mercoledì 3 marzo 2010

Sd.Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther Early Production (1/72 scale)

Now this little beast has a paint job that took me some time to finish, but it was worth it! My fourth tank is the futuristic looking Jagdpanther. This tank was a feared opponent on the battle ground and is considered to be one of the best weapon systems of WW2 because of its good armour protection, high mobility and incredible 8.8 cm KwK 43 main gun. There were only 382 jagdpanthers built during the war, but its icredible sharp look and recognisable shape gave it lots of fame and notoriety.
I had the opportunity to see and touch a real Jagdpanther in the Imperial War Museum when I was 14 and even though I knew nothing about this tank at the time it captured my attention and became one of my favorite WW2 tanks right away.
Ok, enough said about the tank and lest talk about the kit...I chose Dragons 1/72 Jagdpanther with the "waffel" Zimmerit already moulded on the kit parts. I didn't have many problems building the kit other than some fitting problems and bad moulding on the road wheels (lots of flash) but, who cares this kit is all about the zimmerit! Which looks damn cool!
The three tone german camouflage was hand painted with a fine size 3 round tip brush and Testors acrylics. I found the pattern on the net, but since not all sides were shown I had to invent some parts and it took me over a week to get the right "look". This was the first model I completely applied newer techniques on. I tested for the first time filters, extensive pigments for dust effects and applied dry mud on my AFV. O yeah and I also left the motor hatch open (great extra detail for the kit, thanks Dragon!) which adds some more realism and spirit.
Thank you for following...Can't wait to see your comments...