My 1st German Armour build

[Nige201980]

Hi guys this as the title says is my 1st German bit of armour EVERY Alex the blue gave me this kit for the panther sig a while back but with work family and other stuff getting in the way i couldn't do it sadly so i thought i crack it open now.

And here is


i manged to get most of it built really quickly.

still need to fill and sand in places but it built up nicely.

Just a quick question or two

What is this hole in the back there is no mention of what it is or anything to go in it.

Question 2
What are the colours i should be using for this build there is no mention of them in the kit.
Here are the markings any help would be great.


and here we are

the wheels are stuck on as yet or the barrel as they both need work and i still need to fill some parts

Any way thanks for looking and any help would be great thanks.

[AchtungPanzer]

Looks good , keep it up mate

[rodrant]

If it is the one in the box that is a two color scheme , and Tamiya colors should be the XF-60 (Dark Yellow) and XF-61 Dark Green , If you want to go to a Three color scheme you must add the XF-64 Red Brown , this I believe is one of the first kits from Tamiya , their instructions weren't that good ...as for the hole , I'm not an expert , but in Panthers with later versions that holle is covered with something , not in the A version , that I found this photo and it is a Hole ...maybe was coveres with some mesh like the engine air entrances , but really do not know , maybe there are here in the forum more experts m as to me when in doubt I search for photos

Quick build mate !

[Coen]

That's pretty fine work so far Nige. Some of those older and the newer Tamiya kits (if you can afford them) a great for getting your feet wet.
Well chosen bud.
Are you planning to add zimmerit?

That hole on the deck is a vent and should have a grill in the inside of the hole with a flange on the outside.
Here's a pic of one of my old panther ausf A's



For paint I would go with a base colour of dunklegelb then a two or three tone camouflage scheme,
421 appears on several panthers ausf A So you have a bit of licence.
This one is of an ausf g so for accuracy sake it's beans, but I've always liked it.





This one is pretty cool, though the link to 421 is a bit tenuous,



This one has the wrong shades to it but the pattern is fairly accurate to the era.

[Nige201980]

Thanks guys for the help.

Wish I'd known about the hole before I'd glued it in place lol and no Mike no Zimmerit this time just going to build and paint it and see what happens.

[OliveDrab]

Looking good Nige!
I see Mike already answered I built the same kit years ago, I had to take a look at the model to see what I did as I didn't really remember, but it looks like the research I did at the time was O.K. Thanks for the confirmation Mike!

[mincemeat]

Nice work Nige! I'm looking for an introductory German tank or Sherman tank to break into the field of armour. I'm glad I came across this.

[Gav0909]

Shame you can't get any mesh into that hole now, but I guess you live and learn!

Looking forward to seeing you get this painted up.

[Nige201980]

Hi Guys sorry there has not been much of an update what with other builds and and general life but enough chatter here is what ive done up to now

she has been primed and then sprayed with with the yellow and green ive decided to use her has a test bed for a few new techniques which up to now has only been free hand camo (never done it before)






in my eyes she dosent look to bad and im quite happy with how she has turned out.

Anyway thanks for looking

[alextheblue]

Tell you what Nige, in my eyes, that looks firkin marvellous!!

You would never know that this is your first German armour build, but I've always thought that a quality modeller can turn their hand to anything and you sir are proving me right,

[Stokesy44]

I agree with Alex. For a first attempt that's pretty darned good matey! Cant wait to see it all weathered up and everything!

Very nice!!

[Coen]

Sweet! I'm looking forward to see how you take care of the weathering.
Lots to learn and lots to play with. Should be fun.

[Nige201980]

Cheers guys. I'll be putting a clear coat on her soon to protect the paint work and for the decals.

I do have one question the kits has those crap tracks in there what's the best way to treat them will primer even stick to them?

[Stokesy44]

Hi Nige. I've only used vinyl tracks once (I'm only on my 3rd armoured kit and have bought Tamiya link tracks to replace the vinyls since then) and the only thing I did was dry brush them. They looked pretty lame but it was before I knew about pastel washing and before I even had an airbrush!! I did read somewhere else on the ISM forum that its ok to use primer and paint as long as you steer clear of oil based products. Apparently the chemicals in the paint can melt the tracks so you're safer with water based stuff. I'm sure you would be safe with a pastel wash as its water based and I reckon it wouldn't flake too much unless you manhandled the tracks too much after applying. Maybe do the wash after fixing the tracks to the hull?? Not much help, I know, but hopefully someone else on the forum will come to your aid with some answers that make more sense than I just have!

Sorry Dude.

[Coen]

That set of tracks is pretty old Nige. Not much is going it stay stuck to them if you paint them and then try to install them afterward. Those would be best glued together (with vinyle cement, the stuff to patch leaks in pools), installed, then painted with the rest of the kit.
It's more pain in the arse to do it that way, but it will save you from having to deal with those tracks shedding paint everywhere.

[alextheblue]

Never built this kit Nige, but I have tackled a couple of Tamiyas vinyl tracks and have found that good old Super Glue does the trick. Failing that a couple of staples strategically placed will hold them together. Mike's spot on with his advice, but if the thought of painting the tracks on the model is a bit daunting, you could try priming them first with a polyurethane primer, like Vallejo. Once you've got the main colour down, whack the tracks onto the tank whilst they're still wet (ish) and let them dry on the tank. Then you only have to weather them once in place. Can't guarantee that you won't get any flaking, but the primer is quite flexible and the wet paint should keep it to a minimum. Plus you can patch up any bits once their on.

[Stokesy44]

Makes more sense - and they both outrank me too!

[Nige201980]

Cheers for the advice guys ill give it ago when i can.

[Falcon]

Nice work Nige ! Keep going
Cheers

[Nige201980]

Hi Guys thanks for the comments

Well managed to get some more done on the panther got the decals on and some weathering.












So ive done a dot filter and some other bits and bobs the wheels are painted just need to weather them and the tracks add some mud and i think that will do her for now.

So until the next update take care guys

[SteveW]

Hi Mate she is looking good. I just finished this one myself and like you it is my first armour build. I did quiet enjoy it though as mentioned the instructions are crap. As far as the paint scheme is concerned I just trawled around to find something I liked the look of and then tried to reproduce something along those lines. The downer for me was the tracks., absolutely rubbish. They must be at least 1.5 - 2 cm short. I managed to get them on but the front wheels have pulled out slightly and you don't have the sag they appear to have on the real thing. I have CA'd mine to give the effect but it won't take much to ping off. Replacement tracks were to expensive for a kit that was only a trial and cost me about £10. I did toy with the idea of building a little diorama and have it going through some deep mud and then I could bury the gap in the tracks but couldn't be bothered in the end. Anyway look forward to seeing this one finished

[Stokesy44]

Paint and weathering looking great mate! Love to see this one finished. Really good work.

First German armour? - Yeah right!!

[wappynutter]

Damn sweet Nige, blown away....... You have created a superb finish on this piece of Armour mate.... Well done...
Sorry i hadn't posted before now... honestly thought i had but that may have been your Desert rats thread..
1st German Armour is a winner in my book mate..

Continued success...

[Nige201980]

Thanks guys really appreciate all the great comments.

i manged to get a little more done not much mind. Just added some dry mud and a bit off work on the exhausts.





Thanks for looking guys

[jbellos1]

Well done. Really looks great. The mud splashes are very nicely applied, especially up front.

[Coen]

Those are very well applied techniques for one so new to armour Nige.
Excellent work bud.

[d6mst0]

Really nice work. Agree the mud splashes look really real.