Customer Reviews

Tamiya 1/35 German Panther Med Tank Kit

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an old Tamiya kit of the German tank Panther A. This was one of the first model kits that I built when I got back into modeling after 25 year absence. The accuracy of this kit leaves much to be desired but it does have the general shape of the Panther A. Track shoes are the rubber-band type with detail only on one side. There are holes in the hull of the kit where switches would protrude out. Back in the 1970's Tamiya made little motors to add to their model kits so that they would actually move around. This is one of those 1970's kits. Total kit parts are about fifty (50). That's alot for a kit over 30+ years old. After market parts will build this kit up into a very respectable representation of a Panther A. Because this is such an old kit, be prepared to have some fit difficulties with the upper to lower hull. My main gun was warped so I used an aftermarket barrel. If you are looking for a kit to start a young person on and not worry about accuracy or detail then this will be a good kit. If you are looking for a kit based on the the Panther A then this is the kit for you also. There are not many, if any, kits out there based on the Panther A. Overall a decent kit. About the only really bad thing about this kit is that a lot of hobby shops like to overprice this kit. Average price for this kit is about $22.00. That's to pricey for a 30+ year old kit. I got lucky about 10 years ago when I got back into modeling when I bought it for $15.00. Seems that now-a-days distributors got to jack the price up on old kits.

It's interesting that, when creating this review, I was asked a variety of questions about this "toy". I use the word "interesting" because of the history of this particular kit. It was introduced in the 70's when plastic models were primarily a kids hobby. This kit was designed to be motorized. There are holes for screws and switched on the bottom of the hull for this purpose. The designers were obviously targeting kids who would spend, at most, an hour or two building this and then playing with it until they broke it. (Actually, my brother and I once made one of these and blew it up with firecrackers.)
Serious modelers will not consider this kit because of all of its deficiencies. However, given that modern kits for this tank run anywhere from $40 to more than $70, this kit remains a very attractive one for novice modelers or those who are returning to modeling as adults. It's cheap and simple to build. You don't have to worry about a lot of very small parts or dealing with metal parts. You can concentrate on the basics of building and painting a model.
From that perspective, this model (and others like it) still have a place in the modeling world.

Please everyone who built the older Tamiya kits, they are still out there and in my photos you will see the results of models and the effort put into them. The Panther kit may be older than some of the people working on it but it lends itself to details.

This is a good starter model. Simple and easy to build. It did feel a little lacking. There not much to it. Its got some details like spair treds. It does cost a little more than I feel it should. But if you like building models you still can't go wrong with this one.

Good basic tank kit. Not too hard to put together if you have done this type of activity before. This not a toy to be played with.

Its relatively cheaper and faster to produce. Lacks some details, but can be fixed with a good paint job. Its a great model if you are doing a battle diorama, or just want several shelves full of tanks.

Although this is an old kit, an impressive model can be constructed. I bought the kit to practice applying zimmerit, and the kit turned out very well. I knew about the tight track fit, so I took measures to avoid this. I move the idler wheel in about 1/8", and the drive sprocket in 1/8" as well (simple to do). There are a few very easy things one can do to spice up the kit (like drilling out the exhaust, adding screens to the engine intakes, and adding periscopes). No, the kit doesn't stand up well to a DML kit, but they cost more than twice as much. This kit is a joy to put together, and great for practicing techniques. Highly recommended.

This is a simplified model of arguably the best German tank of WWII. Easy to build and with your good looking camo paint job it will become a prize possession in your collection!

If you don't like about 100 parts to glue stay away from this.I threw it out.