Okay believe it or not I am actually building a model. Heres the first look at DML's new Panther II.

Looking good...keep at it.

Eddie

Hey Rob,
I'm working on mine too.

Concord's Journal of Armored Assault & Heliborne Warfare #8 has some good photo's of the Panther II. I'm not sure if you have already or not, but you might want to check it out.

Using the pictures, I found out the there is a very thin anttena right underneath the top one on the mast to the right of the commanders hatch. I added that and also added cabling the the mast. I also replaced the peice's that are holding the camera' and added cable to those too.

Thanks for the kind words and thanks to Pete for the info, I will look into it.

Brent you came up and didn't call me to let me know. I'll get you for this, and your little dog too!

Looks good so far! A pretty challenging model I bet.

Anyone know why it was named the Panther II?


Jeff

It follows the Panther I which was based on the M-60 chassis. So the real question would be why was that one named Panther?

Original design for remotely operated mine clearing tank was the M60 Panther. No idea why they chose the name Panther though. Second design is the Abrams based M1 Panther II.

M60 Panther:

couple more

Rob, looks prety good. Any issues with the kit? I might have toget one for the rollers. The tanks in my last Squadron carried rollers as opposed to plows. I would like to do a Grizzly breaching vehicle and could use the remaining Panther hull as the base for this. Once again, looks good thus far. "Q"

The roller assembly itself is pretty complicated and takes some patience but you can see that it turns out nicely. This roller is much nicer than the trumpeter one. There is metal cable for the retention links and they make for a very nice touch. Aside from gluing my fingers together cuz I suck at super glue, I haven't had any major issues with the kit yet. I am not really fond of how the rear doors turned out, they fit okay and close up nice but I think either I could have done a better job or they could have been shaped a little better. Not sure which. Also the left roller assembly mount seems to be at something of an angle. I know I got every piece of the mounting brackets in solid contact with the surface it mounted to, but the assembly still seems canted a little. And the plug for the turret ring needed some trimming to fit better. I had to trim the tabs down that make sure it is turned properly. The one of the plug was too big. I would also suggest putting the plug in while the upper hull is still separate from the lower hull. And don't do the commanders cupola till after it has been painted, because it is easier to paint the periscopes off the model and install them afterwards.

Hey Bro, do you have any pics of the back. Like to see what your talking about, maybe we can help you out.

Hey, at least you haven't gotten super glue in your eye. I did, and let me tell you, its wasn't fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is not you. These parts are not 100% correct in Panther II kit. They will be retooled for next DML Abrams releases.

Pawel

Rob, thanks for all of your info. Keep at it. It looks good to me. "Q"

As for the Super gLue in the eye, the only reason I didn't was because I have glasses. I have pair that have a blob of ca glue on the right lens from several years ago.

There are a couple of areas I don't like here. There is s small gap along the top of the doors that shouldn't be there. The top of the doors should actually overlap the back of the engine deck where it slants down.



There is also a gap on the part of the left door where it overlaps the right door at the top that shouldn't be there.

Okay there has been some debate as to exactly how much tilt there is to the hull of the Panther II. I submit these photos not to continue the debate and I will not have any debate in my review thread about it. You want to debate it go to the other thread, this one is about my model. Here are the two good pictures that satisfy my curiosity about the tilt angle.

I believe this first one is a prototype vehicle. Notice the very interesting mine roller which has an extra section of rollers added in the middle.



This one is "current production" as it were.



It appears to me to have no great angle of tilt on either one. Here is my model out of the box wiithout any mods to the running gear. I believe it has an accurate tilt to it. As accurate as it can be. I am sure that depending on how much fuel is in the front tanks compared to the rear has some bearing on the issue therefore a good -2 to +2 degree of tilt is certainly plausible

Like I said, you want to debate, go elsewhere. This is not the thread for it.

TO FUNNY ROB!!!!!!!!! But the tilt is supposed to be............ Just Kidding!!!

Now I see what your talking about on the back engine grills.
Once again, someone is going to make me leave my air conditioned shop and go outside to the motor pool and look and see what it really is supposed to look like. Really, Tuesday, when I get to work, I am going outside to see what it really is supposed to look like. It's to late for my model, since I already glued the doors on, but oh well. At least I will have a clue for future reference.

Have you thought of a color mix you are going to use? Me, I was just going to shoot straight Tamiya NATO Green.

I was going to try to find a model master color, but haven't any thought into it yet. I am not very good with my airbrush yet so I was thinking of getting a spray can. I am at least proficient with those.

Meduim Green in MM Spray cans. If not Tamiya has NATO Green in spray. Now I havn't used the flat spry paints from them, but I have used a few of thier gloss colors and I like them.

How much more do you have on yours? Mine is ready for paint. I just have to add the covers on the smoke "poppers".

What you see is what you get. The pictures are from today so you know exactly how much is done. I am going to leave the wheels of and paint them separately. The skirts are just tacked on so I can paint them then remove them for the tracks. So I am still a little ways from paint.

Rob, by the tilt I take it you are referring to the angle of the nose to the ground? Kind of like the Hot rods of the past with the rear sitting higher than the front right? The only time I have seen any noticable "tilt" is when the plow, negative knowlefge on rollers, is lifted off of the ground. Once it is on the ground the tank seems to return to its original "stance". Yours looks fine, and even if it isn't "correct" if there is such a thing, who cares? Looks good. Drive on airborne!. "Q"

Yeah I know Matt, but I wanted to head any one off at the pass who thought of bringing that debate into my thread.
And Pete, you don't need to go to all that trouble. there are enough pics on the web to find out how they should be.

I hear ya' Rob. A pre-emptive (sp?) strike if you will. Looks good dude. Finish it up and show us what ya' got! "Q"

BRO,
This is a very easy paint scheme, so "Have no FEAR" . Load the air brush with MM Forrest Green and give it a good base coat, then come back w/ some dust and weathering. You'll be right on Qu!!

Okay a little tip on the tow cables; super glue the ends of the wire so they won't spread out when you push them through the shackle cables.