Befehlspanther G "R01"

[Laurent Moitrot]

Hi guys.
Another "should be finished two years ago" project of mine.
The famous Befehlspanther G from Hermann göring panzer Division with "disc pattern" camo on the schürzen.
Basically this is the DML "panther G late" kit with a few add-ons.
first of all the kit mistakes were fixed like the door on the turret rear panel that's a millimeter too far on the right.
According to the Fahrgestell Nr, this Panther does have the crew compartment heating but not the shutters on the right side. It also has one of the so-called "reinforced gun mantlet" which in fact is (according to T Jentz) a molding flaw.
So I added Tamiya exhaust pipes and Voyager PE parts.
Most of the parts (like the wheels, tracks and upper hull) still have to be glued on. I still have to add the gunner's sight on the mantlet.
If you notice any mistake please let me know.







PS : I see i till have to add the extra antenna stowage as it is a command tank ...

[Dario Risso]

Beautifull cat, Laurent !!! The extra antenna was not carried inside the tubular case, with the gun cleaning rods?

Go ahead with the paint!!!

Darío

[Laurent Moitrot]

[Tony Lee Watts]

Oh that's going to look great when you finish. I had to study there for a minute about what was covering the wheels up.

Later
Tony Lee

[Laurent Moitrot]

[Darren Gawle]

Hi Laurent,

Just wondering why you say this particular Panther shouldn't have the armoured louvres on the RHS air intakes; it's my understanding that you need these in place in order for the kampfraumheizung to work properly.

DG

[Laurent Moitrot]

Hi Darren.
Glad to have you around.
Now, do we talk about the same shutters ?
I'm not talking about the "pizza parts" used on the LHS but of the RHS (when looking forward) used to regulate the oil temperature. These in fact :



They appeared later than the crew compartiment heating.

By the way I worked a bit on this bugger.
Fixed the Schürzen added some minor details (still a lot to do !) and ... decided to try my brand new air brush just to screw the whole thing up with the worst paint job I ever did (I'll have to get used to this nw Paasche device !). Hopefully no human losses were to report. It is just paint and I'll rework on it asap. Yet I wonder how come I could use matt green paint and end up with a glossy color ? Hmmm ...

[Darren Gawle]

Hi Laurent,

Yes, those are the armoured louvres I was referring to - I just looked at the photo of R01 in Panzer Tracts 5-2 and sure enough they're not there.

This is weird, because those louvres are required for the kampfraumheizung to work properly (effectively making the engine run hotter when they're shut). As we know Panthers were rolling off productions lines as early as September 1944 in MAN's case, effectively crew heaters were being installed in full knowledge of their inability to work as designed. Re-reading Panzer Tracts 5-2, it also says (at least in MNH's case) that the pie-shaped covers and mount for the heater were also not installed until late November 1944.

Sorry for the moment of confusion!

DG

[Laurent Moitrot]

You do not have to be sorry. In fact I had to ask Roddy Mc Dougall.
Since we know the serial number of r01 it was rather easy to tell when it was built.
Apparently Roddy had informations about Panthers built shortly before and after R01 and they didn't have the oil regulation shutters on.