Tamiya German Panther Medium Tank - 1:35 Plastic Model Kit 35065

I've been a 72nd scale plane builder for decades on and off, but 72nd armour always seemed to lack detail. Then i was bought a Tamya 35th Panzer 1. not the best tank but well detailed and a crew commander, yep I got hooked, 1:72 or 1:48 for planes but 1:35 for armour. I bought tanks, crew artillery and accessories for my stash for my intended massed diorama both German and British, should keep me busy a long time and all Tamiya, but Why? this kit explains as first to be built. Tamiya 1:35 Panther. Open the box, Instruction booklet in black and white is simple to follow . Decals are good with the only quible being as this kit came from germany all swastika markings were cut from the sheet, but few if any vehicles used them anyway. the kit itself comes as a one piece tub lower hull (this is an old kit originating pre 2000 and was originaly supplied with a battery motor to run the model on the floor, shame thats been removed. the hole in the hull floor is still present for the on /off switch and buying a new motor means the kit is relatively easy to motorize.). the parts for the upper hull are fairly detaile and buuilding was straight forward and I was suprised at the lack of flash considering the mold age. building the 2 part gun barrel required some sanding to remove the seam line and unlike some reports there was no noticable warp to the barrel, like wise for the crewman. the finish and paint is down to the modeller, yes you can buy after market resin and metal parts, but out of the box its a good enough kit. But what about those rubber tracks, yes you can replace them with single link plastic tracks BUT if you intend motorising, you need the rubber tracks, if not then the strething, painting and weathering of the rubber to look right is part and parcel of the fun of moddeling, make the best model you can out of the box ( if you need the aircraft recognition circle and swastika, a multi use stencil set is available seperately. If all the other kits go together like this I am going to be a busy but happy chappy.

I'll say more about the decals below but firstly:1 A GREAT VALUE KIT: 1/35 tank with two figures for less than £15!2 This is a fantastic kit to learn on, try out weathering techniques, learn to make zimmerit, or to upgrade your other modelling skills without breaking the bank3 THIS KIT IS OLD (1969 stamped on lower hull) so don't expect slide molded barrels or photoetch,4 It's the later Ausf A version of the Panther, so has the hull mounted MG34, modified Turret etc. appeared in summer of 1943 and saw service from ten till end of war with over 2000 made. I yu want the earlier D or final G, you will need to look elsewhere.5 Figures are a little soft on face detail it also has elastic band type tracks (meh!) These can be replaced if you want to spend more money!6 The model could be motorised with the right after market parts, as it has holes in the base of the hull for switches etc. and the upper part of the hull is designed to be removable. (Again, this is more money)Finally:7 THE DECALS issue: I noticed that quite a few reviewers have complained about missing items from the Decal sheet, 3 items to be precise. My copy shipped from Germany and I would expect any unit markings or SS/Nazi symbols to be either missing or inked out. It is illegal to sell and display these types of symbols in Germany (ad a lot of other countries) and can lead to fines or even a prison sentence.All the other decals are there with options for 3 tanks. So, if that tiny yellow icon missing from the sheet is bugging you that much, just splash a bit of "mud" on the hull where the missing item would be placed and no one is going to know! Alternatively, buy some aftermarket decals! (More money)I highly recommend this kit, great fun and easy to buildP.S. glue and paint sold separately ;)

I bought this to go into a diorama and knew it was an older tooling (in fact from memory I think it was originally intended to be RC). Typical Tamiya quality and a super easy build, although I'm not a fan of rubber band tracks you know thats what you're getting so no big deal. I did have to glue them into place to get the correct Panther look. Overall a good model for the price.

Good quality pieces and good instructions and realy worth the price

Good quality and quick delivery. I have never built a model before but enjoyed it. Not sure if I will do anymore though. I just used some old spray paint in the shed and some black stove paint. Would recommend if you like model building.

One dislike here is that sometimes the assembly instructions are a little unclear in places. The other is with the tracks.The method in the instruction sheet for joining the tracks is to use a hot screwdriver blade to make a "mushroom" head of the 4 pins that you press through the end of the tracks to make the join. This is very unsatisfactory and the end result is that when you start to fit the tracks to the road wheels, the head on the "mushroom" easily pulls out. I resorted to joining the ends of the tracks using a needle and thread, simply looping the thread through the holes in the tracks and tying off. A dab of polystyrene cement on the threads stops them from unravelling. Otherwise this is a fabulous kit to build, with any number of moveable items, which shows that is is sourced from a Tamiya motorised kit originally. A nice feature is that the top and bottom halves of the hull do not need to be cemented together. There is a neat clip which allows the parts to be slid together and locked. This means that they can be separated, if required, at some point in the future. Great value for money and once finished and painted I expect my Grandson will be delighted. The first picture is partially finished. The second, completed and painted.

Nice details