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Armor/AFV: Axis - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Axis forces during World War II.
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Panther G turret top
Chuck4
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United States
Joined: November 13, 2013
KitMaker: 403 posts
Armorama: 401 posts
Posted: Monday, February 27, 2017 - 09:09 AM UTC
In some of dragon's Panther G kits, the roof of the turret has a little U shaped thingy right in front of the copula. It's not quite aligned with the centerline of the copula, but is slightly offset inboard. On other Panther G kits, the u shaped thingy is not there. But even on close examination, all other aspects of the turret roof in these dragon kits are precisely identical, down to the detailed weld pattern and flame cut patterns on armor plate edges. The kit that didn't have it include the steel wheeled version. The kits that have it include the smart kit late G, and the recent command tank version.

My question is, what is it, and should it be there on the G turret? If so, did dragon simply forget about it on some early kits and added it back on later ones? Or was this feature on some Panther g turrets but not others, and dragon was impressively detail oriented enough to differentiate which tank should have it?
Hederstierna
#247
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Nordjylland, Denmark
Joined: January 03, 2008
KitMaker: 1,102 posts
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Posted: Monday, February 27, 2017 - 10:20 AM UTC
Chuck
That "thingy" is an installation for the IR-light or sight for the commander. There are also some other small details, such as two small flanges on the right side of the gun mantle and some time also a special stowage box on the rear right.
These vehicles were called BIWA's.
Hope this helps.
Jacob
GeraldOwens
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Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
KitMaker: 3,736 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 03:23 AM UTC

Quoted Text

In some of dragon's Panther G kits, the roof of the turret has a little U shaped thingy right in front of the copula. It's not quite aligned with the centerline of the copula, but is slightly offset inboard. On other Panther G kits, the u shaped thingy is not there. But even on close examination, all other aspects of the turret roof in these dragon kits are precisely identical, down to the detailed weld pattern and flame cut patterns on armor plate edges. The kit that didn't have it include the steel wheeled version. The kits that have it include the smart kit late G, and the recent command tank version.

My question is, what is it, and should it be there on the G turret? If so, did dragon simply forget about it on some early kits and added it back on later ones? Or was this feature on some Panther g turrets but not others, and dragon was impressively detail oriented enough to differentiate which tank should have it?



Tanks equipped with the infrared system had a small hole drilled in the turret roof for the control strap that elevated and depressed the infrared scope and light to match the elevation of the gun. The little "thingy" is a deflector welded on to protect the opening from stray bullets and shrapnel. The deflector might be present on turrets that were not actually drilled for the IR system, as that was only installed sporadically.
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