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Building a 1:8 Scale Panther: Part 3

Painting and Weathering

I have very little experience of painting and weathering, especially in this scale. You need I believe to have a real artistic leaning which sadly I lack. I was most fortunate in meeting and becoming a friend of Rob Henden. Rob is one of the best military modellers in the UK without doubt and is a regular contributor to Military Modelling, a UK magazine.

Rob is tremendously kind and offered me all of the help he could and he came to my home one Saturday. He told me/showed me what to do and I/we did it. Through Rob’s advice and kindness the finished result is outstanding. The tank is finished in the standard 3 colour sprayed Panther style and weathered to represent a new tank moving up but not yet committed to battle so fully intact but dirty.

I obtained 2 1:8 scale Panzer crewmen. In the end I only used the commander figure. I believe a figure is so important at this scale as the sheer size and bulk initially overpowers the senses of us souls brought up on the smaller scales. I also have very little experience of painting figures and at this scale it ‘has to be right’. I contacted Arthur of British Paintbox, another Armorama member also living in the UK.
Arthur agreed to paint the figure and off it went to him. He made a magnificent ‘job’ and a very, very reasonable price. The figure resplendent with Knights Cross listening to his radio occupies the cupola and adds considerable presence.

As I intend to exhibit the tank it is mounted on a simple landscaped display board depicting the dry ground in August 1944. I toyed with the idea of driver/bow radioman leering through their open hatches but that would entail detailing the inner hull and with ‘the thing’, the gearbox, being visible, there seemed little point.