1/72 scale (20mm) Italeri Panther, 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.

 

 

 

 

 

Italeri produces a 1/72 scale ‘fast assembly’ Panther, Ausf. G model kit.  This kit allows you to build two Panther tanks and includes a sheet of decals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I painted the two Panthers in the same camouflage pattern as the three Panther tanks from my earlier blog post.  Thus, the five Panthers belong to the same Tank Battalion.  The decals on the two new Panthers identify the tanks as the fourth and fifth tank of the 2^nd Company, 1^st Platoon of the Tank Battalion (the three numbers on the turret identifies the company [first number], the platoon [second number] and the vehicle number [third number]).  The previous three Panthers are identified as the first (command), second and third tanks of the 2^nd Company, 1^st Platoon.  A Panther Tank Platoon is made up of five tanks; therefore, the five Panthers represent a platoon at full strength.

 

 

 

 

Panther, Ausf. G (Tank No. 4 of Company 2, Platoon 1): side 1

 

Panther, Ausf. G (Tank No. 4 of Company 2, Platoon 1): side 2

 

 

Panther, Ausf. G (Tank No. 5 of Company 2, Platoon 1): side 1

 

Panther, Ausf. G (Tank No. 5 of Company 2, Platoon 1): side 2

 

 

The images below could be found in the German Armour I: Tanks section (in the Panther Gallery) of Citizen Soldiers: A 1/72 scale World War 2 Model Site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citizen Soldiers: A 1/72 scale World War 2 Model Site is devoted to the hobby of painting and collecting World War 2 models/miniatures.  It is my hope, through creating this website, to honour the men and women who served in the Second World War, whose sacrifices and courage have given us the freedom and quality of life we have today.