Cyber Hobby

1/35 Befehls Panther Ausf G

Kit Number: 6551

Reviewed by  Bruce Drummond, IPMS# 37265

MSRP: $46.45 Review sample provided by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com I would first like to say thank you to the Dragon Models USA and IPMS for supplying me this kit for review. Openers When I first received the kit I immediately went to the bottom of the box to see what new innovations awaited me. A quick scan some minor reading and then the cover came off this would be cat. I was not disappointed! Parts everywhere. Man, am I going to breeze through this baby! There are approximately 450 usable parts with 15 going to the parts box. Also included are 2 small frets of 13 pieces of photo ptch along with 2 cables of different length. There are about 200 Snap Track links and 1 fret of clear parts. It's glue time! The Hull Steps 1 - 11 covers the complete lower chassis build. The vehicle comes with complete torsion Bars which are well done and would certainly lend themselves well to the addition of an interior as well as articulation of the road wheels on some uneven ground or debris. The engine fans offer a late or early vent cover, I chose late. In step 4 when putting the exhaust together you will need to bend the PE Shield. I used a dowel a bit smaller to make a tighter roll then gently pried it back to its proper dimensions. They fit 'Deadon'. The tall antenna in step 5 was left off the chassis until the whole vehicle was complete due to considered breakage. All other parts fall into place. Step 6 has you building the very likable hull machine gun as supplied with many of their kits. The glacis plate cover for the MG is another choice to make and again I stayed with the late version. All hull periscopes which were pre-painted were now installed. Steps 8 - 9 covers the rear vent covers and they have some really nice PE to set down. What makes them real nice is that they include the vent flap section so you can have an open or closed version. The results look great. The lower unit was then it's its base coat of paint which was later followed up with the camouflage pattern of brown stripes. All else was painted by hand as needed. The Turret Steps 12 -17 covers the Turret area, most of which flows together very easily. You even get a chance to show off a great looking rear hatch in the open or closed position. The gun is a straight forward build with a basic breach area for observation with an open hatched version. The Cupola (pre painted had its 7 periscopes (again pre painted) glued in place with white glue. This unit was kept aside until the Turret was itself painted and then it was glued in place. An alternate choice would be to glue all periscopes in place, pre painting, and then use tape over their respective covers and touch up with a brush. Again, your choice. The turret was painted in the necessary colors and set aside to dry. Okay we are down to the few remaining items to place, namely the tracks, tow cables and large antenna. I'll deal with the tracks first. The tracks are individual link type and are nicely rendered. When attaching them do as the manufacturer claims and that is they stay together without glue. Yes they do. That is right up until you try to attach them. They don't call me pain and punishment for nothing and I'm sure I get more than my fair share. I tried to attach one side after linking all the pieces necessary. I used their number as in the instructions but came up a few short. No biggie here I just went to add the after stringing the run through the wheels and could not attach them without other separations occurring. After about 4 or 5 attempts I finally used Testors Modelmaster Glue for each link and let the one run set up for about 40 minutes or so and had no real problem and the stringing went well - ALMOST. While waiting for the tracks to set up I discovered when trying to put the extra tracks on their hull side keepers that the slots in each link did not fit on their respective keepers! Oh Horror! I finally worked this out later on when I took a knife and cut away and widened each hole just a bit. I was fortunate enough to have left off the drive wheels for ease of track placement and when I tested them in the Track length I had constructed sure enough the teeth did not fit and all the pushing in the world would not get them to seat properly against the track! OUCH! I could hear the tracks glue hardening with each passing moment. Well I can tell you short of frenzy time, I took a sanding bar to the drive sprocket and filed down each tooth remembering to check them for fit from time to time until they fit. Final Stage Cables and Antenna- You have a choice of configurations. You can cut the heavy long cable to make two or keep as one continuous. I chose a 1 piece and after checking the length several times I found I needed to cut off a small length of about 2 inches and I finally came up with the right length as needed and set them in place. They were secured with pins on the rear and by the post of the tool racks on the front of each side. Instead of winding the smaller track cable to the side keeper I stretched it across they rear keeper for the large cable and pinned it down at the same time. Yes Virginia, they just hang down. The antenna was added easily with cyano glue to the side of the storage box and kept straight up until the glue set and there it is - A Befehlspanzer! Overview The kit is a beauty and finishes out well. I could nitpick a few things but suffice it to say that the major issue with this kit is the tracks. For looks I would pit them against any aftermarket types. As far as fit goes they are poor at best. This is a manufacturing problem and I do not know if it can be corrected. I recommend this kit and it has many possibilities for adding extras and for fitting out completely for those that enjoy that. My thanks again to Dragon Model USA for an excellent kit.