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Building a 1:8 Scale Panther: Part 3

Conclusions: Overall Opinion on the Model

I guess the acid test is would I buy another tank from the same source? Initially difficult to answer straight away. The tank is of a very basic quality and I assume assembled by people with little knowledge of either engineering or the skilled use of fiberglass.

This has to be balanced against what the owner wants and the tanks cost. If all you want is something to ‘wargame’ with or to chase the wife/lover/cats around the garden with and are not greatly concerned with scale, it will suit you fine other than the real concerns on the reliability of the gearbox and the tracks.

The cost is I believe a key factor. They are not cheap but compared to other offering I have seen on the web, a third to a quarter of the price asked for a similar sized model. It must be said however that those models are precision machines in their own right and the old adage applies, “You get what you pay for”.

The lack of applying the most basic of engineering principals fills me with frustration. The gearbox being a prime example. My friend John in his qualified opinion gave my gearbox before modification a life of only some 20-30 running hours before the accelerated wear on the teeth was such that they failed to mesh. Maybe as I said before, I had a very bad example.

The lack of standardization is equally frustrating. Some of the road wheels are very poorly cast, others are very well made a la’ Panther in 2 halves and joined by the correct number of bolts. The diversity of nuts, bolts and screws on the same type of components I simply cannot understand. One would think that although these models are not turned out in the 100’s, the manufacturer would buy such items in bulk and therefore be standardized due to the economies of scale.

The further fact that multiple items e.g. the track links and the sprockets are as I believe drilled freehand is absolutely beyond me! It would take a lot less time and produce a much better product if drilling jigs were made. A lot of the tapped and drilled holes are very, very poor, I believe this being caused through taps and drills being used that should have gone in the scrap bin or back to the grinder a long time ago.

There are without doubt some clever pattern makers available to the manufacturer; the detail in some areas is superb. The overall quality of the raised detailing is in the main however not very good and I assume that f/g moulds and not a silicon type are used. In my experience f/g moulds are dependent on their careful use and good release agents etc. They soon lose the sharpness of detail and do not stand the test of time. False economy really.

My final and overall impression and opinion is of a well thought out and designed product spoilt by a lack of attention to detail, poor workmanship, non existent quality control and built as cheaply as possible. It typifies all that we rightly or wrongly here in the west think of 1:1 Soviet WW2 armour. Simple, cheap, some areas of absolute brilliance and some areas of such crudeness that a mutiny would occur if you tried to ‘hoist it’ on to an American, German or British tanker!

Would I buy another tank from this manufacturer? In my case the answer is yes and I have already obtained a T34-85, the tank I originally wanted, I love a challenge! I have enjoyed almost all that I have done on this tank but that’s me, I have the time and the patience to put right what’s either wrong or just plain shoddy.

For anyone else thinking of buying this or for that matter any of the other models made by this manufacture, you do what’s right for you. It does fill a niche market without doubt. It is cheaper than any other comparable model and it can be made to not only run well but look right.

Final thoughts. Anybody want to buy a tank? Need the room for the T34-85! Not going anywhere but what a wonderful discussion piece in somebody’s office or study!

THE END