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Dragon released a few years ago an injection plastic kit of the Panther II tank. This is what I call a "history-fiction" model. Let me explain. The Panther II was never used in combat, and certainly not in the configuration suggested by Dragon in their box. The only Panther II ever built was the prototype vehicle now housed in Fort Knox, and this, with no turret. The "real" Fort Knox Panther II has the engine fan screens of the same type than those on the Tiger II, whereas the Dragon model comes with all the engine deck and rear plate seen in the very late Panther Ausf. G (included the raised structure for the left fan). The Dragon model is completed by a "Schmallturm" or narrow turret, a new design intended to be mounted in the lasts of the Panthers, the Ausf. F, from April 1945. This turret had to mount the 7.5 cm L/70 gun as in the other Panthers, but slightly modified. Nevertheless, Dragon turret mount nothing less than the 8.8 cm L/71 gun!. Several prototypes (and perhaps some production units) of Schmallturms were built, but these not before than August 1944. Remember that the Panther II project was dropped in the mid 1943. About the 8,8 cm gun in a Schmallturm, only some blueprints were made (at the end of 1944, I believe), and it never went into production. Thus, the Dragon model could not exist.
Nevertheless, scale drawings of this same fantasy appears in well respected and researched books such as "Achtung Panzer no. 4" (ed. Model Graphix). And there are some similar resin kits for the Panther II. I have the feeling I am missing something. In which sources have these authors consulted to propose this vehicle?, Just it could have been...?. If someone knows the answer I would like to know it. Some months ago I thought in the possibility of built Fort Knox' Panther II (the real one, I mean), by kit bashing Dragon kit and a turret from, for example, a Nichimo Panther G. When I realized that I needed to replace all the engine deck I quit the idea.
The model was built basically "out of the box", with the addition of the "compulsory" extra work, such as new tool brackets, thinned (sanded down) fenders, new hooks for the spare tracks... The most important modification was to narrow the lower part of the turret, which is to wide and "overhangs" the hull sides. Nevertheless, the dimensions of the turret are right if compared with "Achtung Panzer no. 4" scale drawings (!), but in fact to wide when compared with T. Jentz' "Germany's Panther Tank" (but the other dimensions are basically correct).
Dragon provides photoetched grilles and link by link tracks, in fact they are the same used for railroad transport in Tigers II and Jagdtigers. These ones are good but a little tricky. There are two kinds of links and a connector, so every "independent" section of track are made with three pieces. When I finished the two tracks and I was going to connect both ends I discovered that Murphy's law stroke again. The number of necessary link is odd, not even!. So, two links of the same kind remained adjacent, which is not possible since they do not connect. I had to cut part of the links and glued them with cyanoacrylate, trying that this mess was hidden under a wheel. I think I manage to occult it quite well, since it is not very apparent. As a final touch, I added an infrared device coming from tamiya's Panther G with steel road wheels. It was intended to that this kind of device was part of the normal equipment of new tanks.
This model was also "experimental" for me since I tried for the first time Tamiya acrylic paintings. I tried to catch one of these very unusual late war schemes (which are superbly reproduced by some Japanese modellers in the Panzerfile books), and I think I failed. I applied some slight enamel washes and drybrushed later with Humbrol enamels. The decals are the ones found in the box.
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