6268, Sd.Kfz.171 Panther G Late Production “Smart Kit”. 1/35th-scale styrene/multimedia kit containing: 492 styrene parts (including 14 clear), one bag of “Magic Track”, 13 photo-etched brass parts, two lengths of wound metal wire, three water-slide decal/marking schemes and eight pages of instructions in 17 steps.

Introduction.

As the Panther series of medium tanks developed, many re-designs of major and minor components were undertaken. This all-new kit of the Ausf.G exhibits several of those major items such as: chin mantlet, flame-dampening exhaust pipes, crew compartment heater fan tower and associated covers, all-steel road-wheels for the last station, track return skid (instead of a return roller) behind the drive sprocket, post for the AA MG mount, camouflage loops on the turret, and some other minor changes and additions. Years ago, DML had originally released kits of the Panther Ausf.G in several versions, largely based on the previously-available, but well-done (for its day) Gunze multi-media product. This new-tool kit owes nothing to them. This kit has also taken the technique of “slide-molding” to new heights in an effort to enable the modeler to build “smart”. I will comment on the efficacy of that concept as I proceed with this review.

Tracks.

As is my habit, I’ll begin with the tracks. They are the so-called “Magic Track”, and consist of individual links that press-fit together. They are packed in a small bag and require virtually no clean-up of mold attachment stems. They do have knock-out pin marks, but they are extremely subtle and are placed only between the pair of guide horns on each link; thus they are all but invisible. The tracks are of the later pattern with the small ice grips on the face of the links. DML’s designers have gone to the trouble to create tracks where the molded-on guide horns not only have proper (and tiny) rib details on their outer surfaces, they have also been hollowed-out. There are also four smaller sprues that have a total of 16 links with separate and properly detailed guide horns. The box-top CAD renderings say they are specifically for the drive sprockets, while the instructions also direct the modeler to use them at that location. As was the case with the just-released tracks on the Panther Ausf.D kit, these have properly-sized slots that will fit the drive sprockets; the Magic Tracks won’t fit. As a bonus, each small sprue for these track links contains five small and five very small wing-nuts (a total of 20 each); these little guys will come in handy, so make sure you consign them to the details bits box.

Suspension System.

The original Gunze and DML/Shanghai Dragon kits had the torsion-bar swing-arms molded onto the lower side plate of the hull. On this Smart Kit, the newly-tooled complete torsion bar swing-arm units are now separate parts and depict the three different types that were used at various locations; there are also torsion bar swing-arms designed specifically for the Gummigefederten Stahllaufrollen (rubber-cushioned steel-tired road-wheels). Internal torsion bar details are also given, including the holders and various other bits. The idler wheel swing-arm is also separate, which will make fitting the individual-link tracks much easier. Do not glue the idler wheel swing-arm into position until you are satisfied with the “sag” of the track. This technique will prevent the potential problem of the assembled track runs being a link too short or too long. There are other separate detail parts for the suspension system that are fitted to the hull side plates, including bump-stops, track pin return plates and two pairs of cast final drive housings; one pair has the small return roller that mounted aft of the drive sprocket, while the other (final-production) pair, has the skid.

The drive sprockets feature the late-style hub-cap molded in place, while the late-style 665mm self-cleaning idler wheels are in four parts including separate outer rim for maximum realism; these are also produced using a slide mold for detail fidelity. The road-wheels all feature 32 rim-bolts, and also have the subtle rim detail where the tires are mounted. The optional pair of Gummigefederten Stahllaufrollen (rubber-cushioned steel-tired road-wheels) for the last station on each side are properly smaller than the rubber-tired road-wheels; they also replicate the unusual style of their hub extremely well and mount onto specific torsion bars, so if the modeler is using them, he must be careful to use the proper parts combination.

Hull.

In order to accept the separate torsion bar swing-arms, the hull pan has openings, as well as plate details, which correspond to the torsion-bars on the opposite side. Other bolt detail is included as well. At the front end there are separate plates that allow for complete detail on both sides of the final drive housings. The lower bow plate has excellently-rendered interlocks and weld beads, while the belly plate is of the final type that came in two sections, with the front being 25mm-thick and the remainder being 16mm-thick. All drain plugs and access plates are provided and are in their proper locations and configurations. The sponson plates are separate parts and attach to inner “sub-plates” for a very positive fit; they are exquisitely detailed with weld beads, bolt patterns, recessed screw heads and an opening for the power conduit (also included) that ran to the fender-mounted Bosch head-lamp. Also provided are the lower mounting brackets that the Gepackkasten (baggage bins) rested upon, a first on any Panther kit.

The hull rear plate has fine weld seam and access lid details, as well as the prominent tow coupling that was mounted on the circular access plate. A pair of marvelously-rendered slide-molded Flammvernichter (flame-dampening exhaust) pipes are complimented by separate upper “elbows” and two styles of armored guards (cast or welded) where the pipes enter the rear plate. The two Gepackkasten (baggage bins) are slide-molded and have very-finely detailed lids and clasps. Also, for the first time, the bins are correctly-mounted spaced away from the rear plate, with all the proper brackets. The final items are a multi-part vehicle jack with delicate mounting brackets, and “U”-shaped tow clevises.

