Hello---I just received my Tamiya 1/35 steel wheels G and am scavaging up information. I want to do the scheme for tank number 221 abandoned at La Glieze in December 1944. Would the interior have been a buff color or red oxide primer? Also I checked out the road wheels, both seem to be scaling out to 860mm but I thought the rubber wheels were only 800mm? Or do I have that backwards? I am using the steel wheels.Also if I add a crew what color uniform, black, white or camo? I am also looking at upgrading to a metal barrel and PE screens for the engine deck. Thanks for any help.---John
Panther G 1 by jvandeu53, on Flickr
Panther G 2 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

Hi John,

I am also in the process of researching and gathering materials for a build of the same tank (221) you are thinking of, except with a Dragon kit.

If you search "panther 221' in google images, it comes up with a couple pics taken after the Allies occupied La Gleize. In one, the front driver's hatch is open. The color appears to be the off-white tone that was common in German tanks, so I think that is what you mean when you say "buff".

The steel wheels fitted to this tank were 800mm in diameter, so they were smaller than the traditional 860mm rubber rimmed wheels.

As for the crew uniform, I do not know for sure. My guess would be that at least part of the uniform would be in one of the Waffen SS camo patterns. Sometimes crew members would mix and match the newer camo clothing with the older black clothing, depending on availability or other factors. It would not be rare to see a crewman with camo pants and a black tunic. I would stay away from white, at least.

However, since no pictures to my knowledge were taken of the crew of this vehicle, then you have full artistic licence. My current plan is to paint them in Erbsenmuster or "pea-dot" camo with a few black pieces of clothing thrown into the mix.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I have Model Master paint, 4805 acrylic paint "Panzer Interior Buff". That's where I got the name, not sure what it's official RAL name is. So I had it backwards, steel wheels were SMALLER in diameter than rubber ones, I can live with that. I guess I will go with some type of camo clothing, ambush, dot or pea dot, type I guess. Thanks---John

I started my build. I have the lower hull started and I did some painting and assembly on the turret interior and have started assembling the gun. The interior of the turret is Model Master Panzer Buff.---John
Panther G 4 by jvandeu53, on Flickr
Panther G 5 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

The interiors were RAL 9001 Cremeweiss, as I understand it.

Nice project to tackle !
I have studied this part of the BoB for decades now and have driven the exact route,etc. The best ref books out there are the three book series "Duel in the Mist". A fourth book is just about to be released.
To repeat what I have written many many times,there was no snow at all during the entire time Battlegroup Peiper was in action. No whitewashed tank and no special winter combat suits were worn. There are numerous pics to back this up and personal recollections from civilians in the area.
As already stated,the mix of pea dot panzer wraps and black wraps is the best way to go with some kind of sweater underneath. There are pics of infantry from this unit wearing three layers of tops ! You can also add the black leather u-boat uniform to the mix,as many of the veterans of the 1SS Panzer still had the ones they were issued in Italy.
Some form of evergreen branches on the tank would also be very accurate. Lastly,the all steel wheel versions were issued to the leaders of the company,so your tank commander would be probably an NCO or officer.
J

The interior surfaces of hatches were (almost) always painted in the exterior base color - in this case Dunkelgelb. This is why it appears to be the lighter color.

Thanks for all the help especially with uniforms! I am almost at the painting stage and will do it similar to how I did my "octopus KT'. Any ideas most welcome, I will paint lower hull now dark yellow before I put the wheels on. Also I will paint the wheels dark yellow and run a pencil over the edge of the wheels to give it the "steel" look, read that on a forum somewhere. The turret will be assembled and fully painted before final assembly. Thanks for any and all ideas and help.---John

I'm no expert, but from looking at numerous pictures over the years it strikes me that camo uniforms for tank crews were in the minority. Were they actually issued to crews, or were they something the crews scavenged up?

The waffen SS issued them to tankers across the board starting before Kursk with the overalls version and then in the summer of 44 with the two piece panzer rap "pea dot" version.
The regular army,no. Custom made cammo uniforms existed but like you said,in small numbers.
J

Thanks, I see this pattern a lot. I believe it's called pea dot or dot 44. I have also seen it in an orange autumn color too.---John
German dot pea cammo 2 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

I have the turret almost done. I tried the kit barrel and it sanded up nice so I may just go with it and save my money for some figures instead. I will still get the PE screens though. What I really would like is a set of metal tracks, Tamiya's suck, for a better choice of words. But there's no way I can afford $80 tracks for a $40 dollar kit. What I was really impressed with was the track links that came with my 1/35 Dragon T34-76 Mod 41 model. I believe there were 75 to 80 links per side but they really looked the part!---John
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by jvandeu53, on Flickr

By the time the steel wheel versions were being built, I think the interior colour scheme had changed to red primer up to the sponson level and Elfenbein (ivory) above. For a brief period the interiors were all primer but complaints from the troops led to the partial reintroduction of the ivory.

The actual dates are in various Jentz books but I don't have any to hand right now.

Thanks for the info, I went to a site where they are restoring a G and they have grey up to the sponsons then ivory. The site is French so that's "Greek"to me. Here's the link. And yes I know restorations aren't always 100% right. But....---John
http://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/panther-restauration/?afg465_page_id=14#afg-465

I have a test fit of the upper, lower hull and turret. None are permanent yet, still debating lower hull interior color.---John
Panther G 8 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

I painted the bottom hull, I went with red then ivory. It's the same I did with my King Tiger. No one will ever see it anyways. Now on to the upper hull.---John
Panther G 9 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

G'day John

I think your red interior colour painting looks great, but leans too much to the red end of the spectrum. It should be more of a brick red - try toning it down with a bit of brown. Vallejo Cavalry Brown is a good match for red oxide primer.

Alternately, Tamiya make a red oxide primer in a rattle can, which I am using on my Takom King Tiger, and it doesn't look too bad.

Regards

Rob

Yes,this is the famous pea dot but it is the infantry style jacket plus,pea dot came in just the one color like this. There were slight variations but this is the fairly average look of it here. You may be thinking of other cammo patterns and uniforms that came in up to 4 different color schemes for the times of year.
Plus,never depend on museum vehicle restoration pictures as they are frequently missleading or downright wrong.
J

I have added more details to the turret and hull. I am taking my time and leaving certain items off, small fragile items like hatch handles and tool hooks. When I mask and paint the camouflage I don't want to knock them off.---John
Panther G 10 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

I have to admit this kit is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the old 70s mold Tamiya Panther Ausf A I built almost 30 years ago!---John
Panther A 1 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

I added more items to the rear deck and brackets on the left side for the side skirt. I am coming to a slow down soon, no dark yellow, green or red brown, gonna have to order it and my 1/72 KT with Porsche turret will be coming in the mail in a few days. But I still have to order the Atak zimmerit yet for that.
What kind of putty is used for camouflage masking? I know some is too "oily".---John
Panther G 11 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

Looking good.

I use poster putty for masking. You can buy it pretty cheap on Amazon or in a store that carries materials for making posters, like Michaels or Walmart or Target and the like. It can be made into any shape, really, it sticks to the tank, but doesn't take any paint off of the paint is fully cured.

Thanks, I didn't see it at Michael's but they had Elmer's removable putty, tacky? Is that the same?---John

Check out Kaizen tracks from China. They are workable plastic tracks that assemble like the metal ones. I put them on my Jadgpanther and they lay like metal and look great. I got them on e-bay for $23 dollars.

Marcus

Thanks, sounds like Dragon magic tracks? I used links on my Dragon T34 and although a lot of links I liked the way they looked. Will check them out!---John