Military Illustrated Modeller – August 2019

 Military Illustrated Modeller - August 2019

FULL-BUILD: 1947 AXIS ARMOUR PAPER PANZER PRODUCTIONS 1:35 CAST HULL PANTHER F

F HULL WITH G TURRET

Speaking of Panther F construction, you may be

familiar with the hulls on the production line in the

Berlin-Marienfelde DB factory at the end of the

war. Just recently there were pictures discovered

showing actual F-hulls equipped with G-turrets after

the fighting in Berlin suburbs. So, it’s not entirely

fictional after all. After extending the frontal armour

of the hull, I started adding all the details as seen

on a regular Panther G/F hull. For this I used a few

photos-etched sets from Aber: The rear boxes with

the vertical ribs (A35A117), the front fenders and

side skirt rails (A35222), the general detail set for

late Panthers (A35221) and the tube for the gun

cleaning equipment (AR23).

Whenever possible, I soldered these details for

stronger bonds and also to allow the imitation of

dents and light battle damage. Once the pieces

were assembled, they were fixed to the resin hull

with super glue. Given the supposed increased

weight of the hull and of course that massive turret,

I lowered the suspension by fixing the swing-arms

in a lower position (3mm).

This way one can suggest the massive weight

of the vehicle. I installed the steel-wheels instead

of the rubber-rimmed wheels, assuming that

Panther production switched towards steel-

wheeled running gears only due to severe rubber

shortage in the German war industry. With the

hull more or less complete, I moved on to the

turret, Einheitsturm Reichswerke Hermann Göring

1947 (PPP 35021). PPP offers another interesting

description for this item:

The stowage tube for the gun cleaning equipment was installed on

the rear. The reinforced towing device is also a resin item from PPP

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The resemblance to modern tank from

the 1960s and 70s is quite clear