Superstructure.

The superstructure features integrally-molded front fender/mud flaps, that have separate detail parts as well as a single Bosch head-lamp (with clear styrene lens if the cap is left off) for the port side; there is a detailed mount UNDER the fender, illustrating the dedication to fidelity of the kit’s designers. There are a couple of large and deep ejector pin marks under there as well, but they are hidden from normal view. The glacis plate features weld interlocks and bead detail as well as a nice armor texture; it is also properly configured at the top edge where it meets the roof plate. There is a separate cast MG blister with a finely-detailed, slide-molded MG34 and mount; the machine-gun’s muzzle is pre-bored, and there is a separate cap to be used if the MG is not in place. The separate driver’s and radio operator’s hatch lids feature separate grab handles and complete underside detail, as well as the springs seen on the inside of the transmission access plate; external bump-stops are also present. Separate periscope armor guards for the driver and the RO are given as are clear styrene periscope heads; the driver’s ‘scope also has a separate rotator plate (remove the location tab and it can be movable) and sun-shade. The Heckzurrung (external travel lock for tank gun) is separate and features an intricately detailed “chain” segment due to the use of a slide mold; it can be configured in use or laid down. The turret ring race has complete detail and does not have cut-outs to keep the turret locked in place; personally, I prefer this method as it will allow the modeler more latitude in display. Just be aware that the turret will fall out if the model is inverted.

The engine deck has a number of options and also contains some internal bits. It is also the only place where the major portion of the kit’s very limited amount of etched brass parts are to be fitted; I refer of course to the screens for the various air intake and exhaust grills. Internally, there are the baffles and fan blades for the engine cooling system; this includes the option of two different fan blade styles. Externally there are two different styles of cast cooling air exhaust armor guards, with the third option being the raised tower associated with the Kampfraumheizung (fighting compartment heater). The separate slat arrangements that were situated only on the starboard side of the engine deck is given as either opened or closed options; likewise the “pie-slice” plates that cover the raised tower can be mounted in place or stored next to the opening. Two main engine deck plates are given; the differences are extremely subtle and quite difficult to distinguish, consisting of the same number of openings around the rim, but with differing styles of fasteners within them. Since DML felt it important enough to provide an option here, I would have preferred to see the plate that contained less openings for fasteners and therefore had a more distinct visual difference. A separate engine deck access hatch lid is given as are various fittings, hooks and filler caps. Although a separate antenna base is provided, there is no rod antenna included (nor is the modeler instructed to create one using various traditional methods). Surely a product that is billed as being a “Smart Kit”, requiring no “extra” work by the modeler should include the rod antenna, especially since DML has had a dedicated sprue for this item in its ‘logistics system” for a number of years.

The superstructure side plates feature proper weld bead and interlock details and have separate mounting frames for the tools and spare tracks. The latter are very cleverly slide-molded and include properly-rendered “U”-shaped track hangers complete with small holes for the separate (and finely-molded) “L”-shaped holding pins. Unlike most new or Premium Edition kits, there is only one set of tools, with molded-on clasps; these are very accurately depicted and with proper cleaning will look the part very convincingly. A jack block with wood grain texture sits in a separate slide-molded tray, and two styles of large tow cable loops are provided; they come from a slide-mold and are pre-bored to accept the provided wound metal wire tow cable. Separate “U”-shaped hooks with separate “L”-shaped pins hold the cables in place on the engine deck. The thinner track changing cable is also provided but oddly enough, there are no end loops for it.

Remarkably, no Schurzen plates are provided. The rails on either side of the superstructure side plates are there, as are the hooks. Although it is common to see Panther Ausf.Gs without them (and references show that at least two of the vehicles for which markings are provided in this box have indeed lost theirs), I feel that for the sake of versatility, Schurzen should have been included.

Turret.

This is topped by a superbly-designed cast Prismenspiegelkuppel (commander’s cupola with periscopes); its exterior is from a slide-mold, so that the area beneath the armor guards for the periscope heads is properly rendered. Clear styrene parts are then inserted from the inside, which has the proper thickness due to separate ring inserts. The hatch lid is completely detailed inside and out. There is a choice of the conventional Fuhrungsring fur MG (ring for machine gun) and Fliegerbeschusgerat (anti-aircraft mount for an MG34) or a simple post, which replaced the original AA mount and rail; this is the only other area in the kit that has included etched brass parts to represent mounting plates. No MG34 is provided. Finally, there is a separate external blade sight.

The turret roof has separate grab handles, lifting hooks, two different fan vent cover plates (forged and welded), separate armored splash guard for the vent, molded-on Pilsen (crane mounts) with excellent weld and drain details, separate clear styrene loader’s periscope (with armored guard), splash guard for the IR device linkage and mount for Orterkompass (floating compass). Separate Lost-Erkennungstafeln (poison gas identification panels) are provided as is a slide-molded Nahverteidigungswaffe (close defense weapon); this can be configured with an opened or closed port and includes the internal part of the weapon. The turret rear plate is separate and features a movable escape hatch lid that also includes fine hold-open latch detail.

