Tamiya 1/35 Jagdpanther (Late)

[Stokesy44]

There was a great documentary on the other night about the German STUGs and SP guns. I'm not really an armour guy but these things caught my eye. 1/35 seemed like a nice scale and I thought if I could get something that didn't break the bank I would have a go. Price-wise, Tamiya looked good and I found a great deal on Amazon for a Jagdpanther so I jumped in and bought one.



Added an Eduard PE set for the rear deck and some replacement tracks for the vinyl ones in the kit. They're on their way. Time to go blundering into a world I'm not too familiar with so forgive me if I make any schoolboy errors as I go.

Having looked at old photos and other kits I decided to thin out and dent the fenders. Also, I used a modelling file to make scrapes and pits on the armour plate.



Some of these are too deep so will be 'softened' with filler.

This thing goes together beautifully. The road wheels and bogeys etc all went on like clockwork and were checked for levelling. The surface detail is really crisp and it all looks great.



Now all the detail is being added to the hull. Again, it all goes on superbly and I have even stopped test fitting stuff because its just a waste of time

As mentioned I have some PE on the way for the upper deck but even without it the exterior detail is impressive (to my eyes at least!). What is also nice is that I don't have to keep stopping to paint stuff (unlike aircraft kits) This thing will not see any paint until nearly all the main building is done. I have a plan for the painting But that will come later.

All the bits and bobs are going on now.






The kit skirts are one piece so these will be broken up and attached separately. It looks like these things fell off a lot in close country so I may show some missing. Once cut up, the edges were thinned out, I have torn up and dented one side so far to show wear and tear. The other side will follow:






Tracks and PE have arrived



The tracks are a bit of a trade-off. While not as good as some of the after market stuff available, they're still much batter than the kit's. I plan to build them in 2 sections per side, the upper and lower. These will then be glued together at front and rear and 'drooping' added as required. I experimented with the single sprue of track links supplied with the kit (for placing on the hull as spares) and this seemed to work fine. Gluing the links took time but they retained an element of flexibility so were workable in conforming them to how the should sit on the wheels once mounted.

With regard to painting the tracks I aim to do them before attaching them to the model. The plan is to paint, wash and weather the tracks before attaching them (I plan to paint the kit before the tracks are attached too). That way, the camo will not get on to the tracks as it will already be done. Only the washing and weathering will be done afterwards. Well, that is the Baldrick-esque plan anyway

More to follow - track links next up

[MarkVerploeg]

This is looking very intresting so far
I never build a Tamiya Jagdpanther so i don't know how good they are to build but judging from what i see here it looks like a nice kit
I like the damage you added especially to the side skirts , they look really beat up
Keep up the good work

[DoubleDigit12]

Nice battle damage, really cool.
Diorama still a write off

[Stokesy44]

Thanks guys.

Tracks are done. Half and half seems to work in terms of fitting them and they look SO much better than the vinyl tracks supplied.




Also replaced the plastic towing chains with some real wire, should be easier to pose on the hull. Had some Master Tools cable that I picked up at the recent Coventry show, complete fluke that it was the right width! I cut the ends off the plastic cables and drilled them out, the real wire then slotted in nicely with some super glue.



Hopefully going to prime the hull tomorrow and paint the tracks. Fire up the compressor......

[trekfanj]

Love that banged-up look you did!
Definitely following this one!

[Gb64c]

I love the look of this kit. Built one a few months back. Mr hobby metilizer iron looks great on tracks.

The sloping armor is great for dot paint weathering. Love the big flat slopes.

Looks great. How much were the Tamiya tracks?

[Stokesy44]

Hi Guys, thanks for that. The tracks were £16. I thought that was expensive until I saw what some other sets were costing. I'm relatively new to the whole after market concept but I have a rule - if it costs more than the kit, don't buy it! I bought the SP because it looked good at a great price. I've now spent circa £38 if you include the tracks and the PE, that's quite enough for my pocket thank you. Gb64c, I agree with you, the Jagdpanther just looks great. It's like the old rule of design, if it looks right, it probably is right. As a kit, its a lot of plastic for the money and I am looking forward to painting today. Priming and pre-shading only, the paints for the camo are still in the post - D'oh!! As for the tracks, grey then a brown wash and finally a dry brush to highlight the metal. Thanks for the heads up on the Mr Hobby paint but I cant wait on another delivery.

