Panther Build

[Whiterook]

Some of you are already familiar with this build of mine. It was a German Panther that I build for a Build on another site. It was my "re-entry" into modeling, after a near three decade hiatus! It got me back into a hobby, and a craft, that I hadn't ventured in for too long a time.

A lot had changed in the model build universe in my absence. It is more an artform, as applied by so many talented modelers I have come to respect and befriend here (and elsewhere for a time...ahemmm). For one thing, I used to slap these puppies together rather shoddily compared to how I endeavor now. There is a sence of craftsmanship and artistic expression in the process now; where before, it was just a hobby. That was a big change for me. The models have skyrocketed in price, which shocked me. Once an item under $10 US is now upwards of $40-50-60.... Geeeeeeeez! The other thing that shocked me was, they are relegated to hbby shops now; where once upon a time, just about every toy store and department store had tons of them! I was dismayed that such a cool pastime is no longer "in the face" of young consumers being hauled in the department stores by Mommie. That's a shame.

Anyway, I am now firmly hooked big time, and see many years ahead of me in this wonderful craft. I currently have about 25 models in my stash waiting to be built...bought at model shows and estate sales, at a fraction of the cost of the hobby stores.

This is the Panther...







These are the roadwheels...Oh my Heaven's, one of the more laborious aspects of any armor build! The method I've adopted to ease the burden is to use a Sharpie black permanent magic marker to do the "rubber" on the roadwheels. This allows a high degree of accuarcy, and when weather commences, the shiny "gloss" of the marker tones down just fine. It's a very good method, other than painting with a fine brush.






Roadwheels made me question, a tad, what I had gotten myself into joining the Build...but I found I really appreciated the "Zen" (as Geek44 so aptly described it) feeling of letting hours pass in a worthwhile, and fun, endeavor!

[Whiterook]

This next photo shows the undercarriage. I looks a little dark, as I painted straight out of the bottle...Tamiya Acrylics. Weathering latter took care of the dark hue, and I came to realize quickly that I prefer to mix my own colors, rather than paint out of the bottle. You can see this in the roadwheels, as I switched to "mixing" very early on...





These next shots show the upper hull mounted, and work on the rear of the tin can...

[Whiterook]

The tracks were actually quite nice, for one piece units. I was impressed with the quality. I know many don't like them, but I do. They do the trick, and suggest plenty of what's intended. I will experiment with Friul (sp?) and individula links...the metal stuff, etc., at some point; but right now, this does the trick for me!



The turret went together quite nicely, but the gun barrel was nerve wracking! I had been told to be careful with this steo, as once these suckers are afixed, sanding raised edges is a chore. Thank goodness it worked on fine for this model. I hadn't mentioned this yet, but, this was my first ever Armor piece! Before, I mainly did ships, aircraft, and a few cars. This was a whole new world!







The rear hatch was a real pain to get together properly. The hinge was a tough customer...but patience saved the day! The interior paint shown on the door initially ended up way too light for me...it was tned down a bit later. This was another new thing to me in modeling...research! Never did that for a model before!!! I learned a lot, though. A great part of the process.

[Whiterook]

A couple more pictures of the turret...

[Whiterook]

And the finished product!









Note the horible "battle splotch" on the left side of the turret! Ouch. That didn't work. I ater repainted the area and painted weathered numbering there. The dirty little secret is out!!!!

[Whiterook]

[Whiterook]

The "Splotch" be fixed! Looked much better!!!!

[McCoy]

Thanks Em! This is a nice follow through build story. Even nicer considerin' that it was yer first ever AFV. The end result is more than quite good for a first atempt.

[Geek44]

Yep...I like it too Em. Single piece tracks are fine and as you say, suggest perfectly well what's intended. I think there's a trap (that I often fall into) in spending mega-$$ on a single kit. Sure it has its place, but it serves to make the hobby very expensive because there's always something else one can buy to 'enhance' a kit. Being a big fan of PE and any amount of aftermarket stuff myself, a single build can cost me upwards of $200 Aussie if I'm not careful. Sometimes, a quick, out-of-the-box build is what I need rather than an expensive, convoluted project.
This Panther is what made me start calling Emery 'The Brush King'. For models finished without the use of an airbrush, I think both Emery and McCoy are turning out some amazing work.

[MAGNA]

That is an excellent paint job and the tones fit really well. I don't like the washed out look all the time as different vehicles were at different stages of their life cycle, if you get what I mean. Nice work.