Introduction

Last week I signed for a white box that had winged its way to me all the way from California US of A, inside were 4 ABER frets consisting of the following:

35 221 Pz.Kpfw. V. Ausf. G (Sd.KFZ. 171) Panther G Late production
35 222 Fenders for Panther Ausf G & Jagd Panther
35 223 side skirts for a Panther Ausf G & Jagd Panther
G21 Jagd Panther Ausf G1 early
And
35 L-67 A German 88mm Pak 43/3 L/71 Barrel for Jagd Panther Ausf G1 early production

I found myself floundering as to how to approach the review of these items and do the items and craftsmanship justice, as when you take the time to really inspect the product the time, workmanship, and skill involved is hard to quantify. As with all ABER AM products each product comes in a zip lock clear plastic bag inside of which is a cardboard stiffener and a black card for presentation purposes (the black card does make it very easy to inspect the PE fret) and of course the PE fret or frets and also in some cases brass wire and tubes, lastly in the back of the packet are the instructions for the product.

The Products

ABER 35 221 for Pz.Kpfw. V. Ausf. G (Sd.KFZ. 171) Panther G Late production

In this package you receive

1 PE fret
1 brass wire
1 brass tube which is notched along its length

The fret consists of 63 different items with several being duplicated as more than one is required, so in total you have approx 80 pieces. The rear of this fret was tarnished in places however I do not believe this will be a problem when cleaned and primed.

The pieces on this fret mostly replace the tool clamps/clasps and the two front side storage racks, there are 6 PE pieces to make the travel clamp chain either secured or loose! There are very few pieces that replace actual vehicle parts, the exceptions being the top guard for the main gun mantlet, the driver’s periscope guard and some detail on the turret roof. The instructions included in this set are very clear and easy to follow even for a relative new comer to PE such as myself despite only consisting of one double sided sheet of paper.

This set has one major drawback in my opinion and that is the clamps have been made to be workable and thus I believe only suitable for the most versed PE user, a new user to PE will be out of their depth trying to assemble these clasps/clamps unless they have four arms and hands.

ABER35 222 Fenders for Panther Ausf G & Jagd Panther

This set consists of one fret which as the title says replaces the front and side fenders, on the fret are 35 replacement parts and a very large number of nut and bolt heads. The set replaces the hanging brackets for shurzen side armour and the brackets for joining the side fenders together and attaching to the vehicle.

The front fenders need to be shaped in the centre in order to obtain complete accuracy, which may be beyond some people’s abilities, but as there is detail visible on the face of the piece I believe that even if this step is not followed it will still be an improvement over the kit parts. I do feel some guidance on how to achieve the raised detail on the front fenders would have been a welcome inclusion, and thus making this set more appealing and usable to the modeller. The instructions in this set are printed on one side of a piece of paper and are again very clear and easy to follow.

35 223 side skirts for a Panther Ausf G & Jagd Panther

This set despite only consisting of 28 parts is the one that caught my attention the most as I have yet to see Shurzen armour depicted well in injection moulded plastic. This set would be an ideal PE introduction for any beginner with the added advantage of an instant improvement to any model of a Panther or Jagd Panther G. in my humble opinion an ideal set for the novice modeller to cut his PE teeth on so to speak.

The set consists of 10 Shurzen plates, 12 brackets, and 6 retainers, all of these pieces are of an easy to use size (IE wont cause eye strain) and should be relatively easy to install on your model.

G21 Jagd Panther Ausf G1 early

This set consisting of 1 PE fret on which you have 2 circular grills, 4 oblong grills, and 29 bolt heads and is With the exception of the individual bolt heads the easiest instant addition to any model. This instant improvement to any model I believe justifies the cost and investment in an AM addition of this type. The instructions for this fret come on one side of a piece of paper and are self explanatory.

35 L-67 A German 88mm Pak 43/3 L/71 Barrel for Jagd Panther Ausf G1 early production

This set consisting of

1 turned aluminium barrel
3 pressed brass pieces
1 small PE fret

The turned aluminium barrel is of a very high standard and well finished, its dimensions appear correct judging by my limited measuring/comparison ability, the 3 pressed brass pieces are exceptionally well crafted which with the addition of the PE pieces form an excellent rendition of the muzzle brake, the PE fret consisting of 6 pieces 3 of which locate inside the muzzle brake and the remaining three go together and locate outside the muzzle brake as a sighting device. The instructions for this set are printed on one side of a single piece of paper.

This set is a great for anyone who wants to replace there Jagd Panthers injection moulded plastic main gun with an AM alternative of a very high standard, however while I can see the reason for the 3 rings inside the muzzle to some point, the 3 part sighting device consisting of 2 miniscule pieces plus one pieces that is smaller still beats me. That said this set is still a great plus for any modeller who wants to improve the accuracy and finish of their model.

Conclusion

All of these sets have there place depending on your ability and all are nice additions to the ABER range, set 35 221 should defiantly not be attempted by anyone who is not use to working with PE, I would add that I will be amazed if anyone uses all of the pieces in set 35 221. The other four sets get progressively easier to use with the exception of the targeting device on the main gun and each set has the ability to improve a model and bring it up to an exceptionally high standard. While I have given these products an overall rating of 80% it would have been higher except for the complexity of set 35 221.