1:35 WWII German Panther II Prototype Design Plan basic(For AMUSING HOBBY 35A040)

Photo-etched set for the Panther II in 1:35 scale from Voyager Model

This is a photo-etched accessory for a plastic kit, not a model of the vehicle. With accessories of this kind the Basic designation in the name usually means the most used exterior parts that replace plastic parts with too great a wall thickness. Thin photo-etched sheet looks considerably more faithful than plastic on fenders, radiator grilles, brackets and small fittings. The set serves to complete a kit of the corresponding vehicle in 1:35 scale and does not replace the kit.

The real subject

The Panther II was a German development project of the Second World War which followed on from the production Panther medium tank and was to share a range of parts with the heavy types. The intention was to strengthen the armor and to simplify production. The project got no further than a partly built chassis, however, and stayed at the design stage; it saw neither production nor combat use. Models of this type therefore always draw on surviving documentation and on design reasoning, not on photographs of a finished vehicle in service.

Building and painting tips

Separate the photo-etched parts on a hard surface with a scalpel or a chisel, not with cutters, which deform the sheet. Make the bends in a bending tool; on long fenders it helps to bend gradually, section by section. Degrease the metal before gluing, glue with cyanoacrylate in a small amount, and where you need time to set a part, reach for epoxy. Use a primer for metal before painting. Because the real subject existed only as a project, choose a sober color scheme and reckon from the start that this is a study model with no documented period camouflage.

Who the set is for

• builders of German equipment and project vehicles in 1:35 scale
• modelers who want to replace coarse plastic parts with thin sheet
• contest modelers and builders of display models
• more experienced modelers used to working with photo-etch

The set is an accessory for a kit, which it does not replace. The kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise. Before buying, check that the set matches your kit.