HL Panther G customization diary

[magmer]

Good work detailing with the etched fret louvres, are you going to relocate the antenna while you have the upper hull off? You can run a wire around the hull and have the aerial the correct length then.

[jeff1101]

I think I'll leave it as it is. Relocating the antenna to the correct position will make the antenna hit the gun barrel when the turret rotates. I don't want to sacrifice functionality for sake of uber detailing it. If I correct every detail of this tank, it will never get finished.

[jeff1101]

Update contd.

I just thought Id post some pictures that were not included in the last update for the sake of continuity.

I like the crew heater grills uncovered so I did not attach the cover plates. However I did like the plates mounted on the crew heater side as spares so I did that instead.



To have the cover plates sit flush with the top of the crew heater the original plastic molded on mounting bolts and brackets have to be shaved off.



I also took the time to attach the casting numbers to the crew heater tower. It was a PITA to attach straight as I had the bad case of hand tremors. The more I focused the worse it got. Had to attach/re-attach this like 3-4 times with each time I had to clean up the CA glue from the previous failed attempt.



With that finished I decided to take a break. I had bought this airsoft auto reseting target so I decided to have fun in the garage.



target practice!

[sunray]

Excellent build. I like it so much I am just starting a Panther G now. Thanks for posting all the tips.

[jeff1101]

Update cont'd

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Again these photos are from last week. I have done some additional work since then but I just want to upload these photos first as I am trying hard to keep this diary in some sort of chronological order and I'm trying to prevent the unposted photos from piling up.

Anyway on to the build.

The PE parts also include the metal guards for the engine intake. These parts are small but I really wanted them on the tank as they would give it good detail. So I said what the heck and decided to give it a whirl. Anyway I thought if they come out badly I'll just chuck it and leave it out.



As you can see in this pic I was really concerned with soldering the 2 metal parts as cleanly as possible without the excess solder bead that I usually do and which would ruin it. I used the paper binder as an improvised vice to keep the 2 pieces steady and in place before I solder them. I have burnt my fingers enough times assembling the other PE parts to learn my lesson. I even shone a flash light on it to be absolutely sure I soldered the correct spot. BTW I put a tiny bit of flux on the join so that the solder would flow flat and not form beads.



I must have done something right as I soldered it perfect! Was very happy with the result. As you can see the solder has flowed flat and into the nooks and crannies of the join and so thin you can hardly see it but the join is very strong that you can bend the metal without it separating. I didn't even have to file it.



With that done I prepped the engine intake. As the metal guards are wider and taller than the intake hole, I made cuts where the metal guards will sit. Here it is with the cuts. Don't worry if the cuts are larger and wider than the metal guards as you can use a filler.



Here is the metal guard dry fitted in place. I didn't glue it as I planned to add putty filler to hold it in place.



Here is the metal guard attached. Again I used the putty to fill in the excess cuts I made.


Another PE part is the small metal grille that sits below the engine intake hole. I glued this on the underside of the tank.


I again used the putty to fill in the excess space around the grille and hold it in place.

That's it for now but I will be updating this with some work I have done on the gun cleaner container. Thanks for reading.

[sunray]

Great build. I am just starting a Panther G myself and you have given me loads of idea's and solutions.
Thanks Ian

[littletankman]

Fantastic work mate this will a work of art. I like the idea of a coke can to produce those hinges . Ive used shim plate and brass before , I shall try your idea.

Andy

[jeff1101]

Update May 7

Continuing with detailing the gun cleaner container, I finally was able to buy 2 mm trinagular beams. Its a shame I had to buy the minimum which was several pieces when I really only needed one and not even the whole section at that. And they cost a pretty penny too.



I guestimated the size of the beams I needed to use by bringing the gun cleaner tube in the hobby shop and picture of the panther with it for scale. That was the closest size they had available.




I then cut a piece of the triangular beam to the correct length.




As you can see from this picture (circled) the beam won't sit flush with the container because of the plastic straps I attached earlier. So I decided to add some standoffs so that I can glue the beam in more places and make it more secure.



I glued the standoff to one side of the beam using plastic strips the same thickness as the plastic I used for the straps. I then cut off the excess.


Here is the beam ready for mounting.


And here it is attached to the container. The only thing left to do here is to add the clasps for securing the container lid.

[jeff1101]

Nice build,

I just finished my "F" build... I posted in the "Show off" forum if you would like to check it out.. I asked the moderator to move it over to the "Builds" area but they havn't moved it yet...
Check it out..

Cheers!

Nice work. I like the way you used the Tiger tracks on your panther F. It gave it a distinct look.

[jeff1101]

Update May 12

One thing I noticed once I started PE work is that, the PE parts are terribly thin, while the plastic parts in particular the tool brackets are too thick and not to scale.


This was enough to bother me so I took the tool brackets off the tank.


And filed them so that they become thinner. Be careful overdoing it however as I discovered it weakened the structure enough that the brackets broke when mounting/dismounting the tools. The picture shows the left tool rack thinned and the right was another tool bracket that I haven't filed yet.


I was aiming for this look [from PrimePortal]

I then reattached the brackets back to the tank.


Here is the spare rope holder after thinning it. Looks better I think.