HL Panther G customization diary

[jeff1101]

Updates 8/11/13 - Detailing the lower rear hull plate

In almost all panthers, there is a crank guide attached just below the right armoured exhaust. The guide adds leverage so that the crank tool can be wound when manually starting the panther's engine.



I decided to add this detail and scratch build the guide. For this I had some left over plastic sheet from the modellbau column light. I cut it to the correct shape.


I also bought various sized styrene rods and tubes.


Using the plastic tube I measured the half circle where I will cut the plastic sheet.


Using a round file, I cut out the half circle from the plastic sheet.



I then marked the bend line using pencil.


Using a triangular file, I cut through the line, enough to bend the sheet along the line.



I then cut the styrene tube for the crank collar.


I added some glue along the cut line (to retain the bend) and then bent the plastic sheet. I also glued the crank collar to the guide.


Even with the glue dried the sheet still had a tendency to straighten out so to retain its shape, I cut some brass sheet, bent it to the correct angle and then glued it to the back of the plastic sheet.


I glued the crank guide to the right exhaust.


And here is the finished guide with the bolts I sourced from a spare damage road wheel I no longer use.

[maxmekker]

Man . Sweet

[jeff1101]

Updates 8/18/13 - Detailing Lower Hull

I continued detailing the lower hull of the panther. In this picture of the Littlefield panther, (courtesy of SVSM.org) you can see the inside of the front of the final drive housing has an inter-locked plate attached with six bolts.


I tried to duplicate this with my panther as well. I got a plastic card and marked the outline of the outside of the final drive housing using pencil.


I then cut the shape including the inter-lock notches.



I then glued the pieces to the bottom of the final drive housing. I used clips to secure the plastic card while the glue was drying.


I then added weld lines and added plastic hex bolts.


And with that the lower hull is finished. Primer paint is next.

[jeff1101]

Updates cont'd - Prepping the lower hull for primer paint

Before priming the hull I masked the swing arm attachment points with Blu Tac.


Also masked the bottom switches.


I needed to paint some of the upper surfaces so areas not to be painted was masked with paper.

[jeff1101]

Updates cont'd - Finished with priming the lower hull

Here are pictures after the lower hull was primed. I attached the upper hull temporarily to check for fitting issues. Pretty happy with it. I purposely replicated the rough sandpapery texture when I primed the lower hull so that it matches the upper hull. I can always smoothen specific areas if I want to later.

[maxmekker]

not so many comments but I quess a lot is watching

[tankman]

Very good attention to detail with a well documented and photographed build thread. I've enjoyed following this one and look forward to more.
Alan

[jeff1101]

Updates - 8/25/13 - Added Minor detail

Thanks again for the kind comments.

Added a minor detail in the engine access cover. In this picture of a Panther in Mourmelon, France you can clearly see the key holes used to lock the engine access door. The lock is necessary since without it, the engine access door would swing open when the tank is moving on rough ground. (Photo is from modelarmour.com). Also notice the key holes are protected from dust and debris by metal shutters.


And of course I had to add this detail in my panther as well. I punched the keyhole using a wide diameter syringe and cut and glued some brass sheet for the shutter. Unlike the photo above, I glued the shutters in the open position.

[jeff1101]

Updates - 8/26/13 - Milestone - pre-shading complete

I have finally completed pre-shading/modulation of the upper and lower hull of the tank. So far I have been quite happy with the tank's progress in regards to the primer and pre-shading. It already has that 'well used' look even without the base coat on.

I have also been gradually shifting work from 'building' to 'painting'. I still need some 'build' related stuff on the tracks and wheels, but I see myself concentrating on painting from this point on. As I shift phase I would need to take my time and be really careful on my next steps. When I first started modding the panther I made a lot of beginner mistakes that fortunately were correctable. However for paint, I don't think I have that luxury so I have to be careful and be absolutely sure of my color choices before I spray anything. I also need to work on my airbrush skills further as well. I have made some additional purchases that hopefully would address some of the issues I encountered when I started painting the panther. I will post pictures of these in the succeeding days.

And with that progress pictures.














Although I will not be basing my panther on any period panther photo, it will not be wholly fictitious either. I plan on at least having it belong to a 'real' unit formation with markings at least authentic to the unit and period. (i.e. Month/Year).

I have already settled on the following details on the items on this particular panther.

- For the time period for the tank and manufacturer, I have settled on manufacturing date of Dec 15, 1944 and the tank having been shipped to its unit and in fighting trim by Middle of February 1945. Manufacturer is MAN. (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg.)