Up front, there is a choice of gun mantlets (standard and the so-called “chin” style) with a nicely-textured cast effect; they each have mounting pads for IR gear on the starboard side edges as well as separate lifting lugs. This unit is topped by the sheet metal rain guard. The 7.5cm KwK is a conventionally-molded all-styrene item, capped by a three-part slide-molded styrene muzzle brake. The gun tube matches drawings in Panzer Tracts 5-3 very precisely and even includes the subtle change in taper seen towards the rear; internally, there is basic breech detail for it.

One last item of note regarding the turret is the painted-on location points designed to help place the loops that were welded in place on very late turrets to place foliage for camouflage. These are provided in this way so that if the modeler chooses not to use the loops, no clean-up of the location points will be needed. Is this a gimmick, or is it a genuine time-saver? Ask yourself this simple question: how much is your precious time worth? My answer? Once lost, “time” is irreplaceable, so anything (no matter how simple or how much hype may be attached by zealous copywriters) that saves some of it is welcome by this reviewer.

Molding, Fit and Engineering.

Overall, I found no problems with the fit of any major or minor component. No sink marks were found and in every case except for the above-mentioned individual link tracks, there were no visible ejector pin marks.

Accuracy.

The recent four-volume series from the Panzer Tracts team, backed up by their classic work for Schiffer (see listing below) was the base reference for this scale model’s physical attributes. After removing many of the major components from the sprues, I began laying them on the various sets of drawings in the Panzer Tracts book (No.5-3). Without exception, the fit was superb; given that these drawings are widely held to be the ultimate reference for this Panzer, I can probably safely conclude that the overall accuracy level of this kit is simply outstanding. Any issues I have with this kit are solely related to the few omissions that are noted, such as:

• No end loops for the track changing cable.
• No Schurzen plates.
• No rod antenna.
• No anti-aircraft MG34.
• Odd choice of engine deck access plate option.

Instructions.

The instructions are presented in the conventional manner, with intricately-detailed line drawings. Almost all of the main steps contain one or more sub-steps separated into small boxes; this will assist the modeler in preparing subassemblies for placement when needed. Most of the options are properly described, but the fitting of either the track return roller or track return skid to the proper final drive housings is a bit confused. In step 2, we are shown that either parts G-4 and G-5 can be fitted, or parts G-8 or G-9 can be fitted. So far, so good. Then in step three, we are shown that the return roller (two parts A-19) or the return skids (parts G-24 and G-26) are fitted. But, we are never shown which COMBINATION of parts are to be used. An examination of the parts will show to use two parts A-19 with G-4 and G-5 and parts G-24 and G-26 with G-8 or G-9. A nice touch is that the modeler does not have to guess how many links are fitted to each track run as the instructions show how many and of which of the two types of link are needed (81 per side, plus eight for each of the drive sprockets).

Decals and Markings Information.

DML’s usual sub-contractor, Italy’s Cartograf, has provided water-slide decal markings for a total of three Panthers; the designs are in excellent register, have sharp detail, very thin backing film and fine color saturation. Colors are keyed to Gunze and Testors paints. All schemes feature Panther Ausf.Gs that fought during the last months of the war; they include:

• White 421, 4.Kp./Pz.Rgt.15, 11.Panzer-Division, Bavaria 1945.
• Black 435, 4.Kompanie, unidentified unit, Balaton 1945.
• Black 121, 1.Kompanie, unidentified unit, Ostfront 1945

Two are finished in a base color of Olivgrun; the third was also probably base-painted in that color as well, but had a relatively complex camouflage pattern added, so that it is difficult to say what the base color actually was. Two of the schemes check out as accurate against references; I could not find anything on “Black 121”. The modeler should check to see which specific features are present on the Panther of choice, such as the “chin” mantlet, crew compartment heater fan tower, steel road-wheel on the last station, and exhaust pipe configurations, etc. There are actually two sets of Tac numbers for white 421 and black 435, each of a slightly different size and proportion; check the instructions to see which set is recommended for use.

Conclusion.

Releasing yet another Panther so soon after the Premium Edition Ausf.D (see review here on ToT) may seem to be a bit much for those of us that have been hoping that DML would surprise us with an oft-requested Allied subject (or two!). It is all the more odd since no parts from this kit are from the Ausf.D. However, all other Ausf.Gs on the market prior to this one had several issues regarding fundamental accuracy, so in that respect, this new kit is “needed”; certainly what’s in the box represents the most accurate Ausf.G kit available to date. And, that this kit dispenses with much of the multi-media items that are DMLs signature in exchange for rather advanced styrene parts may also prove to be a good thing for hobbyists, especially for those modelers that constantly decry the former as “gimmicks”, or those who want an “out-of-the-box” build, but with enhanced detail.

In the end, however, this is simply a superb kit; if you have always wanted to build a late- or final-production Panther Ausf.G, give this one a try.

Highly recommended.

- Frank De Sisto