HL Panther G customization diary

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Love the quality of your photos by the way. What are using to compress / upload them?

[jeff1101]

Next I decided to detail the headlight by adding the wire conduit made from paper clip wire. I drilled a hole in the front glacis plate, inserted the wire to the other side and bent the wire to shape. The other end was attached with putty so the wire could be rigidly attached without moving. (Once the putty dried).



I then encountered a problem when the putty dried and discovered I put in too much putty that the top and bottom hulls wouldn't close properly.



To fix this I turned the upper hull over and sanded the putty to attempt to flatten it.



That improved things but there was still a gap where the top and bottom hulls joined so I decided to scrape off the lower hull at the point where it was touching the putty. And that finally fixed the problem.

[jeff1101]

Love the quality of your photos by the way. What are using to compress / upload them?

Thanks. Photography is also one of my hobbies. I am using a dslr with a wide angle macro lens to take my photos. I then re-save at low quality using photoshop and upload to imageshack at 640 x 480 size. I was using 800 x 600 on my previous post but found it too big.

[jeff1101]

Next I figured I could detail the wood jack block. After removing it from the tank I scored it with a knife in an a attempt to simulate wood grain texture.



Finished.

[Reaper332]

Love it great work mate,
Ken

[jeff1101]

Update 03/04/12

I finally decided to use milliput after such bad experience with the brand putty I used before. Never used the product but modellers use it for weld seams all the time. I will try my luck with it.

[jeff1101]

Success! I can immediately see the difference with this putty. Milliput has an advertised working time of 4 hours ( more like 3 hours actually ) The first 30 minutes after the putty is molded is the best to use since the material is sticky and will adhere to even smooth surfaces. After 1 hour it starts to cure and become like clay (not as sticky as before but still moldable). After 2 hours its no longer as sticky and become quite hard but still workable. (with a little patience). All in all it still gives you plenty of time to mold and attach it to whatever you want treated. You never feel you have to hurry.

I detailed the turret with weld seams and added turret crane hoops and grab handles.





Gaining confidence, I added weld beads on the ball housing for the machine gun.

[jeff1101]

The HL plastic for the grab handles are flimsy. I managed to break the grab handle for the loader's hatch when I was attaching it. Hmmm I will need to replace that with wire I guess. Makes me think if the same plastic material for the other grab handles on the turret will last as well. Good thing I didnt glue them in place yet.

[jeff1101]

Next day, I continued on with the rest of the tank. I found a method of working with the product that got me good results.

Since the epoxy come in two parts, cut the amount you need to start. Try to cut an amount as small as possible. My first mistake was mixing too much putty that much of it was thrown away after It hardened and I was still busy finishing the weld beads on the other parts of the tank. It takes an incredibly small amount of putty to make the weld beads so you don't need to mix too much. You can always mix a fresh batch when you need more. Especially if you need freshly mixed putty (the first 30 minutes) to get the best results.



Make sure to mix the 2 part putty by kneading it with your fingers for 5 minutes.



Then roll it with your fingers to make the long sections. I roll it on top of glass so that it doesn't stick to the surface and make a mess.



Then attach it to your planned weld line. I use wetted toothpicks to move and attach it in place.



I also use the toothpick like a rolling pin to flatten it and make sure it doesn't stick out too much from the surface of the glacis plate.



When you flatten it like that, the putty will spread out so cut any excess off with your craft knife.



After that, you can start marking the putty with knife or toothpick to simulate weld beads.

[jeff1101]

I finally finished the weld seams for the rest of the tank. The work is a PITA and there are no shortcuts unfortunately, but all in all it was very satisfying work.

weld seams on engine deck lifting hooks. I also used it to hide the glue marks when I reattached it.


turret front


turret rear


front glacis plate where it is welded to the sloping side panel


top view