Ok, Vignette completed… full attention to the Panther tank!
As stated in my introduction i chose the Italeri with the added PE. People who know me a little know also that i take complete utter accuracy with a grain of sand so i do not shy away from the kind of kit that receives bad critics. This Italeri is just such a kit
And here is the shocker for today: i do have to agree with my collegues outthere; this kit kinda sucks and i wish i chose the ICM panther in the store. The PE addition for five euro’s more kind of lured me in and i regret falling for it. The Tiger isn’t nearly as bad as this one for a number of reasons. The thing that ticks me off most is the total lack of texture on the hull. It’s glossy smooth plastic all over.
But…. i bought the darn thing so let’s try and make the best of it.
I completed the initial construction and added the PE goodies. It does spice the kit up considerably.
Being warned about the barrel prior to starting the build i found out that in my kit it also had a horrible warped shape…. So i scavenged a better (not perfect but better) one from a tamyia Ausf.A shelf queen
Honesty compels me to say that there is something good to say about the kit: It comes with a displayable engine. Dio makers can possibly be creative and do a maintenance scene or blown up tank dio
And last but certainly not least…. the critics were certainly not joking when they said the turret sits too high. The next picture shows it attached per the kit instructions. Some cutting and grinding of teeth will be needed here.
I am also really not happy with the smoke dischargers. They just look weird… I think i have some spare box PE stuff i might be able to use…
So all in all we have a bit of a PITA kit on our hands and i will do my best to still make it “work”… stay tuned folks! This froggie is gonna do some hacking and sawing…
Kermit's Bench 