Panther Ausf. G Late Production

Takom Blitz 1:35 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Summary

B a c k g r o u n d

The Panther was a German medium tank deployed during World War II on the Eastern and Western Fronts in Europe from mid-1943 until the end of the war in 1945. It had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171.

The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. In practice however, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war.

The Panther is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower and protection, although its reliability was less impressive.

While having essentially the same engine as the Tiger I, the Panther had more effective frontal hull armour, better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I.

The trade-off was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire.

The Panther proved to be deadly in open country and long range engagements, but did not provide enough high explosive firepower against infantry.

The Panther Ausf. G was the third production series with a number of incremental changes and improvements, built by MAN, Daimler-Benz, MNH. 3,126 were built between March 1944 and April 1945. *

F i r s t L o o k

Please note that this kit also appears to be Das Werk Kit No. 35041 (same kit, slightly different packaging). I bought mine under the Takom Blitz label, but that now seems to have disappeared and replaced by the otherwise identical Das Werk boxing. I will refer to the model as Takom for the purpose of this review.

Takom's new 1:35 scale Panther represents late production Ausf. G with the option of extended chin on the lower mantlet, flame-damper exhausts, one raised circular vent with closed cover and louvres on two of the rectangular engine deck grilles.

Takom's 1:35 scale Ausf. G Late Production comprises 190 pale yellow plastic parts, five photo-etched parts, a turned metal gun barrel, fine copper wire and markings for four vehicles.
As the modest parts count suggests, the watchwords for this model are fast build.

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Thumbnail panels:

Surface textures are simple. The rolled armour plate features subtle texture plus weld beads and torch cuts.

The lower hull is presented as a tub with the sides, lower rear and floor moulded as one. Axles and sponson covers are also moulded directly onto the outside of the hull tub.

The road wheels are moulded as inner and outer halves with the tyres in place. The inner three layers are moulded in rows of four connected by plastic semi-circles. This makes alignment of the running gear easy and precise.

The outermost road wheels are moulded separately.

The tracks supplied with the kit are link and length. These are a combination of long sections for the upper and lower lengths, two-link sections to wrap around the drive sprockets and idler wheel and some short sections to bridge the gaps. Guide teeth are solid. Very faint ejector pin circles are present on the inside of the tracks. The total parts count for the tracks is 38 for both sides! One again, simple.

I have already assembled the kit and I found that I needed to bend Part E1 (a five-link short section at the rear of the bottom run) in order to obtain a nice smooth curve. This was necessary on both sides. I recommend that you test fit thoroughly before committing to glue.

The upper hull is also presented as one piece with the engine deck and four rectangular plus two circular grilles moulded in place. One of the circular grills is raised and closed. Optional parts are offered for louvres over two of the rectangular grilles. Photo-etched parts are supplied for the engine grilles.

The engine hatch is separate. Takom even supplies a basic one-piece engine under the open hatch.

Each side of the Schurzen is moulded as a single piece, so you’ll need to do some minor surgery if you want to depict a few panels missing or misaligned.

The driver’s and gunner’s hatches are separate parts that may be posed open or close, although the instructions are not specific about this.

Their hatches include detail on the underside, although you won’t be able to see much on the completed model even if the hatches are posed open.

Tools and other fittings look well detailed with clasps moulded in place. The mounting frames for tools are separate pieces. The cable loop is supplied in fine copper wire. Optional parts are supplied for open and closed gun travel locks. An optional rear stowage bin is also included.

The turret looks good. The Commander's hatch may also be posed open. The armoured vision blocks around the top of the cupola are cleverly moulded as a single part. When the glue has set you can cut off the ring and clean-up the individual vision block covers.

Takom offers a lovely full-length turned metal gun barrel.

The muzzle brake is made up from three parts including a nice single-part slide-moulded main muzzle brake. The gun will elevate and depress after assembly.

Optional mantlet parts are included - one is standard and the other features the deeper chin to minimise the turret front shot trap.

Markings are provided for four late-war vehicles.

All four are finished in hard-edged schemes of Dark Yellow, Red Brown and Dark Green.

C o n c l u s i o n

Takom's new 1:35 scale late production Panther Ausf. G is a nice kit. It features subtle surface textures, a decent level of detail straight from the box and will be a fast, straightforward build.

I like the approach of a basic plastic kit offering link and length tracks and simple photo-etched grilles. The low parts count also contributes to a fast and easy build. Not everybody likes separate workable track links or tiny photo-etched details, so Takom Blitz's philosophy means that modellers are not paying for unwanted features.

The clever parts breakdown of the linked road wheels, Commander's vision block cover jig and optional parts are welcome too.

I have already completed basic construction and fit is generally very good.

Oh, and it is cheap! BNA's pre-order price for the Das Werk boxing is AUD$38.50 (USD$26.68, GBP£18.47). Now that is value!

Highly Recommended.

Purchased by the Reviewer from BNA Model World