While progressing along with another Blog, I took advantage of some paint being on my palette and get a bit of work done on this build.



For those that are interested and missed the review, they can check out the Flakpanzer V Review on this site.

As this kit comes with a partial engine compartment and the ability to display its hatch open I decided to try my hand at seeing what I could do. Both the main engine compartment piece and the rear engine deck need a fair amount of clean-up to fit properly. The latter more so than the former. There isn't much visible with the deck in place and if the hatch is closed one could just paint the inside black and be done with it. I'm not sure how I'll display this one but at least it gives me some practice.

Here's a couple of images with the deck plate left off. Colours used to this point were all Tamiya acrylics and included Metallic Grey, Aluminium, Flat White, two lighter greys, Flat Black and NATO Black washes. I'm roughly basing the colour scheme based on photo's of larger scale models found on the Internet.





With the cover plate in place.





The engine deck (part C1) has a pretty loose fit but the adventurous might find a way to attach it so that it can be removed to display the entire engine area.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan,

The engine area looks quite promising but I have a somewhat off topic question. I recently got access to a Dragon Panther G (plastic hull version for $10). I've checked out your review Picts and it looks like it has similar sprues to many of those in this kit. But the road wheel sprue and instructions don't match the description in your review. There are 16 parts maked on the sprue as A1 and no parts A18! They are not the the same as eight have holes through, the others without and the instructions show or imply that A1 is one part/piece! Do you know anything about these Panther G kits compared to this one and could you perhaps clarifying this suspension stuff?

Thanks,
AJ

Jan, at least you're sounding enthusiastic enough about this kit to feel the need to complete it and blog it!
I noticed your 75% rating, although your review didn't, to be fair, come across as that negative - perhaps more disappointed with it being another one of Dragon's recent underwhelming efforts (and to be fair, I don't think they've all been equally poor).
I would have thought that those lugs sticking out of various components can't be to do with wear on the moulds, as they seem so big and consistent in shape. I certainly have come across them before though I can't recall where.
Especially disappointing I guess is the lack of the screens for the engine deck, particularly considering the other additional detail that there is in this area.
It has to be said that when comparing this kit to the Zvezda 1/72 Panther, it does seem impossible to justify the differences in the price tag. Dragon really are surely just taking the ****. To be fair on their consumers, Dragon might have broken out into two ranges (perhaps ArmorPro and ArmorAmateur ) with a stepped difference in pricing. Let's be honest, £20 for an all plastic kit of 86 parts with flash and fit issues is unreasonable.
The feedback on your review did raise the question in my mind as to whether the older ArmorPro kits do indeed still come with the PE parts that they used to, and if so will they continue in production, or will they slowly disappear to be replaced by cheaper to manufacture versions? Not that I want to start a rush to buy them up!!

@weathering_one - AJ,




Thanks and seeing that overall the Flakpanzer kit is 80%+ a rerelease of the earlier Panther 'G' kits, I would say that your question is not so far off topic at all.

[quote] I've checked out your review Picts and it looks like it has similar sprues to many of those in this kit. ... Do you know anything about these Panther G kits compared to this one and could you perhaps clarifying this suspension stuff?[//quote]

As I've never seen or built the earlier Panthers I can't be 100% certain about the similarity to this kit. However, looking at sprue shots and instructions on the Henk of Holland site the hull and suspensions appear virtually identical. If that is the case, then the sprue part labelling and instruction flaws would most likely be the same. Pertaining to your question, here's what I hope is a clarification image.



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@firstcircle - Matthew,




Ah, but I have an ulterior motive in blogging this one, Matthew. It is more to get some info on this site pertaining to what might be expected from at least the hull of the earlier Panther 'G' kits as much as anything else. There is only one review here of the previous Panther 'G' kits and is an In-Box.




Underwhelming, inconsistent and not meeting expectations of the previous Armor Pro standards that they themselves set is the reason for the lower rating. I base the ratings by comparing how their kits compare to previous ones that I've reviewed. I do hope that the readers don't judge all recent Dragon offerings based on a single review of a single subject. Indeed, there have been some decent subjects and kits released during this period (Panzerfahr, the Panzer III's, their eight wheeled armours cars...to name a few).




I have the great fortune of knowing a Braille master modeller who is also a pattern maker and moulder that I often consult. He is most kind to offer his knowledge and experience to explain in detail any questions that I have as to why certain anomalies occur with the moulding process that effect the sprues. He is the source that explained the signs that indicate that a mould is wearing, including in this case.




And therein lies why I use the term "inconsistent" when commenting about some recent kits. A majority of the previous Panther variants came with the screening and other alternative PE pieces. It was a "standard" then, why not now?




Consumers will always be price conscious and parts count and build ability will also matter. Some recent kits that I've seen reviews of often offer two kits in the box, have a similar parts count to some recent Dragon releases yet are priced 25% lower and even include PE. Case in point is the S-Models ZTZ-99A MBT reviewed on the Airfix Tribute Forum.




Just a guess but Dragon (unlike Revell) seems to manufacture a certain number of kits and has not to my knowledge "rereleased" any of their 1/72 offerings. Parts of their Panzer III's were remanufactured and simplified. Their previous Stug III's came with PE and more parts including separate tools on the fenders so it's anyone's guess what direction the company will take.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan is correct on Dragon's direction. It'll be interesting to see what Dragon will include in kit 7440 the Tiger I late besides the figures. I'm interested in knowing if the will include the PE. If it's included I'll build the tank with the crew. If not, I'll keep the crew and dispose of the tanks as I've ordered two kits.
Charlie