Steve,s Panther build

[simon_manning]

great to have you back on steve, a breath of fresh air, the panther looks superb, keep the mods coming, i might back track on mine. regards simon.

[Tim Bowman]

Hi Steve

Looks like a real one. Doesn't get any better then that!

Keep up the inspirational work.

kind regards
Tim

[Steve Norris]

A little bit more work carried out on the rear deck fittings prior to final assembly.


The mounting holes for the 4 engine deck lift hooks were repositioned, the old positions can be seen filled.


General view of the rear deck awaiting final assembly.


Fuel fillers and air intake covers ready to fit.


Detailed fan shroud.


Engine grills.

Next step soon.

regards

Steve

[Steve Norris]

The next bit.


A general view of the almost complete rear deck, Weld detail still to do plus six lift hooks required for around the fan covers. The engine cover has had all the components either replaced or repositioned as i will expaine after the next photo.


I noticed while working on the fan covers that each cover has a cast protrusion next to the portion that has been cut back to clear the engine deck, I worked out that this protrusion was to act as a stop for the engine hatch but as supplied the engine hatch stop did not align with the protrusion. The only solution was to move the engine hatch stop but in doing this i found that the engine hatch intake covers were incorrectly positioned and also to deep therefor new ones had to be made and positioned further forward.


A general view of the forward deck.


The supplied ventilation fan cover is undersized and lacks detail so i made a new one.


The new vent cover


Again



Steve Winstones excellent gun travel lock


Again


The drivers periscope mount looks very good as supplied and just needs a small amount of detailing.


The drivers and radio operators hatches have had the inner details added and the assist mechanism has been made.


The assist mechanism has been made to operate using springs out of a stapeler.


Again.


New hatch stops have been made.

Thats all for now.

Steve

[Steve Norris]

I have been struggling to post any photos since the new forum came online but i think i have now cracked it.

Completed rear deck showing repositioned cleaning rod tube. The radiator screens still need to be finalised

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Another view of the rear deck

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Fwd deck and glasis just awaiting zimmerit application

P1020154.jpg (76.87 KiB) Viewed 4991 times

The forum will not allow me to post more than 3 photos at a time ?
As i have a couple more to show i will have to do another post
Regards
Steve

[Steve Norris]

A couple of extra shots

I have now completed the basic turret assembly, Weld lines and all the detail components still to add

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The hardest part of a early G build is the removal of the chin from the mantlet, Heavy going but got there in the end.

P1020156.jpg (90.42 KiB) Viewed 4987 times

Regards
Steve

[Steve Norris]

Test shot resized to 640 x 480

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regards

Steve

[Robert E Morey]

Steve,
Superb work once again. This panther is going to be really something. I was thinking the same thing as Simon that I need to go back and relook at my Panther after seeing all your modifications. The drivers hatch assist mechanism is really "the bee's knee's". Very clever to not rely on the coil springs but to give them a helper spring! Can I copy your design when I make that for mine?

Really amazing work, thanks for staring with us.
Best regards,
Bob

[simon_manning]

lovely work steve always a pleasure to view,your right bob these kits are never realy finished you just revisit every now and again to add a new mod,i have plans for my early models,repaint and so on. regards simon.

[Steve Norris]

Bob, Simon .
Thanks for the positive comments, Any details or mods that i do can be reproduced by anyone wishing to do so.
Regards
Steve

[Tim Bowman]

Hi Steve

Every post reveals a new, amazing piece of work. I love the zimmerit texture!!! Just beautiful work. Always liked the war-time photos of Panthers with the cleaning rod storage tube mounted on the deck. Great stuff!

Kind regards
Tim

[simon_manning]

your right tim that zim caught my eye aswell, looks very authentique, the texture spot on, regards simon.

[Steve Norris]

Tim, Simon.
I am glad you like the way the Zimmerit has turned out, As it happened it was a bit of trial and error finding the right material and aplication method.
The result i achieved was actually very easy, Just B&Q white tile and grout adhesive applied with Mike Stannards Zimmerit application tools. I added a couple of pots of Tamiya dark brown acrilic paint to the adhesive to take the bright white away just incase the top coat of paint got chipped at any point in the future.
This method is a lot easier and cheaper than using Milliput and also gives a better scale apperance. I have a small piece of original wartime Zimmerit at home that measures 6mm in depth therefore the scale thickness should be about 1mm which is very difficult to achieve using Milliput.
Regards
Steve

[Kent Wiik]

Hi Steve,

Echo the other, super work!
As a Panther nut this is eye candy
The zimmerit look spot on, well done.
Keep the photos coming as they are nice inspiration.

Kind regards
Kent

[Steve Norris]

A few update shots











Regards

Steve