This month we start building the turret. Like the body of the model the turret
is built up from 1-mm thick card stock. The top of the turret has a slight bend
near the front of the turret. Because of this part is made from 1-mm card stock
the best way to get a sharp bend is to cut a "V" groove in the opposite side
from the bend. This groove should be nearly 1-mm wide and about .5-mm deep.
Using the top and bottom of the turret as guides the turret sides are formed
into the distinctive shape of the Panther turret. To obtain the correct fit
for the top and bottom and rear of the turret all of these parts need to have
the edges beveled to fit the angle the mating part. 
While doing this trimming the outer skin of the turret should also be used
as a template to insure that the final fit of the outer skin will not have any
gaps. When I was satisfied with the fits the top and sides were glued together.
The bottom of the turret was not glued into place but left loose so that I could
easily install the interior parts. Over all I spent around 8 hours trimming
and fitting the turret sides. I cannot over stress the importance of getting
the best possible fit any errors will be very difficult to correct later on
in the build. 
Now we add the interior skins. You will need to trim all of the interior
skins for the best possible fit. 
With
all the careful fitting of the turret bulkheads (and a new set of glasses)
the outer skin fitted the turret with very little trimming. I did find that
I had to add a couple of small pieces of paper on the top of the rear extensions
on the turret. 
The gun breach block and recoil cylinders is a relatively simple build the
shell guards were made with .9mm wire in this case a paper clip was straitened
and bent to shape. To glue metal to paper I find that thick cyanoacrylate glue
will do a good job. With the breach block finished we can start on the interior
of the turret. 
The lack of detail on the under side of the driver/ radio operator hatches
looked out of place compared to the interior of the tank. I decided that I would
add some detail to the hatches. Research indicated that the under side of the
hatches had a considerable amount of hardware. Armed with a couple of photos
of the hatches I drew the hatch parts in Photoshop and added the parts to the
model.Summary:
| Model: | PzKpfw V Panther 1-2/2002 |
| Kit: | Halinski |
| Designers: | Marian Sobel | Scale: | 1/25 |
| Difficulty: | Very complex, very difficult |
| Number of Parts: | Over 3000 |
| Instructions: | Polish, German and English |
| Diagrams: | 4 pages generally good |
| Fit: | Excellent |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Outstanding |
| Printing: | Excellent |
| Resources: | http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz4.htm#panther
http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/pan/pan.html http://www.militarygameronline.com/Panzer/panther.htm "Germany's Panther Tank" by Thomas L. Jentz Published by Schiffer Military History |
