PANTHER G ZU-FUSS

[HERMAN BIX]

Ah Ha, I see the rank issue has stuck
WO2 may be, but heart lies in the muck with the fighting men

Im really frustrated with this one Sir, just all up-the-shit as we rats say.
Once the new rear plate arrives it will be business as usual.
Have been messing around with the mystery mounts that led me to do this build in the first place.
Certainly can be made as the picture indicates, and how the single remaining mount was seen on the Littlefield 'A' when it was recovered.
The clean side plates apart from track links will make things easiee to get done.
I will not touch the rocket assembly until the entire hull & mounts is completed & secured to the lower hull.

They will fit, the turret will traverse............just be ace to find a way of launching them without losing them.
I might try the hobby shop that sells rocket motors & see how small they make them.

[ALPHA]

Ah Ha, I see the rank issue has stuck
WO2 may be, but heart lies in the muck with the fighting men

Im really frustrated with this one Sir, just all up-the-shit as we rats say.
Once the new rear plate arrives it will be business as usual.
Have been messing around with the mystery mounts that led me to do this build in the first place.
Certainly can be made as the picture indicates, and how the single remaining mount was seen on the Littlefield 'A' when it was recovered.
The clean side plates apart from track links will make things easiee to get done.
I will not touch the rocket assembly until the entire hull & mounts is completed & secured to the lower hull.

They will fit, the turret will traverse............just be ace to find a way of launching them without losing them.
I might try the hobby shop that sells rocket motors & see how small they make them.

Well from an observers viewpoint... can't see any way to launch those rockets remotely... have seen manual triggers that might work...making them remote would take a rather large investment....as far as the "vertical mounts" go....gave this some thought during your R&D sessions with the other guys...I've seen Lego safety cones...I am not certain of their size...but the cone shape might be of some help...thing is finding one....seen some on Ebay...looks like there are three different sizes

ALPHA

[HERMAN BIX]

The mounts won't be to bad to make I reckon. Angled flat base, tube in the middle out to the sides, gussets X 4 on each.
I did consider using left over PzIII idler wheel mounts, but they are too different.

Mounted the commanders "rifle" gun sight & made up templates for the roof AA armour out of cardboard. Be great to just use those & paint them
Either brass or actual steel will be in order. Brass tube spacers & dress making pins for the mounts.
Might go with a more uniform look to these being that by November '45, these will be getting factory fitted.
Still no rear plate in the post today so more diversionary tactics until I'm back on course.

[edpanzer]

Looking good Herman

[HERMAN BIX]

Cheers Mr Ed, it's no example of what Mr Hotte or Mr Jeff have done, but I think it's going to be quirky enough to be good enough!

[HERMAN BIX]

After the ill fated reno job on the exhausts to change the shrouds to hooded type, and the ole H/L glue monkey beat me to death, new replacement exhaust bases arrived for the grand total of $2.50 a pair. I had the new hooded shrouds already, so it was a ten second job to put the welds on the armoured covers & glue the shrouds on.

In the same box was my new rear plate. At $10 bucks, it was worth the cost to have the piece of mind to know I can make a balls up of things & keep on going.
Drilled holes to take sprue dowels that will carry the tow clevis hooks on the lower plate, also shallow drilled spots for the crank handle & track pin pliers so I can use the kit ones with no added hassles.

The armoured storage box for the night fighting hardware was an all together different story.
The literature all points to the fact that each night fighting Panther was equiped with a single system for the commanders cuppola only . Other references suggest there may have been as many as three systems (commander, gunner, driver) which really makes more sense to me given the difficulty of target aquisition, designation & simply keeping the vehicle on the path when moving.
I understand the 'Uhu" was supposed to be involved as part of a cohesive night fighting unit, but given the limited mobility & range of the Uhu IR searchlight, it would be far more effective to have the vehicles capable of unassisted combat.
My box has been constructed with the storage of three systems in mind. Just the single sytem lost the tank 3 rounds, so internal storage of three IR systems when not fitted would have reduced the combat effectiveness of the machine further.

I used the original stowage box as both a support to the new one, and an obvious mounting device to make it simpler to get in the right spot.
Cut up left over plastic sheet and set to work placing it around the bin as required to get the right look I wanted. All the joints were made "corner-to-corner" so as to allow weld placement.
Used poly-filler as weld material & the jewelers screwdriver to create the texture.
Brass door & lock group, no hinges as yet, and its done.
Cant wait to secure the hull & carry on with other more rewarding tasks

[edpanzer]

Excellent work on the box Herman the builds coming along nicely

[KTRob]

This is a cool build Herman, I like the way you do your welds, very neat

[PainlessWolf]

Herman,
This is turning into your coolest Build yet. ;o) Following along.
regards,
Painless

[HERMAN BIX]

Thanks Lads, the detailing on the rear seemed to take ages for little real "bang" if you get me. But, happy with the result so far.
Still need to do welds where necessary and of course fit the tools in place once the paint is done.
The pin retaining chains on the tow pintle & C-hooks just did not play the game -
They are on, that will do them.
Same with the exhaust shroud brackets- pain in the ass simple, but annoying.
Made representative hinges for the Night vision hardware storage box out of brass sprue & a couple of shortened dress making pins. No need for the door to work, so no need to flog myself to do so
Will use spare King Tiger engine deck grenade mesh screen material as the mesh infills on the hooded exhausts.

I found a set of Schurzen in Germany thats pretty well priced, along with a few other goodines. Not ordered yet, but very much on the cards. Be nice to have one of the Aussie suppliers offer Panther/Jagdpanther skirts, but none do.

Almost ready to reinstate the turret & hull to the lower, then begin on the rocket system.