Just Another Panther Part 2

[PanzerWomble]

Bored with aircraft ...

 

I bought this 31 year old 1994 Tamiya kit a while back on the cheap. It was missing decals and the tracks, but it is one of the few Steel wheel models available ; being too tight to fork out for the Dragon one ..and RFM hadn’t done theirs yet …although I have one now . Was going to punt this one on but decided to have a dry run for the RFM later ....and... it's a Panther ...

The wubber twacks were no biggie, having built numerous Tammy Panthererers TBH they are pretty dated, a shade too short and getting a realistic sag involves a lot of superglue ..so typically I replace them with Fruils anyway because I don’t value my fingertips much

Not many parts, the shape is good though. 

 

 

 

24 or so steel wheel Panthers were produced at the MAN works in September 1944 as a trial. For some reason they never went ahead with the production swap and the few produced got sent to the LSSAH ..later ending up with KG Peiper and used during Watch am Rhein. Numerous pictures show six 2 Koy vehicles abandoned around La Gleize and Stoumont …hence my interest. The Duel in the Mist books can give you more details .

Panther '211' with 'Steel road wheels' of SS-Panzer Regiment 1, was lost near Stoumont's Railroad station during the Battle of the Bulge, one of the three that got beat up by US 90mm AA guns as they rounded the corner on the way to Awwaile. If you go there, there is a road marker showing the limit of the advance. Ater the battle they were looted by the locals, so pics don’t reflect as they were on the 19th Dec

211 was assembled and completed by MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg) in September 1944. Panther Fahrgestellnummer 121047 was issued to the second company of SS-Panzer Regiment 1 and given the tactical number '212' on the port side before this was corrected to '211' to match the number on the rear and starboard turm sides

It was commanded by SS-Untersturmführer Hubert Kaufmann, who was born in Kufstein (Austria) on August 2, 1919.
Hubert was severely wounded at Vesprem, Hungary and died 19 or 20 April 1945 at Straubing (Germany) aged 25, and later buried at the War cemetery in Straubing. 

 

 

 

laterz

 

 

[PanzerWomble]

 

Drilling out Fruil track links and building tracks is as much fun in 1/35 as it is in 1/1 . 

[BlrwestSiR]

Nice to see this. Thanks for the history on the steel wheeled Panthers. I always see the ones where it's just the last set of wheels in steel. 

I picked up the same kit from my LHS last year along with the rubber wheeled version. Both were free as the kits were water damaged. Opened up the boxes, washed and dried the sprues and they're good to go. Just missing decals and the instructions are a bit wrinkly. They're in my son's stash now for when he gets to them. 

Carl

[PanzerWomble]

46 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Nice to see this. Thanks for the history on the steel wheeled Panthers. I always see the ones where it's just the last set of wheels in steel. 

I picked up the same kit from my LHS last year along with the rubber wheeled version. Both were free as the kits were water damaged. Opened up the boxes, washed and dried the sprues and they're good to go. Just missing decals and the instructions are a bit wrinkly. They're in my son's stash now for when he gets to them. 

Carl

You're right there's not much to it TBH , no need to make Zimmerit either !! A couple of days work then sell it on .

The Ryefield one I'll build later will be a more interesting build . If i wasn't so obsessed with KGP I probably wouldn't have pressed Buy it Now 😀on ths old relic . 

Meng make a good Panther as well if the subject interests you .