¹⁄35

Building a 1:8 Scale Panther: Part 2

The Barrel

The actual gun recoiled fiercely on firing and I wished to reproduce this. I obtained some steel and brass and made a new gun housing with the brass moving inside a closed steel collar. The return action is by a spring and I have calculated (but not yet proven) that the action of firing the gun will alone be sufficient to make the gun recoil. There will be the need for some adjustment to the spring but this should be fairly simple.

The barrel of the model Panther is of f/g. This on its own will in time suffer damage through blast and heat. I made an internal barrel from 9 mm aluminium tube through which 3 steel pins again mig welded (a further demonstration of the guns inability to fire a projectile) and with another piece of turned brass, mated the gun to the barrel. (The turned muzzle break provided with the model is superb. Strange when compared to other features that are very, very poor).

All of the holes in the cupola for the periscopes were drilled/ground out and a former made so that by using filler, they could all be made to the same and correct size. The anti aircraft mg mount was cut off and a new scale item made and fitted. The cupola is removable to facilitate the removal of the 8 shot magazine to replenish it and thereby avoid removing the turret.

I returned to my track link silicon mould and made 4 sets of 4 links for the turret sides. This was an actual ‘field modification’ due very much to the emergence of the 85mm armed T34 which could penetrate the side of the Panther turret at much closer ranges than the preceding T34/76. The brackets on which these hang were again from annealed brass strip bent to shape.

The mantle was then ‘dry’ fitted to the front of the turret and unlike as supplied, was made removable by fixing f/g strips inside the turret/mantle secured by cap head screws. A mounting was turned in plastic for the radio TV camera that views through the gunner’s sighting hole. An mg 34 barrel was made to slightly protrude through the opposite side of the mantle to the camera, the mg being hollow to allow an LED via a fibre optic to simulate the firing of the gun in time with the electronic mg sound. Hinges were made to allow the turret rear hatch to open to provide access to the camera on/off switch. (All of the power in the tank being of 12 volts except the camera which is 6 volts transformed down)