Many years ago I've bought a
Tamiya German Panther G Early Version (scale 1/35mm, reference
35170) but as it happens I've never built it. Recently I got the bug to build it and decide to take a closer look on the subject.
The Panther was one of the finest tanks produced during World War II. Mass production started in spring of 1943 and the production of the G model started only in the spring of 1944. Approximately 6,000 Panther units (of all different models) were turned out during the war.
The kit out of the box:As I mentioned, the kit is the
German Panther G Early Version (
Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf. G (Sd.Kfz. 171) Frühe version). Tamiya released this plastic injection kit in January 1994 and at the time it was the finest Panther on the market. It is still a beautiful model with sharp molding, great details and easy fit.
For those interested in buying it online, the box dimensions are 38.3cm x 24.2cm x 6.2cm and weights 460g.
The box contains 5 sprues in tan color, the tank hull modeled in two big components (lower and upper hull), a decal sheet, a poly bag with some items (fine copper wire, screw, nut, and 4 poly caps), flexible vinyl tracks and instructions booklet.
Sprue A (x2) contains the road wheels, sprocket, idler, some tools and the exhaust pipes.
Sprue B (black color) is the spare tracks (used as extra protection for the turret) and is made of individual links (and is also sold as part a separate kit:
German Panther Type G Separate Track Links, reference
35171, which I'll describe in detail later).
Sprue C contains mostly tools, general details, one full figure, mantle, side skirt and the rear part of the tank.
Sprue D contains the parts for the turret and the Type 42 L70, 75mm main gun.
Main gun:The Type 42 L70, 75mm gun is provided in two plastic parts, each part molded with half the muzzle brake. The kit also includes the loading breech (divided in 6 components, plus the screw and nut).
Machine guns:Two guns machine guns are provided: There is a cupola mount for an reinforced tank version of an MG-34 (included) and just half of the barrel of the bow machine gun (also a reinforced MG-34), as is customary. Sadly the turret machine gun doesn't come with the anti-aircraft sight (it's one of the options available as a photo etched from Tamiya and other manufacturers. More about that later).
Tools and utilities:The tools and utilities included are the following: tool racks, 2 big towing cables, 20 ton jack, wooden support for the jack, shovel, wire cutter, cranking rod, axe, hammer, 2 track tools (crowbars), fire extinguisher, Bosch headlight (with blackout cover), gun travel lock, 2 C shaped shackles, 2 pintles, and cylindrical container of the gun barrel cleaning rod (and spare antenna [aerial], neither of them included). Most of the tools are molded with some of the attachments brackets of the tool rack.
Tracks:The track is of the belt type and molded in gray soft vinyl material, but very detailed.
Wheels:The Panther has 2 idler wheels, 16 road wheels, 2 drive sprockets and 2 drive covers.
Side skirt:The kit offers two side skirts in plastic with the necessary support brackets to attach them to the hull.
Interior:Very little is provided of the interior with the exception of the loading breech of the main gun and two periscopes for the driver and operator, and one periscope for the commander cupola. Some details of the interior of most hatches are provided.
Turret:The turret is finely molded and divided into three big parts. The cupola is nicely defined, with casting texture and there is one included periscope (as mentioned) and a mount for an MG-34. One detail missing is the commander's direct sight (which is available as a photo etched detail from Tamiya, more details on that later).
Figure:One full figure is provided, of a panzer crewman in a overalls, wearing a belt and a side cap (probably model m35). The figure divided in two parts: the whole body (including the head) and the left arm. The only accessory provided for the figure is a headphone.
Poly bag with extra parts:- 1 screw and nut to be used for the main gun elevation together with the loading breech.
- 1 small length of fine copper wire to be used as a detail tank's tools.
- 4 small poly caps to be used on the idlers and the sprockets.
Decal Sheet:A small Tamiya decal sheet is included. It has numbers for 4 different tanks (411, 135, 522, 117), 3 German black crosses (
Balkenkreuz), 3 German black crosses (
Balkenkreuz) with white surrounding, 2 divisional signs (a black rectangle with a red devil face inside). See more details of how they should be used on the item Instructions below.
