What would you be interested in a comparison review? Building is going to take a long, long time, so a parallel building project out of the question for now, but what would you be interested in an in-box comparison? (If you are interested in a comparison at all.)

I would be interested in several things. How clear are the instructions, how well do sub assemblies fit together and are the tracks easy to work with or individual multi-part assemblies like the Meng kit? Basic fitting of major parts, comparison of detail and are there any extras, like jerry cans or other stowage.

The in-box comparison would be really good, I think. It would allow people to see the difference and make choose the kit that best suits their needs.

Any modelers interested in Panthers would be interested, including myself. As you said, it would be a lot of work and time. So I think the main thing is that this much work and time has to be worthwhile to you as well.

This is what I'm trying to figure out... 1000+ parts/each, so individual parts photographed is not an option (and makes no sense, either). Fit and whatnot are difficult with in-box.

But the instructions, the details, impressions is doable. I'm just trying to figure out what to focus on.

Thats a nice offer you are giving us. I'm not really interested in all the interior but I'd like to know which one is better detailed on the outside especially the torch marks, welds etc.

Is it possible to add the Meng Panther for your comparison, too?
I know it will be a lot of work, but so far I've never found a comparison between the 3 kits.
Thanks and greetings

Christian

I really would love to but I broke the bank with these two panthers as it is. Unless Mr Gates, Trump or a Saudi Prince sends me a Meng Panther I can't.


The details is a good idea. I can take macro shots of the interesting parts easy.

Well, I put it on my blog; if you're interested, just visit there. (Sorry, I had to.)

I have been studying all the new Panther tank kits online for a while.

I have already dismissed the Meng offering as it is clearly not one of Meng's better efforts, and I'm a big Meng fan in general. It seems like a kit rushed to market in order to beat out the competition.

The kit that seems most promising is the Takom stuff, but I'm waiting for the May release of the mid/late Ausf. A with molded in zimmerit.

I'd be interested to see the comparison review though for sure.

It's on the blog already

Nice comparison blog! I haven't seen the Takom kit, but I'm currently building the RFM kit, and gotta say that while it looks complex it isn't very difficult to build. The ejection pin marks on the tracks are raised and hence easy to remove, and track detail is fantastic.

I find the instructions to be quite good, but will agree that the sections on the various wheels may leave some confused. The wheels with separate tyres are obviously supplied for diorama/detailing purposes.

Overall I've found fit to be excellent in most parts, but one will need to either open holes or shorten guide pins, as holes tend to be too shallow, or pins to long/thick. Once sorted out, fit is generally great.

The amount of PE will probably put some people off, but I enjoy working with PE, so...

One word of warning; follow the instructions carefully when it comes to the order in which to mount interior detail, unless you want to find yourself unable to attach parts.

I did however skip well into the instructions to begin with the hull tub, as I didn't fancy building the turret and hull top first, like RFM wants you to do.

Arild

Thank you for the insight!

I shall be proceeding with the build probably after August - I have a bigger project to finish. (A move from the UK to Hungary... Yay.)

I bought the Panther A late kit, as I thought they miss priced it at $50!! Got it home, and just had to look at the contents. I was a very happy guy with what I saw, and trust me I'm a RFM fan!
Now the kit's not perfect, but danged close enough to be called perfect in my eyes. It's clearly better than their King Tigers. But still not by a huge amount. (I like their King Tigers) My complaints are pretty simple, and a very easy fix. The paint call outs make me have to convert them to something readily accessible. Please call out three or four common brands. Lastly; one of the schemes I really came to like was the N1 Command Panther A, but the paintings are small and hard to work with. How much of a problem would it have been to make them two or three times larger?
I liked this kit so well, that I ran out and bought the Panther A early kit. It didn't come with the photo etch and cables. My dealer gave me a phone number to get the parts, and said to let him know if I have the slightest problem (that's why I shop LHS 95% of the time)
I can easily see TAKOM coming out with a Panther D or even a G Panther, and I'll be all over them! Are we not in a golden era with RFM, Meng, and Takom fighting with each other to give us their best kits? And that $50 price tag was correct!
gary