Hi, I’m Ralph and I am a Panther addict . Over the years, I’ve built a dozen of them (at least). I can’t help myself! That tank’s lines and finishes keep me interested in building dioramas that feature those beauties. I know they’re over-hyped, and over-done, but I can’t resist. And I’ll probably never kick the habit…
I’ll soon be submitting my personal favorite Panther diorama (at least favorite to-date), one I haven’t shared, until now, I thought I’d give you all a sampling of some of my past works. Some I’ve already shared. I hope you enjoy the pics.
Clearing a dead Panther
Panther Wreck with captured crew
Cat & Mouse (I’ve posted this to Armorama, before)
Command Conference (I’ve posted this to Armorama, before)
JagdPanther Defending Berlin
Panther and riders
On the Lookout
Bergepanther, cleaning up.
I have built many, many other tank kits, and dioramas, but…
Are any of you also addicted to one tank, in particular?
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Some great kits there, made better with the lovely Dio bases they are on.
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Karl those all look great. And there’s something to be said for having a focus/passion/addiction. It’s easy to improve when you’re working n the same subject and it certainly makes stomaching the price of some reference material easier when you know you’re going to use it over and over again.
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I love panthers too.1/76 Airfix, 1/48 Aurora, 1/35 Tamiya and 1/25 Academy. Plus 4 in the stash. The Tiger1 is the most over hyped and overdone tank in my opinion. Great builds and dioramas.
For me it would have to be Commonwealth M4s. Your dioramas are top notch! Each of them tells a fascinating story,
Just got my first one, it’s Airfix so hope it goes well, only been making tanks just over a year and have about 20, mostly Allied. Now on my 3rd Axis, painting them is different than Allied, a lot harder
I’m not particularly an addict of any vehicle, but I do like StuGs, as I find them kind of neat.
I have a question about Panther models, though. Will these Fruil model tracks fit the Tamiya 1/35 scale Panter A? Would it be accurate to the Panther A? I would like to experiment with metal tracks because the rubber band tracks that Tamiya includes do not excite me.
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beautiful diormas! T-34s and KV-2s are both so fun to build due to the amount of customizations you can do to them but my favourite tank which I have not built yet would have to be the M5A1
I’ve never had any trouble fitting after-market tracks, by any manufacturer, on any of the Tamiya Panthers, or any other manufacturer, either. Fruilmodel tracks are some of the best, so you should be good.
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Thanks, I find the monochrome (green) paint jobs on most allies tanks boring in comparison to the variety of camouflage paint jobs employed on German tanks.
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Thanks Dennis, that’s my goal - telling a story with my dioramas.
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Thanks, would those specific tracks be accurate to a Panther A?
The Fruil tracks should fit just fine. There were two versions of Panther tracks, They were the same size, just minor variations. Either would work for an Ausf. A. Check out this link:
[https://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/sdkfz-171-pzkpfwg-panther/technik/kette]
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Attracted to Berges and all Recovery/Engineer Tanks.
What did you think of my Bergepanther diorama? With German ‘Larry Moe and Curley’, goofing off on the crane platform…
I really like the complexity of the entire dio, with the three guys goofing off while the fourth is hard at work!
I am also partial to the dozer pushing the Panther off the road. I have the finished dozer already and also a Panther kit that has long been perpetually in the “to be finished column.” Hummmmmm!
Go for it! I enjoy building the derelicts. Another challenge. I’m planning on producing a burned-out Panther for my next project
For the Love of Panthers ~More Bergepanthers:
I have two Bergepanthers already built with the new Takom kit now under construction. (Mind if I butt in just very briefly?)
One is the old Italeri Berge. (Took two kits and some scratch building to get the interior and winch the way I wanted it! Plus a set of individual link plastic tracks.)
The other is a Paper Panzer: (My paper, my design)
Bergejagdpanther - Sd. Kfz. M88
(I used the plow and other parts from the second Italeri Berge shown above to build this one. - Also there is a full Berge winch tucked inside there and the boom will actually fold back.)
Takom Bergepanther on the way!
I suggest you leave those torsion bar assemblies to rattle around loose until you have both sides of the tub installed. It will make aligning those sides so much easier. You can touch them with a little bit of glue later.
. . . and now back to our regularly scheduled program.
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Wow. You do love those Berges. Very cool constructions.
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