Tamiya Panther Ausf. A Build; Part 3

Today I'll talk about the figures for the tank. This kit includes a commander and driver. The driver comes in 4 parts(body&head,arms,legs) and the commander comes in 3(body&head, arms) These are both molded well with minimal flash and great detail. The fit of the parts is excellent and the construction is fast. Make sure the commander's arms are postioned right or he won't stand straight. I painted them using mostly Decoart crafters acrylics. These are cheap and you can find them almost anywheres (even at Wal-Mart) I painted the uniforms using a mix of black,navy blue, and grey. The faces were one coat of flesh. The boots and gloves were black with a gloss painted over them. After the main coat had dried I highlighted the inlaid detail with lines of black. Tomorrow we'll talk about the hull.

Tamiya Panther Ausf. A Build; Part 2

When you open the box you see, well, a lot of plastic pieces, about 150 of them. These are well molded and with very few marks to speak of. The instructions say to build the chassis first but I left that for last.The turret is made up of basically two parts, The gun and mantlet and the turret body. The gun goes together nicely with a little filler on the seam. The mantlet fits perfectly on the turret and is moveable.After attaching the main parts I noticed the back of the turret had two large ruts. A little bit of filler will do to fix those. I then added the details, hatches, spare track holders, etc. The turret looked great, with the right texture and fit.

Tamiya Panther Ausf. A Build; Part 1

Well, as February comes to a close, I've decided to do a tank build/review. Luckily, shortly before I made this decision, I finished the Tamiya Late Panther Ausf. A (Kit #35065). As I built some of it before the website went up, I won't be able to show it as it is being built, but I do have finished photos up.

Tip of the Week

Tanks were not clean machines. They threw up lots of dirt and mud that splattered all over them. So when building a tank weather, weather, weather.

Tip of the Week

Most instructions say to build the wheels on tank first, but the wheels are boring, tedious and hard. Always do them last to avoid frustration. Wouldn't you rather see a turret with a big gun build before your eyes or just alot of circles? I would pick the turret, and I bet most other people would to.

Tip of the Week

Use figures whenever the kit supplies them. It adds a sense of scale and a bit of character, plus they're really fun to paint!

This Month's Theme is...

The theme for the month of February is Tanks. You've all seen them. You've all looked in awe at the enormous gun on the front of them. You've all wanted to build one. Most of you have. Tanks are some of the most popular model themes and there are lots of excellent kits out there. The only problem about armour models is the price. If you want a really awesome and realistic armour kit with photo etched pieces and the whole nine yards, expect to lay down about $50-$70. This makes it difficult to buy good medium to large scale armour kits. Actually, if you want a fair amount of detail or realism at a good price, I reccomend buying small. By small I mean 1/72 scale tanks, and I have to reccomed Airfix for their quality, quantity and some interesting tank designs such as the Churchill Crocodile Tank and the Sherman Crab tank, with more on the way this year like the Matilda Hedgehog, the Sherman Calliope, and the Churchill bridge layer.

Welcome!

Welcome to Zaltar's Guide to Scale Modelling! Are you tired of those rich European modellers saying, "OOOOHHHH! Look at me I'm painting details rivaling the real life inspiration," or "OOOOHHHH!Look at my $50 paints" Well I am too. The reason behind this blog is to show us average Joe modellers that they can make good models without breaking their banks. Every month I will give you a new tip for modelling and every so often I'll show pictures of mine.

Keep posted and please try not to throw out your models when you're pissed because it doesn't look like an expert's version.