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There are only two people in the world who can get me to paint 15mm for them. One is Jon at Khurasan, the other is Will at PSC! I figured these may be of interest to you FOW types...

As the club got a 'big box of gak' from Will Townsend at Plastic Soldier Company, he asked me to do up a Panther for his display stand. I also wanted to do them to get a peek at what this maybe like in 1/72. Its an outstanding piece of designing... Really is a superb model for a fastbuild.

My plan is to do an Ausf D, an A and a G, and mount them all on a plinth.

I have started with the 'A' and as usual, had to have a fiddle... First I removed the Letterbox MG port and replaced it with the ball mount and also shortened the cupola ring which is too long. Then I went and Zimm'ed it!

This one is based on Panther 714, commanded by SS-Oberscharfuhrer Hans Wolf, commander of 7th Kompanie, Panzer Regiment 5, 'Wiking'.










Quite happy with the look... Dunno if the Zimm will look right after painting, but I will give it a go! I want to try and avoid the usual 'cartoon' look that alot of FOW models seem to have.

Oh and here it is next to some proper sized models that I feel more at home with...

Welcome to the dark side

That looks to be a very nice kit. If I was ever going to redo my late war panzers I think I know where I will be getting my Panthers.

See, it's not so bad, is it?

It looks like a nice kit. How did you do the homemade Zimmerit? I'm curious to see how it turns out once you paint it up as well.

That Zimmerit looks great. That's not easy to do in that scale!

The 1:72 scale M4A1 is presumably a PSC kit too? Don't you find that the track assembly issues are a bit more of a problem in that scale?

Tailgunner wrote:

The 1:72 scale M4A1 is presumably a PSC kit too? Don't you find that the track assembly issues are a bit more of a problem in that scale?

Not really.

Its all a trade off. These are wargaming models, not modelling kits. I can build a box of these Shermans in the same time it takes me to build a single track unit from a Dragon kit.

Plus once on the table, you dont even notice it as the model is 6 foot away!

At the moment, Im more interested in speed and quantity. Plus I had enough of building kits when I was younger... and I save that unpleasentness for stuff I cant get in fast-build.

Hordini wrote:See, it's not so bad, is it?

Yes... yes it is.

Odd size to work in to be honest but the kit is very well done.

The Zimmerit is done using Liquid Green stuff and alot of patience... It looks good now, but I dont know how it will show once painted. I wanted a realistic look and that required it to be very subtle. That may be too subtle.

Why didn't I do this with my 15mm Panthers..... It's so simple and so effective.

EDIT - I would think that Liquid GS is far too thin, you need at least 1-2mm depth inorder to get the detail to profile nicely. Liquid GS isn't great at that, if it is a smoothing an area or whatever it's great but for doing detail, or whatever milliput (grey stuff) or proper Epoxy putty would be better. Thing is you would want it sticky so more Yellow than blue in the mix 2/5 Blue to 3/5 yellow.

Big P wrote:
Its all a trade off. These are wargaming models, not modelling kits. I can build a box of these Shermans in the same time it takes me to build a single track unit from a Dragon kit.

I hear that - I simply don't have the time or energy (or eyesight) to build Dragon 1:72 scale kits. Or anything in that scale with link-and-length tracks. But I still get hung up on obvious gaps, and the PSC 15mm Shermans have a couple around the running gear. It looks as though you green-stuffe this model, and I guess it will look fine once painted.

The Zimmerit is done using Liquid Green stuff and alot of patience... It looks good now, but I dont know how it will show once painted. I wanted a realistic look and that required it to be very subtle. That may be too subtle.

It look as though it will paint up really well. It's hard to model in this scale without exaggerating the detail (15mm figures have all sorts of issues). I have several 1:87 scale Panthers (I know - why the hell am I modelling in that scale? It's a long story). Seeing this, I am tempted to try and add the Zimmerit.

Looking forward to seeing the other models, and all of them painted!

Cheers guys.

The liquid green stuff is ok... But Im worried it wont stand out so well after painting...

I'll be most interested to see how the Zimmerit turns out.

Does anyone else think the 15mm Panther looks like a Lepoard scout tank next to the 20mm Sherman?

Yup, I love this little tank. Currently working of a 15mm scale one. Hopefully someone will show me how to cast it in resin so I can get several.

Using PSC 251 Tracks, a cut down Panther A hull upper section, and a spare Puma Turret and lots of Plasticard.

It looks okay but scaling is the issue...

Already done it years ago...

Damn it, Piers!! Is there nothing you don't know or haven't done :p

However it's a very nice model, did you get it cast before you painted it?

Sadly no.

Its now resisdent with a chum in Holland, along with the Panzer IV 'Neu'.

Gave up on all the '46 weirdness before I even played a game.

Just didnt float my boat.

Though my E-100 V-2 Launch Vehicle was fun...

Big P wrote:

Hordini wrote:See, it's not so bad, is it?

Yes... yes it is.

Odd size to work in to be honest but the kit is very well done.

The Zimmerit is done using Liquid Green stuff and alot of patience... It looks good now, but I dont know how it will show once painted. I wanted a realistic look and that required it to be very subtle. That may be too subtle.

Just keep at it, you'll get used to it.

It will be interesting to see how the Zimmerit turns out, and you're right, it does look quite subtle (especially on the mantlet, but that might just be the angle of the photos). As long as you keep the paint thin though, I bet you'll be able to pull it off.

Started the paintwork...




Sadly the airbrushed died last night so hand painted.

Looks pretty nice!

Do you really dislike FOW that much?

I have no idea what you mean...

I dont play FOW or use 15mm models.


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Chipped and decal...

Panther looks superb Big P. Did they not paint the top deck surfaces with the olive and brown camo? That was a genuine question and not a pedantic jibe; I'm keen to know as I'm painting some up soon and want to get them right.

Yer they did mate... Just the one Im copying didnt have its deck painted as the crew had repainted it.

Panther is pretty much done, just waiting for the scenic base to dry...

I am stunned. The panther is looking amazing. Nice work

Very well done paint job on that, I especially like the bent schurzen.

Cheers... Hope to finish the base tonight and then it will be ready to take over to Will.

It looks great painted - I think you really nailed the Zimmerit. The weathering is also very good, even though it's tended to make the camo disappear. Can we see it based?

Almost done, bit to finish on the base...

Finished;



Will get Warwick to do a better pic at the weekend.

Looks great!

Awesome end result, and the Zimmerit turned out great!