1/72 (20mm) German Panther Tanks Ausf A & Ausf G

 

 

 

The Panther medium tank is considered one of the best tanks of the Second World War.  Armed with a powerful 7.5 cm long barrel Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 42 L/70 gun, the Panther was capable of destroying most Allied tanks at long range.  Compare to the legendary Tiger heavy tank, the Panther had greater cross-country mobility and its sloped frontal 80mm armour (55 degree angle) gave the Panther better frontal protection than the Tiger’s 100mm horizontal armour.  By the end of the war, approximately 6,000 Panther were produced, making the Panther the third most produced German armoured fighting vehicle in the war after the StuG III and Panzer IV.  There were three models of Panther produced: Ausf D (the first model in the series), Ausf A, and Ausf G.

 

The Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) produces a 1/72 scale (20mm) Panther Ausf A (with Zimmerit) set.  The Zimmerit is an anti-magnetic mine paste applied to the upper surface of the Panther.  PSC kit allows you to build two Panther (Ausf A) tanks, with options available for customizing the tanks.

 

 

 

PSC Panther (Ausf A) with Zimmerit sprue: side 1

 

PSC Panther (Ausf A) with Zimmerit sprue: side 2

 

 

 

Italeri produces a 1/72 scale ‘fast assembly’ Panther Ausf G kit.  The Panther comes in 12 easy to assemble pieces, which is ideal for someone like myself, who prefers painting over building complex models.  Decals were included in this kit.

 

 

 

‘Fast Assembly’ Panther (Ausf G) sprue: side 1

 

‘Fast Assembly’ Panther (Ausf G) sprue: side 2

 

 

 

I painted three Panther medium tanks: Two PSC Ausf A Panthers and one Italeri Ausf G Panther.  I wanted the Panthers to appear as belonging to the same unit, so I painted a similar camouflage pattern on each tank.  As well, I applied the Italeri decals to the tanks to identify the tanks as belonging to the same platoon.  The three numbers on the turrets identifies the tank’s company (first number), platoon (second number) and vehicle number (third digit).  Therefore, the numbers ‘211’, ‘212’ and ‘213’ identifies these tanks as belonging to the 2^nd company, 1^st platoon.  Panther ‘211’ is the 1^st tank (command tank) in the platoon, ‘212’ is the 2^nd tank and ‘213’ is the 3^rd tank.

 

 

 

Panther Ausf A (command tank, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 1

 

Panther Ausf A (command tank, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 2

 

 

Panther Ausf A (tank no. 2, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 1

 

Panther Ausf A (tank no. 2, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 2

 

 

Panther Ausf G (tank no. 3, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 1

 

Panther Ausf G (tank no. 3, 2^nd company, 1^st platoon): side 2

 

 

 

The below photos are test shots for my upcoming World War 2 miniature site featuring the Panther tanks from this post.