Sumptuous.
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Incredible! What a great kit (and a great builder)!
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Chris, thatās a perfect one word description of this kit! A+++
Matt, thank you check this out, 12 hours 47 minutesā¦it took almost 15 hours to build a set of Model-Kasten working Tiger 1 tracks!
Builders that have youth on their side ie no glasses and optivisors to see etc will be able to slam this kit out to the same standards in ~ half the time, Iād think.
Tracks, wheels, skirts etc are loose. Still needs brass MGās & antenna. PE screens arenāt on yet etc. I need a good day outside to paint.
Wadeās World Review
Das āTakomā Werks SuperBlitz Late Panther G, DW35041
5 Price ~$24.99 via Pre-order at Andyās HHQ, incredible 
price
4 Instructions - The instructions are excellent, however I believe all of the paint schemes are suspect and accuracy should be verified. Basically the kit is a MHN production tank and all of the artwork depicted is paint and camo patterns for Damiler Benz or some other manufacturers. I donāt have the appropriate references with me on the road to verify. Folks interested in such hair splitting should enjoy this missinglynx: takom-s-new-super-blitz-is-a-panther-g-late discussion.
I also feel that building the upper hull as shown in the instructions then fitting to the lower hull adds unnecessary risk to breaking detail parts. I skipped around in the instructions far more than typical due to that. Likewise with the the turret assembly.
5 Molding Quality - B tree has a little fuzz on some parts. Itās too fine to call flash.
5 Plastic Quality - The soft plastic is excellent and easy to work with.
5 Parts Clean Up - No sinkmarks or short shots. Some punch marks to clean up etc. Lot of attachment points to remove, fair amount of mold seams. However, itās all very easy clean up as the plastic is soft, sand or scrapes well with the back of a hobby blade.
4 Ease of Build - goes together without problems but care and attention to details in instructions are important
5 Accuracy - How hair splitting do we want to get? I donāt like the bolts on the wheels they look like rivets to me. I think the color schemes have an inaccuracy. Yet the kit hits the majority of specific details for a late panther. The Missing Lynx thread addresses most specific accuracy concerns for which weeks of 1945 production at MHN the kit best matches etc.
4 Fit - The fit is outstanding. However, I did have to hold parts in place with tape to keep good alignment until cement set. I almost never have to do this so this kit gets a 4 despite everything fitting near perfect.
4 Doesnāt Require Aftermarket - the kit needs an antenna, the MGās arenāt slide molded, so Aber MG barrels are a nice addition likewise Aber brass antenna.
5 Details built Out of the Box - this kit is a Natural Born Killer for the out of the box category at IPMS/USA style model contestās.
Thereās two sets of mufflers and mantlets etc in the box so a hard core contest modelerās could build two different looking builds quickly. One for OOTB and one for Axis.
** 46 points out of 50 **
46/50
Highly Recommended Kit. I found the model a joy to build almost on par with the Ryefield Modelās KV-1 1942 which is the most enjoyable model kit Iāve ever assembled.
Despite the fast build nature of the kit, this one could be fun to get stupid with Quick Track hollow guide tooth tracks, Ryefieldās infrared light and engine accessories etc.
Review Rating # 2 using the āpatent pendingā Boxman Builds - D. I. C. K. Rating System for those who want a concise numerical evaluation.
Detail: 8.9/10
Interesting: 9.8/10
Craftmanship: 9.5/10
Keenfit: 9.2/10
D. I. C. K. Rating => 37.4 out 40
93.5%
Cheers 
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Wade you convinced me to buy this kit and add to my stash of Panthers. VBG
Happy and Healthy new Year everyone.
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Me too. 100% having this one.
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Wade, guys I am looking for help finding a recently released King Tiger in 1/35 scale. It was offered in a simpler version and also one with extras and workable track. I tried both Andyās store and Sprue Brothers and they do not show it under any of the major model makers. For the life of me i can not figure out who released it. I suspect either Rye Field or border. Any help in identyfying the kit and locating one for sale is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!.
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Randy, the newest one, Iāve seen is Ryefieldās King Tiger.
