I will try to make a MENG Panter tank after a long time. It has been a while since I made the D type before. Type A would look better with zimmerit coating.
This time, I’m going to use this zimmerit coating decal. The pattern is detailed, so I appreciate that I can reproduce it with a decal.
The plastic color of this kit is a reddish brown primer color.
The chassis was a box assembly even though it was quite a large body.
The parts fit well, so the assembly is proceeding without any problem.
As I was messing around with the chassis when I was installing various wheels, I thought that if I lay it sideways, put a weight on top, and glue the axles, suspension, and rolling wheels together, it would be fairly straight. It is also necessary to pay attention to the positional relationship with the grounding surface.
The assembly of the rolling wheel is completed.
I’ve made a lot of progress. The engine grill etched parts were attached.
It is better to use an instant adhesive because the adhesive strength is quite unstable if only the glue adhered to the decal sheet which is a thin spread of this resin part. Whether to remove it from the sheet and dry it before attaching it with superglue, or to attach it by water transfer and reinforce it later with superglue. If I use only water, it will come off easily when it dries.
The side armor also has a zimmerit coating? I was so impressed. Germany is a perfectionist. Since decals are easy to peel off when stuck to metal, I roughed up the surface with sandpaper in advance and fixed it with plenty of instant adhesive.
I used about half of the side armor so that the track can be seen. If I look closely, I can see that the side armors are connected to each other with small etched parts, so rather than removing the side armors freely after assembly, it seems that it is easier to do the painting after bonding with my favorite position.
There are still some parts that I forgot to put on here and there, and there are still some twin merits of the turret, but the assembly is almost finished.
(2024/08/28)
The Meng Model Panter A is complete. It uses the same manufacturer’s zimmerit coating sheet. If looked closely, the coating pattern is complicated because it looks like a rectangular block with diagonal lines in vertical slots. It’s hard to recreate it with putty, so I appreciate this kind of item.
Zimmerit coating sheet is very effective for flat and wide areas. It is quite difficult to put on curved surfaces. I think it is impossible without using a lot of superglue. I had this sheet because it happened to be in the lineup of MENG kit, but I think it can be finely coated by using putty for complicated areas. The shape fits each part perfectly, so it is certainly convenient, but if there is one more design for the material, the ease of application will change drastically. I still have another one from King Tiger in stock, so next time I’m going to get a little creative with how to use superglue.
It came with a tin bucket as an accessory, so I used one.
This time, the marking is Vieking, 5th SS Armored Division, 2nd Battalion, 6th Company, 1st Platoon, Tank number 3. It was a Panter in the summer of 1944 in a region called Kowel, Poland.
It feels good to have the etched parts of the engine grille because the details can be reproduced in detail.
The metal cord of the tow wire rope was soft and flexible, so it was easy to use.
I dutifully loaded up with six extra caterpillars on each side. The fact that they have a lot of spare caterpillars means that maybe they broke quite often.
It’s a Waffen SS Tank, so I put one tank crew in it. It is equipped with binoculars and its face is sticking out from the hatch, so it may be a commander.
This time, the overall camouflage painting has a calm look, and I like it. Tanks with large tracks, such as Panter and Tiger, look better if these parts are visible.
(2024/09/04)
I forgot to paint the bullet belt of the machine gun, so I painted it a little.
(2024/09/05)
