RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Good Afternoon,
Thanks for the info there, Jeff. I had not noticed that it was an A but should have by headlight placement alone. Yes, that is some extra ordinarily neat zimmerit....CH, don't bin your Sherman, I expect to be taking tips off of your build when I receive my M4 and begin work on it. You, Phil and Fynsdad will be the ones I follow behind.
warm regards,
Painless

Updates 10/31/2013 - Christmas comes early

I know I posted before that I wouldn't buy any more accessories for the panther but after I visited www.rctank.de, I couldn't help myself.

You guys should try this site as Dominque has some nice upgrade parts you wouldn't find anywhere else.

The package finally arrived today. Thanks Dominique!


But before that, I realized I had painted the bolt cutter wrong. The handle covers does not extend all the way to the bottom of the cutter. So again I dry brushed Dark Iron (XF-84) to correct this.

Before:


After: (I couldn't replicate the exact color but its better I think)


I also took the time to dry brush some silver on the Ball mount MG.


Now to open my present.
I took inspiration from Hotte8487's build where he does not have to remove the battery to recharge it. Since I was not very good at electronics I was looking for the upgrade part to do just that. Finally found it in Dominique's site. Nice thing is, its a universal upgrade so should work with other tanks.


With all the PE parts I have added to the panther not to mention the delicate side skirts and track hangers, it has become difficult and cumbersome for me to turn the tank over, unscrew the battery cover and remove the battery without inadvertently damaging anything. This part should fix that.

Problem is I have already painted the panther so I could no longer cut up and open any of the hatches to hide the charging port. But even this shouldn't be too much of a problem as I plan to put the charging port underneath the panther (near an edge) so it would not be seen. The charger which comes with the kit has the charge connector set at a 90 degree angle so it should clear the bottom of the panther. Also the panther's high ground clearance should help me find the charge port and connect it by feel.


But of course first things first. I need to finish the tank and then I will upgrade to the new charger.

Second item I bought is this stencil set for the tank's unit markings. I originally planned on using decals for the unit markings. In fact I already bought some nice Pedinghaus decal set. However I changed my mind as stencils would allow me to add special effects like feathering or distressing the unit markings for a faded look.


The stencil is for Panther 242 of which I loosely base my panther.



There is an instructions sheet that comes with it but the pictures are so small, its hard to follow them. All I know is that there are 2 backing sheets. One is attached to the stencil, the other is separate. Anyway, I'll do a mini review when I apply the markings.


Here is the stencil compared to the Pedinghaus decal. Although not evident in the picture, the stencil has a bit larger font.

Good Morning and Happy All Hallows Eve,
Those are some small instructions! I like the idea for the permanently mounted Charger port as some of the German armor is very heavy and when detailed, as you say, cumbersome to move around without breaking something. Another great tip from the House of Jeff. ;o)
regards,
Painless

Thanks Painless, but Hotte8487 should take the credit as I took the idea from him. The recharge kit from rctank.de is a plug and play solution with connectors for the RX18 as well.

It surprises me that Heng Long does not provide a charging port on their tanks while this is a standard feature in RC helicopters. which are also made in China.

I mean I don't think it adds much cost to the tank as it just a few more wires and connectors.

Hi Jeff,

you're absolutely right, the instruction sheets to this stencils are very small and not particularly good. I will try to help you out. The stencil himself comes on a sheet as support material. Also included in this package is a sheet transfer film. First you cut out from the stencil sheet what you need, then you must glue a small sheet of transfer film on it. After this you must remove the support film and can than glue the sheet at your tank. Then remove the transfer film and mask around the stencil and then you are ready to brush.
For me had the stencils not enough adhesive force, so I built my own stencils, how I've described in my report. And, also a advantage, so I had the chance to make my own turret number.
A beautiful Panther that you've built, further good luck!

Update 11/01/13 - Applying the Stencils

Thanks Hotte8487 and Happy Halloween to the forum. I have figured out how to apply the stencils based on your directions. I will post some photos of the steps I did to apply them for the others who may be interested in buying the stencils.

First cut the stencils to the size you want. Leave enough room around the cutout to cover oversprays in the surrounding area. Make sure your cuts are aligned as this will be your guide for horizontal.


For the tactical numbers, since both are displayed on each side of the turret, I cut the number stencils to the same size.


Since the tops of the turret are not horizontal, I determined to make a guide so that I can properly align the stencils. First I cut a plastic strip measuring from the hull top to just the corner top of the front turret interlock.


Using this as a measure, I marked the other end and taped this point and the point where I earlier measure the strip. This is now my horizontal line.


Next I cut the transfer film approximately the size of the stencil I cut earlier.