Thereās two versions standard and upgraded. The standard has link and length tracks and the upgrade individual link plus other options. The Upgrade kit has mirrored track links which technically arenāt correct as left links were used on both sides.
The upgrade kit is out of stock at Spruebrothers.com, Andyshhq.com & Squdron Hobby from what I can see but available via ebay etc.
The standard kit is available at Spruebrothers: rfmrm5125-rye-field-king-tiger-sd-kfz-182-standard-version
Randy, if finding an upgrade version proves sketchy, let me know. Iāll drop my copy in the mail to you when back home. You saved my 1970 Tamiya Tiger 1 build with the Model-Kasten parts and Iām happy to return a good deed.
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I have no intention of purchasing the Takom Panther but am curious.
What makes the tank a late production MHN and only a later production MHN? Are we talking a few bolts? Leave off / add the thingamathing to make it Damiler Benz?
What about the tracks? Are solid horn Panther tracks now A-OK?
Curious if anyone actually knows what is going on.
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Doug, Iāll share my opinion but Iām unlikely to ever claim to really know whatās going on with German AFVās WW2. Facts with this specific subject are like George Orwellās 1984 and the Ministery of Truth.
Yesterdayās truth is overturned by todayās new findings which will likely be superceded by tomorrowās research 
I belive (subject to clarification & correction by The Sages of Research) that on Late Panther Gās MHN:
-
MHN used a skid plate instead of a return roller on the final drive housing. There maybe other final drive housing details, Iāve not read all the info on Missing Lynx been to busy building
-
had the funky flame supressor exhaust stacks with hoods
-
had some solid guide tooth tracks late war. Not sure of date ~Dec 44 to 45?
-
pilzen on turret roof
-
chemical warfare exposure card holds on turret roof
-
mount of loader side of turret for infrared gear
-
dodads near cupola for infrared gear
-
specific tool set, hangers and arrangement
-
Factor paint schemes similar too but not the same as Damiler Benz.
-
Probably some stuff, Iām not aware of to list.
-
Maybe distinct stowage bins on the rear that are slightly different than whatās provided in the kit on some/all late vehicles?
Note the lines are NOT straight they have curve. I believe this is MHN factory pattern late war.
The box art is an example, I believe of Damiler Benz pattern late war given the lines are straight.
DB didnāt use the hoods on the flame supressors and other stuff Iām not aware of specifically.
^^^Probably an error or two in my beliefs!
HTH and doesnāt add too much uncertainty
Thereās only a few tanks, that I get excited about the manufacturer level detailsā¦Panther D ā425ā being a prime example. Iām usually happy at the ausf D, A, G or F level or detail resolution.
The best printed source available for purchase on the nuances I know of is this fabulous bookā¦it goes beyond Jentz in findingsā¦itās definitive andā¦
ā¦I left my copy in Indiana so am flying blind other than what I read on Missing Lynx or what Neill shared.
Any and all errors in whatās discussed in this post are entirely mine and mine alone.
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Thanks, Wade. I dread purchasing anything because every single model is wrong. Some are just more wrong than others. Bummer it always takes a $100 US book to figure out what is going on and build a decent model.
Maybe I should take up crochet. No. All the women would laugh at my inaccurate stitches. āYou didnāt count your stitches correctly and used three single crochets instead of two double crochets. Loser.ā
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Doug, I definitely hear you on the details & research pitfalls with model kits. When it goes wrong, it can go like thisā¦depending on how serious the build gets.
Anyway, my solution to IPMS/Karen-Proof my model building is straight forward.
Back in ~2003, I defined an exact standard for what matters to me in a model build when it comes to hair splitting on details. If
the excellent Achtung Panzer series covers the detail, I care enough to address it otherwise itās not a concern in general for me. When there isnāt an Achtung Panzer series on a subject, Iām totally liberated from caring about minor detail accuracy etc!
By having that standard, I kept a reasonable challenge in building without risking the Death Spiral of Procrastination By Perfection.
That worked well for me but absolutely infuriated several of my friends. They entirely lost the power to screw up my motivation in the middle of a build by pointing out some silly trivial fiddle bit detail or dimension or whatever was wrong etc.
