Tamiya Panther Panzer V Ausf. A in 1/35 scale

I was walking through my local hobby shop a few months ago and saw this on the shelf for $20. I couldn't resist getting such a classic tank for that deal. I figured it was probably an older model that had been created decades ago and had not been updated in a while which is why it was so cheap. Boy was I right. Although there were some challenges, it actually went together pretty well and I was able to work with most of the existing parts. I built this simultaneously with my other German tank, the RC Panzer IV Ausf. J, which I posted about recently. This allowed me to try a method on one tank before doing it on the other.

Although I could live with the majority of the issues and correct some of them, like drilling out the exhaust tubes so they were hollow, I could not live with the original rubber tracks. They were horrible. They had no detail and they wouldn't even stretch enough to fit the wheels. I decided to get other tracks. I decided on getting Tamiya's single track links. These were very detailed and had extra links to replace the simple ones on the side racks. They were also only $18 so I wasn't breaking the bank to get the result I wanted.

Other than those issues everything else went pretty smoothly. I have been painting my German tanks with a rust red primer coat first just like the real tanks were so that I can get a more realistic result when chipping. I use AK Heavy Chipping Fluid for that process.

As far as trying new things, this is my first attempt at oil washes. I found Winsor and Newton oil paints at a local store and sealed everything with Winsor and Newton Galeria Matt Varnish which I absolutely love. The pin wash is AK Streaking Grime and the paints are all Tamiya.

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.