January 21, 20215 yr #1 I was struggling on what to call my next diorama. So as to NOT offend anyone I settled on the title above. I have three Panther A's (2 from Tamiya & 1 from Italeri). Two have zimmerit paste but all three are attached to the Panzer Lehr Division on June 6, 1944 in Normandy just east of Caen. Although it should be a simple vignette, I expect to have plenty of figures for this one to compliment the Panthers. I am in the process of putting on individual track links and then I'll get to the painting and the putting together of this diorama. Here are some WIP pics. Enjoy and as always all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. Semper Fi. Manny
January 22, 20215 yr #2 Wunderbar! Did I understand it right, a dio with all 3 Panthers? Did you do the Zimmerit with putty or did you buy the ready Zimmerit plates for the tanks? Really looking forward to this new Normandy project!
January 22, 20215 yr Author #3 Hey Lars, thanks for the comment. As for the zimmerit the Italeri model gave you a choice of regular armor or with zimmerit and I chose zimmerit. The Tamiya one was done with Cavalier's generic square zimmerit plates which I had to cut to shape. I hope this comes out good. Semper Fi. Manny
January 23, 20215 yr #5 Nice kits. I remember putting zimmert on with a piece of HO scale corrugated aluminum roofing material and Squadron Green Putty. Rich A. in Pa.
January 29, 20215 yr Author #6 Hey All, I finally finished the individual track links for the Panthers. This was a task since Tamiya only makes ausf G track links and these were the old ausf A tanks and they came with those horrible "radio controlled" vinyl tracks. Then one of the Italeri tank tracks (vinyl also), that had very nice relief snapped on me so I had to use old Modelkasten Panther individual tracks along with the Tamiya. Now its off to painting, weathering and adding whatever I want and then the figures. As always all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. Semper Fi. Manny
January 29, 20215 yr #8 Manny, these are 3 great looking Panthers! You did an awesome job on the tracks. I really like the Zimmerit of No. 1 & 3. Excellent work so far!
January 30, 20215 yr Author #11 7 hours ago, RRA227 said: Arty Scout,Is this the box style from your R/C Panther? Rich A. in Pa. Hey Rich & Lars, thanks for the comments. Rich that is not the coverbox art for my Tamiya Panthers. I called them R/C type but they were really "motorized" although a lot of the later kits don't come with the electric motor and assorted stuff. BTW Rich that white 21 Panther is actually '214'. I'll be getting back to work soon. Semper Fi. Manny
January 31, 20215 yr Author #13 19 hours ago, RRA227 said: Ok. My kit had a wired in remote control with 2 motors. Rich A. in Pa. Wow Rich, that must've been a 1960's kit. If I'm not mistaken the rebox of this kit was in 1973? They had a different pic altogether but the kit basically stayed the same except for the wires and electric motors. This is what the, then, new box art looked like. I believe they are still using the same one to this day. Semper Fi. Manny
January 31, 20215 yr Author #14 Well I got some work in and I did oil based pin wash to accentuate seams and bolts etc. then I airbrushed the camouflage scheme on my Panthers by freehand. The first two pics are after the initial paint job. The next four are after I gave them a dark wash to dampen down the camouflage so it wouldn't be too stark and to accentuate the outdoor grime. Now onto dry brushing and weathering of the whole tank. BTW Rich the zimmerit on the 214 Panther is the generic resin waffle zimm which I had to cut and reshape as best I could. Semper Fi. Manny
January 31, 20215 yr #15 The difference between before and after they got the dark wash is remarkable. The washing brings off the Zimmerit very well. Excellent paintjob so far!
February 1, 20215 yr #16 I have to look for the instructions for a date. Stuff looks nice. Rich A. in Pa.
February 2, 20215 yr #17 I looked at my instruction sheet. It has no date. I would guess the early 1970's. Rich A. in Pa.
February 4, 20215 yr Author #19 Hey All; Well I've just about finished the Panthers. The pictures are in stages of WIP but except for the addition of 'soot' to the exhaust areas and the occasional tweak, they are done. the balkenkruz's and the Panzer Lehr insignias are from Archer Fine Transfers and the turret numbers are decals. Now its off to doing the figures and then setting them up how I want them interchanging with each other; and then of course the scenery. As always all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. Semper Fi. Manny
February 4, 20215 yr #21 Manny, you did an incredible job on the Panthers. Indeed the decals look like painted on. I don´t know which one of the tanks I like most, they are all looking great. Can´t wait to see the next steps.
February 6, 20215 yr Author #22 Thanks Rich & Lars; I'm adding a couple of pics of the other Panther. The zimmerit was from Cavalier. A generic resin waffle style that had to be cut to shape and glued onto the tank. It was my first time doing this. Also I replaced the "motorized" vinyl tracks with a combination of Modelkasten & Tamiya Panther G track links. When I did my King Tiger, the pieces were already cut to fit the model. Well I hope you like it and as always all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. Semper Fi. Manny
February 6, 20215 yr #23 Manny, they are really outstanding. The paint, markings and weathering are all exquisitely done. Do you have any tips on working with those water slide decals. I always have problems with those things silvering. Your decals look terrific. How do you like those Archer dry transfers? Are all three going to be in the same diorama? These are really fantastic piece of work.
February 6, 20215 yr #24 Manny Just excellent work !! I will always love your work, just a super artist. Tony
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