to paint them but its still a substantial improvement.



I opted to have some of the tools the same colour as the hull with the logic that the crew would have just sprayed paint over them after liberating the tank, but wanted others to stand out to add some variety.





After completing the painting, the hull machine gun was reunited with the upper hull for the first time since I took everything apart after delivery.



Aside from the aerial and tow ropes, the upper hull is now finished.





Truthfully, I am absolutely delighted at how it has turned out, and I don’t think its possible for me to do a better job with my skills as they presently stand and the equipment I have available. As with the turret, I’ve kept paint chipping relatively minimal and haven’t added any rust. This is owing to Olive Drab being a durable colour in the field and that this tank hasn’t been in service very long. The most pronounced weathering and paint damage are in the areas likely to come into contact with rubble, hedges, debris and so on, so areas like the very front of the hull, fenders and side skirts. I’ve taken some of this chipping right down to the bare metal to help break the colours apart a bit and make the model more visually interesting. It (hopefully) has the added advantage that if any paint chips off the lower front hull through general use it will blend in with the overall look.

I think I’ve done a decent job blending the colour of the hull where it joins with the darker and dirtier rear hull plate and haven’t felt the need to touch the colours of the rear up.



It doesn’t show up well with the lighting in the photos but one area I did add a very light touch of rust was the spare track links.



The next parts to be painted have also arrived.



Aside from portions of the aerial (which I’ve not ordered yet and will likely be one of the last parts to go on), the only main components still to be painted are the sprockets, idlers and main gun. The driveshaft support bearings are presently out of stock so I’m waiting to get hold of those before I purchase and install the gearboxes.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

What a unique model, so well done! You will need to carry around photos to prove that there was a real prototype.

[HERMAN BIX]

Cuckoo was absolutely a real thing !
Tho it was the most well known of the "Britisherbeutepanzer" Im sure it wasn't the only one.
Great rendition of a captured Panther Me Lord.

I can see the Warhammer influence on the tool steel mate, great work

[LordLudikrous]

As always thank you everyone for the kind feedback, its very encouraging. Quite a lot has happened since my last update, some great progress and a couple of minor setbacks.

The next order of business was of course to paint the sprockets and idlers, and this would be in the same Red Oxide as the rest of the running gear.



Unfortunately my usual supplier, Forgebear, were out of the axle support bearings with no ETA on new stock, so I ended up importing them in from Germany. Sucks having to pay 9.50 Euros to ship a 21 Euro product but can’t be helped.

Luckily the other bits I wanted were in stock and a delivery man dropped of a box of goodies from Mr Forgebear complete with the requisite Haribo.



I’ve opted for the Taigen 7.1 gearboxes, they’re a bit faster than the ones in my Tiger, but they’re quieter and most importantly come with magnetic covers that go over the entire gearbox. Should make for much easier cable management as there’s no chance of any wiring getting caught in exposed gears.





I also got a set of bullet connector wires to replace the wiring on the gearboxes. I know I’ll get a set of these with the 7.1 MFU but for the sake of a fiver I preferred the convenience of being able to get it done and dusted now, rather than have to leave everything disassembled for weeks or pull it apart again later.

Couple of interesting observations about the 7.1 gearboxes. They come with mounting plates that attach to the main mounting plate on the tank, and they do not come pre-lubricated. It comes with some lubricant, but you’ll have to apply it yourself before you use them for the first time. Before I went mucking around with wiring though I dug out my old Taigen V2 electrics and tested the gearboxes to make sure they worked properly.





The next step was to install the axle supports, and unfortunately this was my first setback. As installing gearboxes with axle supports in is a pain in the backside, I did one side at a time. I followed the same method of measuring, drilling and installing them as I did with my Tiger, and while it was flawless and easy in that instance, the same cannot be said for the Panther.

I won’t bore everyone with the details but ultimately for some reason despite being fine with one gearbox in at a time, none of the holes lined up with both gearboxes installed. After spending far too long trying to sort this out, I opted to remove the supports and proceed without them. A disappointing result given the effort to get hold of them, but I have them at least if it turns out I need them in the future.

The second setback albeit minor, was despite the track tensioners being set to their loosest setting, the tracks were so tight I was unable to install them. I was able to resolve this by adding an extra link on each side, and that was enough to get them onto the tank and insert the joining pin.

I still had the old Taigen gubbins in so opted to do a test drive to make sure everything worked, which it did, and mercifully the tracks loosened immediately after being driven around for a few minutes, so I had some more room to adjust. I did have an issue with the tracks skipping and jumping periodically resulting in a rough ride, but they just needed some tightening up. It seems that the Panther is much more fussy than the Tiger when it comes to proper track tension.

After the successful test run, I removed the tracks/sprockets/gearboxes and changed the wiring over to the bullet connectors in preparation for the HL 7.1 electronics. After which I reinstalled everything and now, finally, its starting to look like a proper tank.








My next priority is to get all the electronics installed in the hull and get it able to move under its own power before tackling the turret, as in the case of the latter I have quite a large number of modifications to make.

[Panzermechaniker]

She looks great. As far as axle supports I beat the hell out of my Taigen Panthers on our club's field and while I have had track/drivetrain issues it's never been at the fully stock gearbox/drive sprockets but always the idlers. I think you will be fine without them

[michaelwhittmann]

Off topic but I love the gouges on the glacis plate.

[Panzermechaniker]

Off topic but I love the gouges on the glacis plate.

They are great. Taigen did a fantastic job on their Panther. I have 3 of them. I own/built a Tamiya Panther and while it is also superb you need the Aber kit to even get close to the details Taigen gives you on their RTR and the Tamiya is of course just insanely priced if you can even ever find one

[MrChef]

Off topic but I love the gouges on the glacis plate.

They are great. Taigen did a fantastic job on their Panther. I have 3 of them. I own/built a Tamiya Panther and while it is also superb you need the Aber kit to even get close to the details Taigen gives you on their RTR and the Tamiya is of course just insanely priced if you can even ever find one

and from what I've seen it even has the correct angle lower glacis plate as opposed to the HL.

blast! now you're making me want to get a Taigen

[Panzermechaniker]

I totally recommend the Taigen. The detailing right out of the box is just excellent. In comparison although the Tamiya is probably slightly more accurate it is almost as devoid of details as the HL. The Tamiya runs better outside IMO but I think that is a combination of the nylon tracks and lower weight. I really like this Cuckoo style captured Panther the OP has produced. I had considered doing one when I first got into the hobby with my first Taigen Panther as I wasn't sure I could pull off painting tri coloured Panzers