Hi,
I wonder if you can help me.
I'm about to start building DML #6384 Panther G with zimmerit & have a question to ask.
I've just finished reading Canfora Publications excellent book 'Panther' which is a new title. Some of the modellers whose superb work is showcased in the book refer to working on the suspension of the kit to aquire a more natural "heavy" sit to emphasise the weight of the vehicle.
So, how should I go about this? What do I need to do to achieve this detail, if I need to do anything at all?
Thankyou. Your help will be very appreciated.

Joe.

Joe, check out this link, I think you might find it helpful.

Cheers,
Mike

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1305577165/Panther+G+%26quot%3Bsit%26quot%3B-

Hi Joe,

That Canfora book is awsome, isn't it?

There is some contraversy about the so-called "Panther sit," though.

On the one hand, there are those modelers who have noted that many Panthers seem to sit lower than plans and models of new vehicles, and that the "Panther sit" is common and normal.

On the other hand, many others do not agree that this is actually anything more than the effects of a combination of soft terrain and load effects on individual vehicles when they were photographed, and that Panthers that are not damaged or excessively worn return to their normal ground clearance when they're driven back onto a firm surface.

In the end, I think you have to make up your own mind about this. (FWIW, I personally fall into the second group that believes that Panthers on flat firm ground normally appear to have their regular amount of ground clearance.)

However, the DML Panther kits are quite easy to modify to either articulate their suspension or to lower it to achieve the "Panther sit" look.

All that's necessary is to cut off the locator pins on the lower hull edges and the outsides of the swing-arm "elbows." These pins are half-moon shaped and engage each other to keep the swing arms on the model level.

After these pins have been removed, install the swing-arms and only glue the opposite interior ends of the torsion bars. Do not glue the pivot point on the swing-arm into its hole. This allows the swing arms to move up and down under the tension of the kit's torsion bars.

Install the road wheels, either as press-fit (without glue) or glue them up depending on your combined construction-finishing style.

To achieve an even sit from side to side, use small spacer blocks under the front and rear ends of the hull. The thickness of these blocks will establish the scale ground clearance of your model. Place a weight in the lower hull to depress the suspension and hull down onto your spacer blocks.

Apply plastic cement to the swing-arm pivots and torsion bars from the inside of the hull. Allow the suspension parts to dry.

Leave the ideler wheels and their axels loose so that you can adjust the tension on your tracks when you install them. The half-moon locator pins on the ends of the idler wheel axels might require cutting off so that the axels can swing.

You might need to leave out one or two links per side if the idelers won't pull the track tight enough when you move them to the rear.

Assemble the rest of the kit per your normal procedures. When finished, your Panther will have a reduced ground clearance by however much you made it.

Alternativly, you can leave the swing-arms movable and articulate the suspension on your terrain base.

At any rate, the DML kit is, IMO, very well engineered and making these suspension changes is quite easy because of that.

HTH,