I then removed the transfer film from its backing.


The sticky side I then put on top of the cut stencil.


I then peeled off the stencil from its backing along with the transfer film.


Using the tops of the cut stencil as guide, I then put this on the turret side. I aligned the tops of the stencil with the tape line I placed earlier. Side to side spacing would be according to individual taste.


Now comes the tricky part. As Hotte mentioned the stencil has almost no adhesion to the surface you stick it too. It would more readily attach itself to the transfer film than on the tank. Be careful when you peel off the transfer film as the stencil is liable to come along with it. Here I attached tape around the stencil's sides so that it would stay put. I also used a tweezer to push the stencil back in place if a part of it lifts off.


And here is the stencil ready for painting.


Apply the same steps for the turret rear. Here since the turret rear top is horizontal, I used that as a guide for aligning the stencil.


Since the stencil needs to be flush with the surface of the tank to prevent paint runs, you may have to cut the stencils around obstructions.


Here is the turret rear stencil attached and taped.


A MAN panther wouldn't be a MAN panther without the bar crosses on the front glacis interlock. MAN panthers often have the bar crosses painted at the factory and having the bar crosses in these locations is considered a definitive identifier that a panther was manufactured by MAN. Here you can see the amount of tape I put in this area. It is especially difficult to place the stencils in this area since it is crowded with tool brackets and you have to mask them all to prevent overspray. Also you have to be careful when spraying this area since the stencil cannot be flush with the surface due to bumps caused by the weld marks.



I also added the maintenance symbol on the gun cleaner tube.


And here is the panther ready for painting. Whheeeewww, putting the stencils on and keeping them on was a lot of work. But if you worked with PE sets before then this should be a breeze.

Updates cont'd - Painting the Unit Markings

With the stencils in place, painting the markings is "generally" straight forward. I decided to paint the tactical numbers in white instead of black as prescribed in the instruction sheet purely for aesthetic reasons.

That said when painting white, don't use pure white as this color will stand out too much from the rest of the tank and will be hard to blend down during weathering. For white I mixed the following to dull it down:
-25 parts Hobby Color White
- 5 parts - XF55 Deck tan
- 1 part - XF57 Buff

I then sprayed this mix on the stencils. Again, I was aiming for a faded effect so I did not spray the color on too thickly. In fact I feathered the color making it thick in some areas and faded in others to replicated the haphazard application of the tactical numbers as this was often done in the field rather than in the factory.


After the paint has dried, carefully remove the tape and stencil.



Here the insides of the numbers are masked with stencil so this should be removed as well.



And here are the photos for the rest of the markings:

Turret rear


Gun Cleaner tube




Glacis interlock

Good Morning,
Credit where credit is due, certainly. You along with Hotte provided the path for my recent Panther build, Jeff, and appropriate genuflection is provided for you both. At times, you both seem to blend into one awesome Panther Manner so apologies if it seemed that Hotte was not receiving his due for the Charger tip. ;o) On to these stencils. I did this sort of work applying vinyl graphics to various substrates using weeded text\symbols and lowtack to cover and apply it for over a decade. Same sort of setup with those stencils just that the stencils themselves are on very low adhesive backing to be able to remove them easily once painting is done. You figured it out and they look great!
warm regards,
Painless

Updates 11/03/13 - Unit Markings Finished

Finally finished applying the markings for Panther 242. Painting using stencils was fairly straightforward, just need time for prepping the area to prevent overspray and make sure the stencil is flush to the tank to prevent paint runs. To be honest I was fairly anxious during the whole process of applying the unit markings as one slip up can definitely ruin your day. I'm just glad it's finished now.

Here are some pics of the prep work I did for painting the black bar crosses on the tank's forward hull corner. Like the white, you should not use straight black but dull the color down a bit. Since I ran out of gray I started black using Dark Iron. So for my black color I used:
- 10 parts XF-84 Dark Iron
- 5 parts XF-1 Black

This mix is not exact as like the gray I was running out of black so far this mix, my black was fairly diluted since I added thinner to black just to have enough of it.



And here is the panther with all the unit markings applied.





I didn't paint bar crosses on the stowage boxes as this was not always applied by MAN. (Panther 242 also have these missing) However when they do appear, MAN panthers would always have the cross on the right stowage box. Panthers made by Daimler-Benz would have them on the left stowage box and MNH would not have any bar cross on the stowage box at all.



With the tank hull paint finished , (except for the weathering) I can now turn my attention to the the wheels and the side-skirts. These will follow next.

well done Jeff, I like your Panther. I'm curious how it goes on. Keep up your good level of skill.