About a year and a half ago I posted a review of an excellent history of the Panther tank, and in tandem with it I also posted a survey of the miniature Panther tanks in my own collection. I will soon be posting another Panther-related book review, and I have recently built three new Panthers, which I present here.

1/72 PzKw V Ausf. G Panther by Hasegawa

The Panther G is by Hasegawa. I think it is a handsome model vehicle, but it is a somewhat dated kit and lacks in-the-box detail. (Since I am not that into making out-of-the-box additions, it comes to you here in its “pure” form.) The Panther D and the Panther A are both by Dragon. These molds have more finesse just as they are. The one failing for all three kits, as far as accuracy is concerned, is that they show no signs of Zimmerit — and, again, since I generally don’t go the lengths to add after-market details, you’ll see them here with smooth-skinned armor plating.

 The accompanying infantry are figures from Pegasus’s excellent “Waffen SS: 1943, Kursk” sets. I referenced various illustrations regarding the camo patterns used on the SS smocks and concluded that the pea-patterned “Oak A” would be too difficult, while the “Splinter Pattern” would be easier and also authentic.