When competition matters and winning them trophies 
is what counts and STATUS is on the line, any dirty trick or mind game becomes fair game among friends or enemies or whatever. If they could stiffle the build, they didnāt have to deal with the model at a contest, on the table in ātheirā category. It was just repercussions for winning 100+ trophies in two years then being an ass accelerating the pace and intensity of building exclusively for the contest table.
If I outright lied to them about what I was building (and I did) and they wasted to weeks finding out what was wrong with something I wasnāt building, so much the better. They wasted their bench time trying to screw me up going on a wild goose chase!
One āfriendā got so mad he shook in rage and lost the ability to speak briefly when when told it didnāt matter to me if Tamiya got the turret wrong on their Late Tiger 1 because Achtung Panzer #6 didnāt address issue and I built exclusively to Achtung Panzer series standards if I added details etc.
That Axis Armor category only has 1st, 2nd & 3rd with sweeps allowed. They is only 3 trophies and they ALL are going to belong toā¦
Pretty Hilarious 
and TOTALLY Moronic in hindsight but themās the trials and tribulations of being real hardcore Panzer Police 
.
So happy to be away from all that mess.
Apologies for the tangent, trying to say setting a defined standard for details minimizes potential pitfalls of all sorts during the build.
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I was only active in IPMS from 2006 to 2010. If I recall correctly, none of the contest rules dealt with accuracy. Everything was strongly focused on build quality. It is completely unsurprising that you regularly sweep categories. As I have written a few times, you are very good at painting inside the lines and that precision wins awards. You have figured out all the key techniques and apply them consistently well.
If someones says, āYou goofed that up, bub.ā, it is very likely I already noticed the error, berated myself for making the mistake, and thought about how to overcome the problem for next time. Regardless, I appreciate feedback and try very hard to accept it graciously, especially if it contains new information. I have no plans to compete at anything ever again.
From my perspective, the biggest issue with the Takom Panther you reviewed is the complicated paint schemes required to finish it. They make it a guaranteed fail. The concept is great. The subject matter choice was terrible.
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Doug, youāre right detail & accuracy is so low on the IPMS criteria as to be for all practical purposes irrelevant. Good basic construction was the critical item etc. Thatās all water under the bridge me as well.
On complex paint, thereās always thisā¦the popular perception vs realityā¦
That Panther was in its original paint. Some late war Panthers skipped the Dunkelgelb and just had the Olivgrun & Chocolate 
.
BTW - I think thereās a way to make the MHN scheme fairly straight forward. Paint dark yellow, mask the lines with 1/8 Tamiya curve tape, shoot green and brown between the appropriate masked areas. The MHN lines wiggle around so none of the scheme has to be Damiler Benz straight.
Iāll risk making a fool of myself and post the theatrics of trying it when weather cooperates.
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That very Panther was my second ārealā model, built back in 2007. 
You would laugh at it. 
My affection for Panthers began with that kit. I ultimately purchased about a dozen Dragon Panthers and built perhaps half of them. Come to think of it, they all have one color or hard edge paint schemes. 
I build and paint a lot of things that are not shown in these forums. I am getting pretty good at single color schemes. Hard edge schemes, some of them quite complex, are still hit and miss. Feathered schemes give me a lot of trouble.
Tamiya Tape is excellent stuff. It way outperforms every other masking tape I have tried.
Blu-Tac is also really good stuff. Chibi Panther, for example, received a very complex paint scheme using Blu-Tac. (Really should finish that one at some point.)
About a week ago, someone recommended an even better masking putty to me. It is in my cart at Scale Hobbyist.
Anyway, are there hard edge schemes appropriate for the Takom Panther? That would change my mind. My hard edge schemes are iffy but I keep practicing.
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Wade,
Thanks for info and link. I ordered the Standard King Tiger as I wanted a āsimpleā one to do . I have several from Dragon, Tamiya and others in my stash. I also ordered the Das Werke Panther G kit. You can never have enough Panthers to build IMHO. VBG.
