Here it is! The BRAND NEW Panther Ausf. G from Dragon. First in the new ''Smart Kit'' series! Watch this space for a full review in the next couple of days!

Vinnie

Dragon 'Smart Series' - Sd.Kfz.171 Panther Ausf. G

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Hmmmm. Looks interesting. Do the pieces still come on sprues?
Cant wait to see these in the LHS.

THanks Vinnie and Dragon

So, Vinnie, it was one of those I was aware of after all
I even have a test shot of the hull at home (they sent it to me by mistake a couple of months ago :-) ).

Pawel

When is it expected to hit the LHS ??

Nice looking kit.. It appears that these smart kits will help ease the transition to the more advanced kits for some of us..

Dave

WOW! I would have never guessed that it would be a panther but i must say it seems impressive i would buy one and if they gave it the premium treatment i would buy one also let's hope the next realeses are subjects that need some attention such as the M3 halftrack, allied armored cars, and german armored cars 222 &223

Ok, so I did not see this one coming, but as a Panther nut, I'm all for it!

There is a lot of interesting stuff in there. Much of it not done in plastic before.

From the top down.

The option of return roller or skid has not been done in plastic before.

I like the foliage loops, I but almost wish they'd given a paper template to mark them out and locate them yourself rather than putting in the locator dimples.

yeah, yeah I know they make a thing called putty... :-)

Hollow guide horns on the vehicle tracks AND the spares.

Pins for the spare track holders, I'll be interested in seeing how they work that...

I'd like a look inside the cupola to see if they molded in the braces or thick sections between the scopes, and the hatch opening mechanism. But that cupola looks very nice with the hatch stop molded in.

The close in defence weapon inside the turret is a plus as is the option for both mantlets ( Tamiya selling 3 different kits each with only 1 mantlet)

I can't tell which idler wheel that is from the pic, but I'm hoping it is the correct late one.

The option for the later , fewer bolts, engine deck hatch is also a plus.
Again, I know putty.. it's great stuff... :-)

The interior mg plus the exterior plug, two different drivers visors, injection molded springs for the drivers and radio operators hatches, curved hood exhausts, armored air intake w bracing, options for 2 exhaust castings, and plastic radiators are all firsts for injection molded panthers too.


(edit) just noticed the tow cable end bracket on the rear of the upper deck behind the radiator too. I know that is an easy part to add from plas or PE, but it's never been in a Panther G kit before either.


What I cannot tell from the poster is if the kits has the bump stops on the lower turret face. The box art shows the mantlet lifting 'horns' but the poster does not mention them.
No mention of the side fenders or skirt hangers is made in the poster either. It does not look like they are in the PE fret, but given how basic the parts are in the Tamiya kit, I'm pretty sure these will be better. I also wonder about the front fenders and if they willinclude the 'cut out' section that folds up.

Don't get me wrong, I cut my panther teeth on Tamiya kits and love them. I've got 8-10 of them in the stash with piles of aftermarket for them (many of those aftermarket things in those Tamiya boxes are mentioned as included in this kit) I learned a great deal of things about modeling and working with aftermarket parts while working on Tamiya Panthers, but from where I sit, this kit blows them away by a country mile!

Any word on the pricing of this new baby? Although , even if it is $40+ -and as long as it is less than US$50- it will be cheaper than the Tamiya Panthers when they came out, and it has loads more features.

Anyone want to buy a BUNCH of Tamiya Panthers, cheap?

I'm getting all hot and bothered just looking at a webpage of the POSTER!
I can't wait to get my hands on this kit!

mike

I don't think they are dimples. They call it "Pre-printed camouflage loop location marks". If they are printed then they should be flat.



Smart kits will be cheaper than recent DML new tank kits. They should be about 15% cheaper than Pz.IV kits.

Pawel

Interesting and innovative ideas for a kit.

However, I find the actual subject to be boring. Just what the world needs - YAGT (Yet Another German Tank).

