hi Richard L,

Great job on your Panther.......I am currently in the same dilema as you are with this project, except that I have lengthened the hull top and bottom at the front and back to allow the roadwheels to be correctly placed.........the real problem is the width though because although the lower hull is about correct, it's the upper hull that is wrong and this governed by the Tiger track width which is too wide.....the new Mato track and sprocket upgrade will solve this but it means changing the roadwheel set-up to suit....what a pain.......I think I will do what you suggest and just buy the Tankzone sprockets and keep the Tiger tracks and drive wheels etc........tank should look real cool even with this anomally............

Cheers

CaptB

Hi CaptB,

TankZone sent me an e-mail telling me that the Panther sprockets and idlers have been discontinued, unfortunately. The guy who made the Panther sprockets for them decided he wanted to do something else. They are currently looking for someone else who can make something similar. Someone suggested to me that I should cut sprocket covers out of plastic card and glue them on the existing Tiger sprockets. I might go that route if Panther sprockets won't be available.

Will Tamiya Sprockets Fit the HL Gearbox? If so You could order the Sprockets when the new Panther is out.

Hi SS,

Yep....I could and I could probably make them fit the drive shafts but the problem is that the HL tracks wont then fit.........

Richard L: I have e-mailed Tankzone too and Kin told me that they are getting a delivery of these sprockets at the end of this week the 16th March........we'll see eh!........anyway thanks a lot for your comments......all helps the motivation and good luck with your Panther...look forward to pickies......I will post some as well.........


cheers

CaptB

Hey Cap,
Wouldn't you want to use the Tam, Panther Tracks as well, Then your whole running gear would look Panther and not PanTiger. Just A thought as I am concidering doing this as well.

Well back to the Airbrush.

That is excellent news. I will order a set when they are back in stock. I'm currently waiting for the arrival of a Tamiya 1/35 scale Panther 'Steel Wheel' plastic model kit so I can grab the camo pattern and paint codes.

This is my Pershing as it is, I need to add the markings and some fender damage. This was our first spring like day in western NY so I took it for a spin and photo shoot.


Indirect fire !

Hunting Pershing

Mowing the grass

Pershing at rest

Old photo Pershing

Looks good. From the looks of it we got some real good modeling happening now and into the future by the sound of it. Thanks for the contributions.

I just determined that the HL Panther is Type G because its chassis features a straight hull side bottom edge that tapers gently downwards towards the rear of the vehicle. This is one reason why doing a steel wheel Type G version is a great idea. However, the HL Panther has exhaust pipes from Model A, so I would need to modify them (by cutting off the two smaller ones on the left side).

Another "Alice" Pershing???

Well Richard, It sounds like its all comming together now. I have Scratch built Large model Warships for years. Looking for different ways to accomplish a build is sometimes what its all about, unless of course you own a Machine Shop
Have you settled on a cammo pattern yet?

I might do the same camo paint job as the Tamiya Type G Steel Wheel.

I know we strive for accuracy but this tank is a HL Panther! Seeing you hack off the front of yours has inspired me to do the same to my daughters. How did a simple barrel extension and gun upgrade turn into a new front end, zimmerit, steel wheels, metal arms and a new paintjob?

I'll let her apply the zimmerit after school tomorrow and then primer it the following day. She can then paint it any way she likes, using the three main Panzer colors. The zimmerit will conceal my hack job on the front end! I got it to where you probably won't notice it after painting but it'll be practice for my next Tiger project! Man those Dremels can cut plastic! And watch out for the hot knife too! I never had all the equipment now that I did as a kid, it's new to me.

Thats gonna look great, Youve done a wonderful job from what I could see it the pics. I sterted working over my base coat paint Job on my Tiger Today. Time to take off the road wheels and Tracks and work on those Next, Lots to do.

Thanks. Your Tiger is looking good. I cannot wait until I start airbrushing the camo pattern on my Panther. Airbrushing is second nature to me, so chances are the tank will turn out looking decent.

Cussing my Air Brush is second nature for me. This Airbrushy thingy is kinda cool, Ive never used one before.

Your Tiger camo looks awesome SS...

Count

Hi SS,

I would love to use the Tamiya tracks, but here is the problem.......firstly, I don't think the HL road wheels will fit the tamiya tracks so I would have to change them and probably the mountings etc......also, because the Track width is thinner than the Tiger's, I would have to cut the upper hull about to reduce it's width....not sure I could do this without destroying a lot of the detail on it.......also, the rear panel would need modifying also to accomodate the narrower upper hull........I may wait and see what spares Tamiya issue before I commit......I am baseing my HL mods on the Panther Mk V and using an Academy 1/25th model as a reference..........

cheers

CaptB

Thanks Count

Captain, I agree that it would be a guessing game at this point. However there gonna look great with Tiger tracks as well. My mind is thinking how to get that last bit of accuracy as one can. The Panthers had narrower Tracks. Kinda lika a Tiger Transport Track. However if your using the early style tiger road wheels no the Panther tracks would not fit. In either way it will be a project well done.

Okay SS.......I think you are right........I'll stick with the least work route and complete her with the width in-accuracy.......I have offered up the tracks etc to see how it looks and it does look cool..........I'll be posting pickies soon when I get a chance.............thanks for your comments..........too easy to get carried away with the accuracy thing, and the project never gets finished!!!!!!!

Cheers

CaptB

I have the Alice photo also and can't believe how a tank could be issued and used with the tracks on backwards. Where were the Orcifers and NCO's? Must be a Marine crossover.
Someone asked about the Sherman and M-16 and since mine are the only ones on this thread, they are both 21 Century (as my Pz IVs) and unfortunately not RC. The Sherman has slots etc for RC but don't know what system. The tank has the old M-3 tranny housing where the sprocket gear humps protrude, so installing an RC unit is questionable. I just got another M-4A5 (105 how) also 21 Century and the detailing of the engine compartment, like my M-41, is really great and very accurate.

Anyone have any experiences with these 21 Century tanks on RC?

Bill

Hey Armchair General,
The M-26 looks like it runs well, but you might want to move some of that HL idea stowage to something more realistic, ie; 5 gal jerry cans on the fender, pointing down; helmets laying on the back deck ;and mg ammo cans on the track guards (fenders) with nothing to hold them on. The rack on the TC side of the turret was designed to carry a couple spare road wheels, but rarely used for that purpose. Since you have a couple on the rear deck, ...just might want to put them where they belong.


Bill

Someone screwed up laying them out and they were in a hurry to get the tank into battle. Remember how urgent it was in those first months to field armor.

I couldnt help myself on this one. In order for that Pershing to have its tracks installed backwards they would have had to come off first. Why would a tank crew need to take off BOTH tracks at the same time?? I can understand that once they noticed they put the first track on wrong it would be easier to put on the second one wrong to avoid having to do what would amount to changing 3 tracks.