Panther V diorama

Time for another trip  to the "Dark Side"!!

I'll be working on this from time to time over the next month or so.  














The tank will be placed on a small diorama base.  I have not decided on the base as yet.

Nice project, John.

Nice kit .... set to it young man .....

And we want to see weathering in abundance !!!!!

proper kitty

im going to interested to see you tackle those multi piece rubber tracks

HA!  I think as a kid those vinyl "snap together" tracks helped push me over to car models!  Good luck, we want weathering, we want weathering!!!!

Looks like a good kit, how does it compare to the Tamiya one, which if I remember correctly is ancient?

The Panther is a great looking tank too. And deadly.

The Panther is coming along.  I think the Italeri model compares favorably to the Tamiya in most areas.  I'm not too enthralled with the instruction sheet though.  In two instances the part pictured does not fit and really does not look correct at all.  Also there is at least one instance of the part number being used on two completely different parts.  Overall though I'm pleased with the model.

Here are a few photos showing the model as it is now.







I have more details to add before the fun can begin. Looking forward to the weathering/

Weathering, weathering, weathering....c'mon.

Good start John, weathering is a must mate....... and we dont mean flash crisp paintwork and shiney chrome heh heh

I say make it shiny. Even war machine are new at some time in their life. Give it the show room new treatment.

Sorry Buck, this one just made the trip to Kursk.





Let the fun begin!!!!

Das ist wunderbar John!

I managed to get some work done on the tracks yesterday.  The track in the upper position is as they were out of the box.  The lower position is after being weathered.  I have to say that my photographic skills don't due justice to the actual appearance of the finished track.

And you talk about me going to the dark side!!!

It's looking good John.

The track looks convincing to me. What did you use for the highlighting?

I am with Al, did you do that with a Wash?

I used an enamel rust colored wash. After that I dryed brushed burnt umber acrylic pigment. Then I dry brushed Model Masters steel. Then a grey wash to blend it all together. Finally, after everything was dry I dry brushed worn areas with Model Masters silver metallic.

It's been pretty busy around here for the last week or so and not a lot of modeling has gotten done. I have managed to make some progress on the Panther though.





The base coat has been oversprayed with Tamiya Buff.

Most of the detail parts have been added and base coated with Model Masters Gunship Gray.



The remainder of the detail parts will be added as the camo and weathering progresses.


The base subassembly has had a coat of dried mud applied.





The mud is a mixture  of baking soda, Tamiya Buff paint and white glue stippled on to the base with a stiff brush.

That's it for today.  Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, friendly ridicule and lavish praise always welcome.

Looking good, John.

Nice work John.

I like your idea for home made mud. Must remember that one!

JohnJ wrote:
The mud is a mixture  of baking soda, Tamiya Buff paint and white glue stippled on to the base with a stiff brush.

Absolutely perfect John, why going spending money on something when you have the same (if not better) result with household stuff.

Am liking this very much... the hull looks brilliant !!!

Okay,  the camo is done.  Still some weathering to do and the base to complete.  I'm open to suggestion for the base.








Let me know what you think.

I think it looks great John and will only get better when you weather it.

The only thing I would say is, the aerial is a little thick. Maybe change it for some thin wire.

Looking very good, John. Like the mud job technique.

thats looking really good

id have made the green a bit 'greener', but it looks like you have added a filter already to blend it

are you going to add any more weathering? oil wash?

Paul:  I plan on adding more mud, but don't plan on an oil wash at the moment.  I want to get the base done before I make any final decisions.  Also, yes, you're right about the filter.  It kind of washed out the green, but I'm going to have to live with it.

Al: I changed the antenna like we discussed on Skype.

Mike: Thanks for the comment, much appreciated.