I know I will not come anywhere close to the beautiful work you and others do with these models.
But I will build and try to get to that level.
Have a great 2025!
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I think the Takom MHN with a few tweaks could be made to look passable as a Damiler Benz Panther. Who really splits hairs at that level? A few hard core modelerās and a few knowledgeable researchers.
The DB scheme in the box art looks hard edge and doable with tape. Use the flame supressor exhaust provided in the kit without the hoods, put a return roller on the final drive, of course thatās not visible with the skirts on or barely visible. Then probably a few other tweaks like possibly use the rounded mantel in the kit or remove the IR bracket on the chin mantel.
Sadly Iām not that well versed to actually know. The book 
ā¦
ā¦covers that and much more in delicious detail.
To be honest, its a great kit worth building even if deciding to goā¦
-
Monotone B4O Green and build it as a captured tank in Russian or Polish colors or US Olive Drab/Free French etc and markings
-
Panzer Tri color something or other under winter white wash and only minor chipping
-
Post War French service in appropriate colors
-
Factory floor in red oxide primer with one guy just starting to spray paint and a little splotch of green etc.
Iām sure thereās many more of ways to avoid the ācorrectā Panzer Color scheme hassle.
@Randy, sweet! Same just wanted a newer kit than my ~30 year old Tamiya kits and the original release Dragon kits from 20 years ago!
Happy model building & New Year 2025!
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Wade, your description of the IPMS Panzer Police is perfect. The experten. IPMS shows give me heartburn. I still compete but I hang out in the vendor room as opposed to defending my model from the experten. It is what it is, and thatās my model, go for it.
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When the quick build Takom Panther was announced, I started doing research on French Panthers because they seemed good candidates for solid guide horn tracks. In case you are not aware, a recent book covers post war Panthers in foreign service.
HARV did a review of the book for Armorama.
I own about a dozen books on the Panther but they are all dated.
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Matt, I very much agree, when one enters model contest, itās very much a I paid my money and Iām taking my chances situation. Often it can be a fun event with good friends etc. Being in the vendor room is a great for everything except the wallet!
My unpleasant experiences with IPMS judging are limited to models damaged by the judges after I learned how the judging system worked back in 1995. My unpleasant experiences with the Experten was almost limitless once upon a time.
A few fun examples, 
of listeneing to Experten talking come to mind:
-
Told a modeler new to contests and IPMS rules that asked about turned metal gun barrels, that people who use a metal gun barrel have NO Business at a model contest. Learn to get the seams out of the plastic one or stay home. If you canāt take the heat get out of the kitchen.
-
Never ask to judge. Only qualified people should do it. Weāll ask you if we think you have any business judging. Said immediately after some one asked about judging when the request for the need of
judges was announced. -
Lady entered first first model car in contest. Judges are walking around before judging starts, pre-juding models. The IPMS guys didnāt know women occasionally build models, didnāt know the car was her first model and proceeded to absolutely rip it to pieces as a POS that shouldnāt even be on the table because it sucked so badly. They were upset since it was the only entry so far in the category that it could win 1st place.She scoops up model right in front of them and leaves show. Their defense, they didnāt know it was her model.
Fun stuff if youāre not clueless and on the receiving end. It proved difficult to do damage control in my experience to what the loose cannons said to newbies. It takes less than a teaspoon of chick$#it to ruin a big bowl of chick salad.
The 2023 IPMS Nationals ipmsusa-sexual-harassement,how that and other issues were handled afterwards by E-boaed I will be resigning as president of IPMS/USA cemented me being wary of the clown 
patrol
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Glad I re-discovered this thread. I recently picked up a vintage Tamiya Panther Ausf. G Early and started picking everything available from Tamiya to put it together. Heard the stories of how āinaccurateā this kit is in comparison to newer offerings.
Already have the Tamiya indy tracksā¦
And the Zimmerit decals
And the PE grill covers
Now, I am debating to build it like one of the two the Panther G on display at the Musee Du Blindes in Saumur.
Either the French Captured Pantherā¦
Or this example at Bovington with the two separate camo patterns.
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