[Mylightweight]

It's looking good, I've got one in my stash for the veil the hunters group build

[Nige1940]

Great job your doing those Tamiya cats are great kits !
The indy link tracks will add so much more depth to an already fine build .

[Stokesy44]

I'm still waiting on the camo paints but have managed to paint and wash the tracks.




I think I have worked out the best way to fit the tracks. 3 links are left off each side and once the tracks are joined at the rear, these will be fitted over the drive wheels at the front - that's the plan anyway

The second set of side skirts are also done now. I'm still undecided which ones to leave off. Trial and error will do the trick!


Priming the hull is next up. Got the gas man here right now but once he's gone, fire up the compressor!!

[Stokesy44]

Decided to apply the primer and do the pre-shading while I wait interminably for the paints to arrive.




Against all odds the paints have arrived
I'm going to jump right in and do the whole lot today. Factory applied dark yellow then field applied brown and green.







Got to say I am well pleased with the result. First time effort at this sort of free hand camo spraying. Went off the reservation patterns wise but the way I understand it, this stuff was applied in theatre so its still representative (kind of!!).

Next up is brush painting the wheel edges in black then putting on the tracks. After that, probably the skirts, which will need painting, then a varnish for the decals. Fun times ahead.

[Coen]

That's superb paintwork. The camo is awesome.

[Stokesy44]

Cheers Coen, much appreciated. The tracks are on now and the skirts too. They just need their green/brown camo. Will post the update as soon as they're done.

David

[Mylightweight]

Really sweet looking Camo work, was it done free hand with airbrush?

[Stokesy44]

Hi Mylightweight, yes it was freehand airbrushed. Very low psi, about 10, and tight in on the edges (5-7ml distance max), then backing off a little to fill in the colour.

[Stokesy44]

Put the tracks on this morning. My plan of gluing the 2 halves together over the rear wheel then joining up at the front by adding 3 separate links seemed to work. I had to get the superglue on the case at one point and ended up stuck to the tank like a sticky bomb! Still, got there in the end and am happy with the results.





Next up were the side skirts, primed, shaded and factory yellow. Decided which ones to put on the hull and which to leave off.




I think its an ok balance - also, I wanted to show off the tracks after all that effort!

One quick job done, the PE grills are now on and I think they look good. once weathered, they will be virtually black but for now they look as they did on the fret.


Back to the airbrush to finish the skirts.



The kit has now been sprayed with Klear for the decals and weathering. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the weekend. There are worse quandaries to have I suppose.... Thanks for looking in, happy modelling

[Stokesy44]

Decals on - all 6 of them! I could get used to this armour lark




Time to get dirty. Pastel sludge was all over. Brown for the wheels and underside, black for the rest.




Clean up. My tissues were predictably destroyed by the detail on the hull so I switched to a moist J cloth instead, much better.





The wheels need to be a bit browner, a second wash will probably be needed. The camo is still too much in evidence.



Gun looks ok



I think overall, the camo is still too vibrant. I may tone it back a bit with a light spray of something - don't know yet.



Next up are the tools and tow cables. Need to decide about the crewman figure or whether to just close the hatch! Then its weathering and dry brushing to finish off. Nearly there

[Nige1940]

Looks Great that camo pattern is very convincing sharp looking build !

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Nige

Finished off today. Added the tools, the tow cables and the commander. Coat of matt varnish to finish.












For someone who is a died in the wool aircraft buff, this kit has given me the bug like you wouldn't believe. I'm off to the Birmingham IPSM show in the morning, gonna get me some more armour me thinks!!

[mannloon]

This is a great Jagdpanther. Execution was brutally on point. It's great to see the same kit I built a year ago but in a completely different direction.

[MarkVerploeg]

Very nice work
I think it is best not to only build a single subject like planes or armor
Good luck hunting down some new armor kits

[razzie43]

Well thats a nice start u have here.Like the way you damage your tank!!
Just excellent!!

cheers Razzie

[Stokesy44]

Well thats a nice start u have here.Like the way you damage your tank!!
Just excellent!!

cheers Razzie

Thanks Razzie, much appreciated. My Tiger II is now ready for painting so another odyssey is about to begin!!