I have had the 1/35 steel wheel kit for quite some time and am going to get back into modeling.
Given that it is very slightly possible one could have been completed with a Schmalturm, my idea is to model this as it might have occurred.
It would seem that Daimler-Benz applied camo to the very end, so no red primer. I could imagine though a Panther F in overall olivgrun, if truly pressed.
So, according to what I have gleaned, D-B Panthers at the end had the small idler, no rod container, no tools.
Also no bump stops and no rear shock. Which parts are these?
It would also seem that the last Panthers did not receive a tactical number. If they had, what sort of three digit numeral would align with the units in the battle?
Any other tips are more than welcome.
I would go with RyeField Models Panther F
Camo would have been hard edged’
Their may or may not have been markings on the tank. If the last Panthers did not recieve markings then the F model would have been the same.
I suspect that the Panther F would have been produced with the rubber rimmed road wheels as that was in stock at the end of the war.
I won’t be buying another kit. This will have to do. It is the rebox of the Cyber-Hobby kit.
According to interrogations, some steel wheeled Panthers were made at D-B, granted without any documentation or photo evidence to back this up.
According to Jentz, any that may have been deployed would have been issued to II Abteilung/Panzer Regiment 2.
Here is where it gets a bit interesting for me: the photos of the swastika-marked Panther, 312, I have read this tactical number is not consistent with II Abteilung. So what range of numbers MIGHT be consistent?
I also read online, without any sources cited, that Panther Fs were assigned numbers and driven out of D-B, but I am very skeptical.
Also, about the bump stops and shocks I am to omit, does anyone know what part numbers these are?
I read on ML that there should only be four bolts on the armored exhaust covers. I also have the TMD engine cover with the plugged holes.
Regarding the engine fans, etc., I am not certain how to paint these. The Osprey book shows them in red, but other sources seem to have them as unpainted. I want to make this as accurate as I can as far as one getting out what was left of the door. So instead of a “what if?”, i want to build a " what may have been."
I will follow the D-B practice of Balkenkreuz placement and while I am tempted to edge them in red, i see no evidence D-B ever did this.
As an aside, this is a project I am undertaking with my son. I also have the admittedly silly L/100 Panther F kit and he definitely wants to build that one. 
But hey, looks kind of cool in that MNH camo, so why not?
I think this will make a fair guide for tweaking the DML/Dragon Panther F kit or a basic check list.
The second, third, and fifth unfinished hulls are Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf.F hulls mixed in with Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf.G hulls. Source: Germany’s Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy
Picture used for discussion only.
I think RFM got it correct. I would puck that kit if at all possible.
Looks like what Chesapeake Model Designs said do in their Panther F conversion.
The Panther F was basically the new small turret using the existing Panther G hull. There was a planned change to the hull hatches from what I understand for the Panther F. The G’s swing hatches some times were blocked by the main gun. I think the plan was to change the hull hatches so they went up and rotated so the main gun couldn’t block them from opening.
Here are shots of the Chesapeake Model Designs Panther F Turret Instructions for building a Panther F out of a Tamiya Panther G. I think this makes a fair guide for tweaking the DML/Dragon Panther F kit or a basic check list.
Bill Miley owner of CMD excelled at getting this stuff correct back in the day. Bill had a real T-55 wheel and build his masters based off of the real thing accordingly. He was an ultra hard core master modeler.
I’d planned to build a Panther F using CMD’s conversion for the Tamiya kit as DML’s old Imperial #9004 wasn’t the best. I’m sure the newer DML kits are better.
This shows the hull hatch difference. The picture and the top should also help.
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Here are some Panther Tanks at the end of the war. Notice the hard edge camo and the markings.
Near the end of the war there may or may not have been markings. The tanks may have changed unit designations many times. You would not be wrong with any decision.
Interesting note is that some of the Panthers had the outer roadwheel removed.
Great photos, many of which I have already saved. Thanks! Easy to see the general D-B factory camo pattern. We also see that camo on one of the Schmalturms recovered from D-B.
In part because of this and that the D-B turret camo seems more horizontally oriented, I believe the turrets were painted separately from the hulls.
Again, there is a great Panther F thread at M-L with many interesting details.
I have Panzer Tracts 5-4, so I suppose I can figure out which parts to omit or modify by studying the drawings. But one thing: the drawings illustrate the large idler and I thought D-B installed small idlers to the very end?
Even though the kit provides the armored guard, it does not include the S.F.Z.1 sight, so I have aftermarket sights. Of course, the sight aperture in the turret front will need to be filled.
The photos of the F/G Panther show an MG34 and hastily applied camo, that looks sprayed to me.
I will also include Schurzen and weathering will be minimal for something that if it saw action, may have only been for a day or two. So, no chipping and giant fuel stains, etc.
I have to say too that I am looking forward to the participation of my son, as many young people seem to have no interest in modeling. He recently bought a small scale cartoon type Tiger model which should make for a quicker build. Slap some dark yellow on it and done! 
nice write up, I enjoyed it. But…notice the “anti-shot trap” on only one of your research photos. Steel wheels plus an early turret…could it be suggested that they were rushing to get tanks finished , with spare parts, to the front?
Anti-shot trap= instead of a rounded gun mantel…they added a square piece on the bottom end. On rounded turret mantels…Allies could ricochet a round off the rounded piece directly down, through the thin top armour…into the driver & radio compartment…killing them instantly. The Panther was the worst design for this. They put the square in but I doubt it helped.
Now…look at the Ausf F…still has that rounded mantel gun brace…where it could be possible to deflect a round off it & kill the driver…using a kinetic AP round…it could possibly fly all around in there & kill everyone.Physics is unpredictable & these dummies thought they had a strong tank. Not.
German tank designations are a merky thing. Parts were installed until they were out of those parts. As new parts arrived, they were installed. The tanks tended to blend through the various types instead of a point on the calendar where all parts changed at one time.
The F models gun mantle was designed to deflect the round outward into the turret face where it was quite thick. Similar to the King Tiger mantle. The G model had a chin piece installed to stop the round from deflecting downward.