- I don't know yet if it was to be deployed in the Western or Eastern front. For Feb 1945, if its in Western Front, then it would definitely be fighting inside Germany, for eastern Front it could be Poland, Hungary or Czechoslovakia?? I have to check my references for the extent of the German front line in Feb 1945.

- It is a regular, standard front line tank. This means it would not have any extra equipment for a Befehlspanther or command tank such as extra antennas, etc.

- It does not have any hangers for extra tracks links in its turret. This excludes it belonging to certain units who liked to field mod these hangers such as Panzer Lehr or LAAH (Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler). Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.

- It should belong to an Waffen SS unit since the Heng Long commander figure included with it has what definitely looks like the black SS uniform.

Why middle of Dec' 44 for the manufacture date? Here is my rationale for it:
1. No zimmerit - application of zimmerit at the factory was dropped in the middle of Sept' 44.
2. Chin mantlet - this was introduced for all panthers (in particular MAN and Daimler Benz) starting Sept' 44.
3. Heng Long uses a larger diameter self cleaning rear idler wheel design that was introduced on real panthers only in Oct'44
4. Flammvernichter or Flame Dampener exhausts (which the HL panther uses) were introduced in panther factories only in Oct' 44 and were very scarce in the beginning. Flame dampeners were only attached regularly on panthers starting Dec'44 and began appearing on battlefield units on Jan' 45.
5. Elevated crew compartment heaters (which the HL panther uses) also began to be attached in all panther factories in Oct'44. These were in plentiful supply so that even tanks participating in the Battle of the Bulge (Wach am Rein) in Dec' 44 were equipped with them.
6. And finally, the main reason I chose mid-December' 44 for the manufacture date of this panther is the cupola Machine Gun ring. By end of Dec 44, and starting in Jan 1945, there was a new MG mount design (a straight pillar bolted/welded on the top of the periscope housing) which no longer require the mounting of the MG ring on the commander cupola. So starting Jan 1945 all panthers manufactured no longer had this feature. However the HL panther still has this MG ring so definitely it could not have been manufactured after Dec 1944.

[jeff1101]

Updates 8/29/13 - Red Oxide Color Experiments

As promised, Here I post some of the items I bought for paint issues I had earlier.

As mentioned by dgsselkirk I was getting problems with paint getting dry before it reaches the surface being painted. To address this I added a few drops of this Tamiya Paint retarder to my paint mix. For thinning Tamiya paints, I have followed dgsselkirk's advise and use regular isopropyl alcohol.


Another idea I have been playing around with is I read some modellers adding a few drops of clear coat to their paint mix to make a sort of semi-gloss/scratch resistant paint cover. Instead of Tamiya clear coats, I decided on this cheaper alternative (Johnson's Kleer). I got this idea from this link (http://cybertronphils.proboards.com/thread/8990). Plus it leaves a nice lemony scent on what you paint as well.


Color is a very subjective matter. Colors accurate at 1:1 scale may not translate well to a model at a much smaller scale so again some of my choices here for color might not be absolutely accurate but again these color decisions are my own.
With that I have decided to deliberately lean for a 'lighter' hue of color vs. the default color selection for Tamiya acrylics. I find Tamiya's version (even if accurate and thats debatable) of Olive Green (OlivGrun) and Red Brown (RothBrun) way too dark. I have plans to lighten it further by mixing it with other colors. Anyway a lighter color will give me some leeway when I decide to add filters/and or washes to it during the weathering stage. Tamiya Dark Yellow in my opinion is just right but again I might change my mind as I proceed. So with that I bought addtional paints to add to my palette.



On the subject of color, the first layer of paint on the panther I plan to apply will be red oxide. In my fictional date of manufacture for this Panther, Dec '44, Waffenamt had already issued a directive to use Olive green as a basecoat. However, I kind of like the 'exposed' primer look of Panthers manufactured in the previous months so for this particular painted panther, I will just ignore the Waffenamt directive and imagine that it was painted using the previous directive of camouflage colors applied directly and sparingly on the red oxide color.

This will mean a lot of areas in the panther will have red oxide primer exposed. I will have to be satisfied with my version of the red oxide color as this color will be visible on some areas of the tank.

Problem is, Tamiya does not make 'red oxide' primer color. Instead of opting for other paint brands I decided to replicate red oxide using just Tamiya paint. I have been experimenting on different red paint mixtures to simulate red oxide and have narrowed it down to the 2 shades shown in the pic below. Although not very evident in this picture, I am leaning more on the left as I find the right side color bordering on the pink side. However I further plan to spray both and check the colors again to see what they look like when dry.


I will reveal my red oxide secret sauce once I finish my experiment.