However, I want to thank Dragon for doing more to advance the "science" of plastic kits than any other company. They have really raised the bar. I just wish we could convince them that there is a market beyond German WWII vehicles. I appreciate and will buy (when it is ever released) their new M1.

LOL Mike, better take a cold shower ... :-)

I have been in my "allied mode" for so long that the prospect of this looks very tempting - the Panther being my favorite German thingie ... just a bit funny that it coincidence with the premium edition Panther ... Guess that the "smart" Panther wouldn´t leave much of a market for the "premium" Panter... ?

MIke,

The Website says this will go for 37.95 US.

Daniel

"Premium" is Ausf.D and "Smart" is Ausf. G. For some it is huge difference! Both will sell.

Pawel

yay..a panther G late
one of the better looking german tanks
good bye tamiya's!!

It looks great and I will definitely pick one up when they are released. I would still like to have an option of rubberband tracks but that wont prevent me from buying it.

Wow, Dragon's advanced tooling with easier construction. Sounds like it can't miss. I'll certainly be getting one of these.

Patrick

I am confused.....How is this kit different than the other new kits Dragon is producing now? The text is kind of small, so I couldn't really read everything. If it has a metal barrel and some PE, it seems just like some of the kits they just came out with. Also, at 37.95, how is that cheaper than what they are currently charging for kits? The elephant kit is about the same, and the new M1 is only about $32.00......I not saying that it is bad, I am sure I will pick one up for the stash, as it looks to be a super kit......I was just curious.

As another Panther nut I agree with MLD here, looking at the poster and the details shown on the MDFC site this is an impressive looking kit. It appears as if Dragon has corrected/improved on many of the "problem" areas on the Panther G kits that are currently available, one area that MLD didn't touch on, it looks like they have gotten the joint correct where the upper glacis meets the forward hull roof. This is one area that is wrong on all the other "G" kits (as far as I know). One question I have is; What makes this a "Smart" kit? Is it the fact that (hopefully ) there will be very little to add or correct to make it accurate, or is it something else like just the ease of assembly?

Cheers,
Mike

Forgive me for the dense question, but this PAnther is in addition to, rather than replacement of, the other Panther that Dragon announced some while ago?

Also, maybe I'm just being cynical, but does anyone else think that perhaps the "Smart" kit means a cheap-to-manufacture kit without the metal extras a goodies that have marked DML out from the competition up to this point? Guess I'm just a pessimist by nature!

I forgive you! :-) No indeed it doesn't replace anything, it's just a different version. Modeller's like to have every version of everything they can! :-) As for being cheaper...........what with all the research, new tooling and everything.......Hmmmmm..........

Vinnie

That's what I guessed....hope I didn't have to be that exact though lol

RC

I just received the Panther G by Tamiya for Christmas. Between the Panther D prem. kit and this new G I might get to the Tamiya kit in the Fall. But you never know with Dragon thats a long period of time to go without a new kit .:-)

Fun for less advanced builders... but it;s not fun for me. If dragon stop with the more detailed versions of kits then I'm not going to buy that anymore and then I would gor for Tamiya or even Italerie.. Because if Dragon does stop making the more advanced kits the fun of modelling is over for me.

did Dragon say that they would stop making more advanced models????????????


Just my words

Hilbert

Amen brother!! When will they use that high tech molding process to do some nice rubberband style tracks. You think they would be ideal for a "smart" OOB kit.

At least sell it as an after market acessory?

Hilbert,
I think Dragon uses the term "advanced" to mean more like only an "advanced" modeler would even attempt to build the kit. This new series is not going to replace every other series they produce, rather it will be a high-end plasitic kit with some P/E parts but because of the slide-molding advancements they will not need to do as many metal parts as before. Less "complicated" or "advanced" for them, but not less "detailed".

Jim

Very impressive! And the duplicated optional parts means that there will be leftovers to improve the Dragon/ Shanghai Dragon Ausf. G kits in the stash!