Hello guys,

As promised a few pics of the transmission....well the start of it...

Wow that's an awesome set. I have alot of the tmd stuff and I've never been disappointed NY the quality or the price. Your build looks really clean and detailed. How are the instructions?

The instructions are a novel! lol I'll get a picture up for you tomorrow or the next day

You are right Chris, the transmission is a kit unto itself!

nice job. what would the best panther berg consist of
?

Hi easyco69,

Not sure what your asking... This conversion has all the goodies....interior floor, transmission, winch and the rear spade... It is designed to be used with the Dragon Panther A..but I am using the "D" variant.

That is a piece of work right there!
J

Yup. Its a beautiful casting...and like I said...this is only the start of the transmission. Still have the driveshafts, pedals, hydraulic lines, transformer stack, radio, gauges and the brake housing to do still. After al this I should be able to get the first colours onto it.

There has been some interest in the winch expressed. I can't say for certain, but I believe that it is possible to buy the winch alone from TMD. You would have to email and make the request. I had wanted to purchase it for use in the Italeri kit, but in talking to Joe at TMD he was saying that it wouldn't fit the Italeri kit as there are scale issues. Verlinden did make an update/improvement set for the Italeri kit that is a big improvement, but it is no longer in production. It is out there on ebay once in a while...I think the Verlinden part number for it was 2001.

I remember a fellow modeller building one of the Verlinden sets years ago....

Shocks and lubrication lines installed....

Transmission fit dry run.....

Hello all,

Well I have managed to get about 3 good evenings building so....as requested...here is the winch! The build was pretty straight forward. There were a few fit issues. But nothing a bit of plastic shimming couldn't fix. I also ran into a few miss formed parts...again plastic sheet stock to the rescue! And yes...that is the colour of the thread that was supplied with the kit lol.

The only thing left to figure out will be how to assemble the driveshafts from the rear wall to the winch "foot" housing then onto the transmission. I will get the painting, weathering and final assembly done of the rest of the interior done first. Then get the upper hull test fitted and adjusted. Assemble the drives with the upper hull off, and bring it all together before moving onto the superstructure.

Anyhow...in the mean time.....enjoy!

Because Tiger Is are SOOOO much more popular, not that I think that they should be.

MORE US/ALLIED!!!

Chris, your photos answer many questions about the winch that the research I did for my Italeri revision never could: the gearbox below the winch, the cross member support structure and the feeder pulley that swings left and right to feed the incoming cable onto the take up storage reel.

Thanks very much!

The Italeri model is missing that front most, transverse mounted pulley on their winch entirely. Had to buy two complete kits to get that second pulley! (Today I would probably just scratch the second pulley but at the time that was beyond me.) Do not know how Italeri expected us to get the winch cable from the two friction drums over to the take up storage reel???

Man,that is a nice lookin piece of machinery. I especially like the way you are rockin that pink thread!
Are you going to paint the sub-assemblies individually or...?
J

Michael, Your welcome. I you want more pics let me know and I will take more.

Jerry, Yes my plan is to paint everything separate then pull it all together. I still have quite a bit to do on the interior. Then the superstructure assembly.

Hello guys,

Well..a little more advancement.....

Enjoying this build you have Chris. Am envious on the skill and definitely the patience in getting this together. Looking forward to seeing more. Cheers, Tat

Thanks Tat,

It has been a trial lol

It wasn't easy to do...but I managed to figure out a way to get the driveshafts in. I know they will be hard to see when its all done but at least I know they will be in there.

Ok.. a few more for tonight. I managed to get the hydraulic brake actuators assembled and the lines attached....the last two pictures are of them in their final places in the hull..

Chris. I'm really enjoying this build, I've always loved the Bergepanther. It's such a cool piece of equipment. Your interior detail work is as good as I've seen, rivalling Mr. Davies work on his Tiger, although maybe not quite the scope he has undertaken. No pressure though.

Great wiring especially. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your next update.

Thanks Dave! I think If I put as much in this panther as the Tiger has I wouldn't be able to get the upper hull on! Lol
I think the next big challenge will be the painting and weathering.

OH! And a small note...I installed the radio..will post pics tomorrow... Thanks to all for following and the kind words!