BlrwestSiR Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Ok, I've pretty much finished off everything on my bench of late that was close to being finished: - Millennium Falcon - Y-Wing fighter - Toyota Celica WRC rally car So here's what I'm hoping will be a quick build with minimal AM. I think the only AM I have is from Dragon itself. I got started by following the instructions (!). Blasphemy, I know. I installed all the suspension arms, making sure I used the correct ones for the steel wheels at the rear. Then I started prep on all the road wheels. And that was the end of day 1. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 Day 2 was cleaning up all the attachment points and seams on the road wheels. Then it was time for some paint. I usually paint the rubber portion first and then use a circle template as a mask for the rim portion. Unfortunately my circle template didn't go big enough. Thankfully I had an Eduard paint mask set in the stash so was able to use that. I did one pair of road wheels in Dunkelgelb but I think I used too light a version. The circles on the edge of my bench are the Eduard paint masks. These were then installed onto the lower hull. And that's where I am as of today. Carl 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Looking superb, these Dragon Panthers are great kits, once you decided on the correct optional parts and after painting the wheels, the fun begins, except -tracks- . I guess yours is magic tracked. I built one years ago with steel wheels and have another late G in stash accompanied by a G2 Jagdpanther, but as good as Magic tracks are, I use metal ones on a panther, giving the visibility.. Will you enter it for the D-Day GB, the pace you have? Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Looking good Carl, I reckon at the pace you build you’d give JohnB a run for his money. Another entry in the GB would be great....... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 6 hours ago, DocRob said: Will you enter it for the D-Day GB, the pace you have? Cheers Rob Thanks Rob! I don't think it's eligible for the D-Day GB. I'm building it as a late version and the markings I have in mind are Spring 1945. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 4 hours ago, Bomber_County said: Looking good Carl, I reckon at the pace you build you’d give JohnB a run for his money. Another entry in the GB would be great....... Thanks Phil! The hardest part of the build is painting the road wheels. So with that done, the rest should be ok. It's got the Magic Tracks so minimal cleanup which is nice. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 I look forward to seeing the completed build Carl. Painting road wheels isn't my cup of tea either. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Desmond Glazebrook Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Carl = Speedy Gonzalez. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 9 hours ago, JohnB said: I look forward to seeing the completed build Carl. Painting road wheels isn't my cup of tea either. Thanks John! I really hated doing road wheels until I figured out to use a circle template. I have one in stainless steel made by Hasegawa. The circles it has go up in diameter by 0.5mm so it's easy enough to find the right size. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 7 minutes ago, Sir Desmond Glazebrook said: Carl = Speedy Gonzalez. More like I've got free time these days while I'm still recovering from my triple bypass. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Desmond Glazebrook Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said: More like I've got free time these days while I'm still recovering from my triple bypass. So, Speedy Gonzalez on steroids. Even with free time you put a clog footed nut like me to shame. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artful69 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 This was one kit that was on my hit list ... But I couldn't find one with Magic track by the time I went looking - they all had DS! Nice build Rog 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 Rog, l picked mine up when they first came out. It had an extra set of PE details and the skirt armour in aluminum. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 Over the last few nights I've been working away on the tracks. I made some straight runs that will go on the underside and started gluing others to the idler wheels and sprockets. I then painted them using a mix of Tamiya Dark Iron and hull red. Dragon gives you different track links to go around the drive sprockets. These ones you have to glue the individual teeth onto. The regular Magic Tracks don't fit. So you use 8 of the specific track links and them the rest are the Magic tracks. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 There's no jig provided to get the right sag to the tracks so I had to work quickly and do some repeated test fits. This is where having the longer runs already dry helped out. In the meantime, I finished off some of the upper hull details. Rog, these are the extra details that I had in my kit. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 12:20 AM, Artful69 said: This was one kit that was on my hit list ... But I couldn't find one with Magic track by the time I went looking - they all had DS! Nice build Rog Rog, just found this listed at my LHS on their website. https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/dra6268-dragon-1-35-panther-g-sd-kfz-171-smart-kit.html#product-details-tab-Shipping_info Maybe drop them a line and see if it's got Magic Tracks in it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artful69 Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 2 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: Rog, just found this listed at my LHS on their website. https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/dra6268-dragon-1-35-panther-g-sd-kfz-171-smart-kit.html#product-details-tab-Shipping_info Maybe drop them a line and see if it's got Magic Tracks in it? Thanks Carl ... I figured if I want to do a late Panther G now There's RFM, Meng and Takom ALL with individual track links ... And all are easier to source and ship to me ... I have several more expensive purchases ahead of it in the queue at the moment. When I saw your kit in the WIP I was reminiscing more than anything ... and living vicariously through your build! Rog 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 No problem Rog. I know you collect kits too so thought I'd mention it. I've built the Meng Jagdpanther, have their Panther A in the stash and the RFM Panther G so we definitely have options these days. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 A small update today. Over the weekend I managed to get the upper and lower hull halves together. The fit was pretty much perfect. I had to use a bit of tape to keep things aligned but that was it. No seams or gaps. When the join had dried, I started adding the PE bits, mostly brackets and clamps. I hadn't planned on using PE but it was in the kit so I figured I might as well rather than letting it go to waste. The hardest bit was the tube for the gun cleaning rods. It's all done now and I didn't go insane with lots of tiny PE bits flying off into the ether. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 13 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: The hardest bit was the tube for the gun cleaning rods. Nice progress with your Panther and yes, I remember the tube was the most annoying part of my build many years ago. It was the first time I thought about soldering PE. Cheers Rob 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Thanks Rob! I've tried to solder PE a couple times in the past with mixed results. I may try again if needed one day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Ok, I'm into the home stretch. I finished painting the base Dunkelgrun. I noticed that I had forgotten the light and gun barrel travel lock so I added those. Then I started on the Dunkelgelb camo. I added the spare track links to the hull at this point. The two photos I have of the tank don't show any tools in place so that works for me. Now for a light weathering and she'll be done! Carl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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