Instructions Booklet:
Black and white instruction booklet with detailed drawings easy and simple to follow, divided in 19 steps. According to the instructions the following tanks can be built:
-
9th Panzer division tank no. 135 (decal number 135 with black and white crosses), in three tone camouflage (Tamiya suggest using the following acrylic paint colors: XF-60 [dark yellow], XF-61 [dark green] and XF-64 [red brown]). There is an example of this color scheme on the box cover art.
-
1st Panzer division, 1st regiment tank no. 522, winter scheme Hungary (March, 1945), with decal number 522 and black crosses. The painted suggested is a whitewash over a dark yellow base color (XF-60). There is an example of this color scheme on the box cover art.
-
31st Panzer Div. 5th panzer regiment tank no. 117, with three tone camouflage (again, acrylic paint colors: XF-60 [dark yellow], XF-61 [dark green] and XF-64 [red brown]) decal number 117 (black), without crosses, but using the red devil divisional sign on the right side of the turret. There is an example of this color scheme on the box cover art.
The instructions have no mention on the use of the decal number 411 (altough it is pictured in the box art). There is a separate sheet of instructions for painting of the three tone camouflage and some extra Zimmerit information.
Parts included but not used (according to the instructions) to make a Panther G Early model:A12 x1, A13 x2, A21 x1, A28 x1, B1 x20, c11 x4
Zimmerit:Zimmerit was an anti-magnetic paste applied to German tanks, used to avoid the attachment of magnetic mines to the hull and turret. Its use was very common in the Panther models for some time. Two of the tanks suggested in the instructions and box art (9th Panzer division, tank no. 135 and 31st Panzer Div., 5th panzer regiment, tank no. 117) require the use of Zimmerit. The instructions provide descriptions of all the parts that it should be applied to. Since no Zimmerit is provided as a plastic part option, it is necessary (and perhaps best) to make it your own (it can be done using modeling paste, putty, pyrogravure and other methods).
The instructions also suggest that Zimmerit should be made with
Tamiya Polyester Putty (sold separately in two different sized tubes, references:
87097 and
87027) and detailed with the special Zimmerit saws (
Tamiya Zimmerit Coating Applicator, reference 35187).
Problems, missing items and other observations:There are no major problems with this model. It can be built out of the box to be a good representation of the Panther G. But if you are interested in detailing it (as most of us are) there are several items that can be changed or fixed for accuracy or to improve details.
- Idler is probably wrong for this version and could be substituted for realism (can be substituted for
Modeling Artisan Mori [MAMMGP22] Panther Early Idlers resin kit)
- As usual, the antenna (aerial) is not included but can be made of stretched sprue (or using some third party kit).
- No Zimmerit is included. It can be made manually with putty (there are many ways to do it) or applied as a third party kit part (there are options in resin, plastic and even photo etched).
- The Commander's direct sight is missing, as is the anti-aircraft sight for MG-34 (Tamiya offer a photo etched set for this:
1/35 German Panther Ausf. G Photo-etched Grill Set TAM35172).
- The cupola lacks many of its periscopes.
- No exhaust aperture bars (can be scratch built or replaced with
Moskit MOS-3503 kit).
- No electrical conduit for Bosch headlamp.
- Most reference images show two handles over the engine door that are lacking in this model.
- No grill mesh for all the engine and air intakes (Tamiya offer a photo etched set for this:
1/35 German Panther Ausf. G Photo-etched Grill Set TAM35172).
The list could grow much bigger, but this is just to give a basic idea of what can be done with the model out of the box and some things that can be done to improve it.
There a nice review about this model
here.
Next: Improving the Panther with Tamiya kits
Let's continue with the detailing of the Panther G (the beginning of this article can be seen here).
These are high quality plastic parts with great detail. It is a bit tedious to build the track, but the result is great.
According to the information printed on the back of the box, this set is not compatible with Tamiya 35065 Panther A or Tamiya 35069 Jagtpanther. It should be used with Panther G (35170) and onwards.
There are many other brands (like Modelkasten and Fruilmodel, for example) that specialize individual track links for tanks, some of them in metal with full workable links, and I'll try to cover them in another post.
According to the information printed on the instructions, this set is not compatible with Tamiya 35065 Panther A or Tamiya 35069 Jagtpanther.
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