Placing Tamiya’s Panther Ausf. G in a Street Scene

Reviewed By Jack Bruno, #25313

Pictures by Mike Benolkin

The Tamiya Early Panther Ausf. G has been around for over ten years and still lives up to its reputation of being a dream kit to build. I assembled the kit out of the box with the exception of Fruilmodellismo tracks. I’m just a stickler for having hollow-horned tracks on tanks that were supposed to have them.

I started construction of the hull with the addition of Eduard’s photo-etched zimmeritt, but it did not have the look I was hoping for. Off it came and the Tamiya putty and zimmeritt tools got a one-day workout. No matter what I’ve experimented with in the past, this system works time after time with above average results. A Panther without zimmeritt is like a burger without the fries.

There were no thrills or chills during the build process. If you’re an experienced builder, you already know that it would be in your best interest to leave all off the pioneer tools and spare track until the end. That way, these parts will not get broken and you can paint them separately.

I used another old trick to weather the exhaust. I covered the exhaust with liquid glue and stippled it with a rough brush. This brings out a nice simulation of rusted metal during the painting/washing/weathering process.

I painted the entire kit with Tamiya’s flat black before adding two base coats of Pollyscale’s Middlestone and Bugbear Fur (love those fantasy colors!). I followed up by spraying a random pattern of Pollyscale dark green to the desired effect. Late in the war the Germans went to a base of dark green with dark yellow used as an overspray. The diversity of German colors and directives intrigues modelers because no matter what subject or era you choose, no two vehicles will be exactly alike.

For the wheels, I used a circle template to spray the yellow colors and kept the tire black on the rubber where it belonged. After the paints dried, I sprayed a coat of Future over the tank and let that cure overnight.

I used a couple of different washes of turpentine using Winsor and Newton’s van dyke brown and a burnt umber. After letting this dry, I played around with it a bit and dry-brushed several progressive shades of greens and yellows over the base coats to bring out the details. Although it may not be seen, always give the same attention to painting and detailing the bottom of the vehicle and the backs and in between the wheels. I’ve seen pictures of outstanding models that pay little attention to this and it glares out at you. A final flat coat of matt clear from Vallejo sealed it all in.

Some of the references I had for this area and time showed the use of foliage for cover and to break up the shape of the vehicle. I utilized the fine wire that Tamiya provided in the kit to wrap around the sides of the Panther to secure the Hudson-Allen pine boughs and provide some stability. The Fruilmodellismo tracks were a cinch; they were the earlier “crimp” type. I whacked these out in a few hours after some minor clean-up. I painted the tracks with a base coat of flat black and covered that with a dark gray from Pollyscale. A coat of Future provided a barrier for an oil wash of raw umber and rust. I sealed the deal using a Verlinden camouflage net on the gun barrel. All in all, the Panther came out extremely well and I’m looking forward to building the late version of the Ausf. G very soon.

About 15 years ago, I received a call from the owner of a hobby shop asking me to take a couple of boxes of buildups off his hands from a customer that moved out of state and gave up the stuff. One of the boxes had some broken-up buildings at the bottom. This two-piece house section was found in five different pieces, and I could not even begin to tell you which manufacturer it came from. After perusing it for the longest time, I decided to slap the house together and made it the focal point of my diorama. The two-story section was given a middle floor and roof. I used plastic card and balsa-basswood to built it like the real deal. Using a diorama book from Shep Paine, I selected a European style of shingles and cut them out of plastic stock with my chopper. The floor was an easy decision because for years I had a Verlinden tile floor section. It’s amazing the things we have put away, then discover it again when we need them! Plastic tubing was cut for the drain pipe and held in place with masking tape brackets. The rooms were filled with various pieces of equipment just to add some flavor. Balsa wood was used for the window frames, and then the house went to the paint shop. I used browns for the building and a terra cotta for the ceramic roof tiles. The inside rooms were painted a light blue and light green on the separate floors to, well, keep them visually separate.

After a coat of Future, an oil wash and a flat coat, the groundwork was built up using Celluclay mixed with white glue, with some driveway rocks thrown in to give it some personality. All the groundwork was done in browns and given an oil wash of black, followed by some dry brushing.

After the building was on the base, the groundwork was done and everything was painted, the diorama still needed a little something extra – phone lines. Tamiya has an old sign set that includes light poles, fences and two telephone poles. Part of one pole was easily modified to mount on the side of the building, and I gave it a bracket for bracing. The lines were rigging material intended for aircraft, but it was just right for this project and they were already black. It really came out well and set off the building.

The cobblestone street section was also a Verlinden piece that I found at the same time I found the floor.

I enjoyed this project very much. I get a lot of grief sometimes for going against the grain by having subjects moving out of the scene, partly-on and partly-off the base and having rhyme without reason. We are Modelers! It’s allowed!

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