No 14 BergPanther Build

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Wed May 11, 2011 5:32 pm

Hello Chaps

My BergPanther has arrived today. Allready started.

. I will keep you posted.

Lee

Roland Rion · Post by **Roland Rion** » Thu May 12, 2011 1:07 pm

Hi Lee

UPS will deliver my Bergepanther on monday

Regards
Roland

Robert E Morey · Post by **Robert E Morey** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:35 pm

Please post some pix of your progress guys, I really want to see one of these completed. Wish I could add one to my collection. Best regards, Bob

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:19 pm

Hello Chaps

Just to tell you that the build is going full ahead. There are several modifications that i am doing to it. Photos will follow.
I am on with the wood work at the momment. Oh the smell of Oak. There is a bit of trimming required of the wood. I have found that its best to do the floor first, Then the sides. To simulate the planking i experimented on different techniques and found the following to atchive best results. Mark the wood with a pencil. Then with a dremil with a grinding disk carefully go over the line. This will partially burn the wood giveing a groove to simulate the planking. Also im going to modify the spade get it welded. More will follow.

Lee

John Fitzsimons · Post by **John Fitzsimons** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:54 pm

Hi Lee. Does the woodwork come with the kit or are you making your own parts? Looking forward to seeing this.

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:09 pm

Hello John

You get some wood in the Kit. Oak. Although mine had knots in it.

Lee

Paul Morris · Post by **Paul Morris** » Tue May 24, 2011 6:51 am

Hi Lee.

Just a thought if you are wanting to simulate scale planking what about the thin veneer strips and sheets of wood you can buy to simulate model boat decking

Hope its going well.
Cheers Paul

John Fitzsimons · Post by **John Fitzsimons** » Tue May 24, 2011 7:05 am

I have built some of those boats. It would be good and not out of scale knots.

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Tue May 24, 2011 7:42 pm

Hello Chaps

There are some Photos om my Gallery.

Lee

John Fitzsimons · Post by **John Fitzsimons** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:58 pm

Hi Lee, Just had a look at you gallery photos. The berg looks great and woodwork looks great also.

Robert E Morey · Post by **Robert E Morey** » Tue May 24, 2011 10:07 pm

Nice work Lee, looks like a great model. Interesting to do the upper hull details first! Thanks for posting pictures. bob

Fabrice Le Roux · Post by **Fabrice Le Roux** » Thu May 26, 2011 10:59 pm

Lee,

You going for an out-of-the-box build or planning to superdetail later?

The forward and aft wooden sides were not hinged, but staked upright. Easy to fix. The wooden floor panels over the deck were made of six identical rectagular frames. The long continuous panel in the middle of the Saumur vehicle was a 1950s restoration lash up.

Kind regards,
Fabrice

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Thu May 26, 2011 11:30 pm

Hello Fabrice

The middle sections on the floor according to waldermar AJ press series of books shows that they went from front to back in one peice. 4 small sections and 2 large ones.
I am working from drawings taken from these books. Numbers 2 3 and 5.
As for the model. There are loads to do to make it an ultimate build. But for me it has Mike Stannards tool sets and grills. The Spade has been welded up and Modified. The Deck and sides have been modified. The exhausts will be modified aswell.
It all depends on time as i will be taking it down to the open day.It also has a towed vehical has to be done aswell.

Fabrice Le Roux · Post by **Fabrice Le Roux** » Fri May 27, 2011 2:50 am

Hi Lee,

As others have observed, Waldemar Trojca drawings have inaccuracies. This is amplified by the CAD database he has created. Therefore small errors get repeated throughout his large body of published work.

His drawing of the late pilze jib in its stowed position is wrong (vol 5, p32) as is his drawing of the the snatch (pully) block (Vol5, p35). Lastly, his representation of the proximal fixing of the heavy tow bars stowed across the engine deck is pure fantasy.

The Panzerwrecks series have a number of of good wartime photos, as does Friedli's "Repairing the Panzers, Vol1".

If you only want one reference then Panzer Tracts 16 is a good starting point, with one caveat. The US Army photos (taken in 1944 after the "Battle of the Bulge" and available from the Tank Museum) show the wooden floor of the BergePanther was made up of six identical panels, not the four short/two long panels seen in the Saumur (restored) vehicle and drawn in Jentz/Doyle and Trojca.

The Saumur vehicle was captured and pressed into sevice along with a considerable number of Panther gun tanks by the French Army immediately after 1945. The vehicle was nicknamed "L'Hibou", "The Owl", by its crews and was used as a recovery vehicle until the mid 1950's.

As part of its preparation for display the engine and winch were taken out and the latter displayed beside the vehicle. A fake 2cm cannon was mounted on the glacis. The non standard floor panels date from this post war period and are clearly fitted with non WWII German pattern lifting rings.

I have spent considerable time researching this particular vehicle over several years including getting the original Crew Manuals translated. I hope to benefit all builders of this kit by sharing what I have discovered and dispelling some of the myths and inaccuracies surrounding it.

cheers, Fabrice

leesellars · Post by **leesellars** » Fri May 27, 2011 8:41 am

Hello Fabrice

Can you send me some pictures that you have collated because the those are the only books i can find on the bergpanther. Please send them to lee@newthorpemodels.co.uk thank you.

Lee