Description
The Panther tank, designated as Sd.Kfz. 171, is a German medium tank developed during WW2 to counter the Soviet T-34 on the eastern front. After studies on captured T-34s, the first prototype was built in September 1942. Despite numerous unresolved technical problems, it was rushed into combat in the summer of 1943 at the Battle of Kursk. As a result, the Panther became the most controversial panzer: while it is considered one of the best WW2 tanks by some for its excellent firepower and armour, it is thought over engineered and unreliable by others due to its mechanical problems. The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the Tiger I. Having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol engine as the Tiger I, the Panther had a very high power-to-weight ratio and thus better mobility. Its 7.5 cm Kw.K 42 L/70 long barrelled gun had a higher muzzle velocity than the Tiger I’s 88mm L/56, thus better armour penetration. Although the Panther doesn’t have the 100 mm thick front armour plate like the Tiger, the sloped 80 mm armour plate gave a more effective protection equivalent of 139 mm thick plate if been hit by rounds horizontally. However, the side armour was much thinner (40-50mm) and made it vulnerable to flanking fire. Interestingly, the naming of Panther production variants did not follow alphabetical order: the initial variant is Ausf. D, which was followed by “A” and “G” variants. Around 6,000 were produced overall.
The Ausf.D can be distinguished by it’s lack of a hull machine gun, and it’s cylindrical commander’s cupola.
Wito Neuwirth (verified owner) –
Ken S. (verified owner) –
This camouflage version is the second time I purchased Build Army’s Panther. I purchased an all gray version previously and was very impressed with the design. Thus, I did not hesititate to buy the new camouflage version. I purchased mine when it first came out and I finally got around to building it during this holiday season.
However, there are a few issues that have carried over from the previous version. First, there are 2 places where if you follow the instruction, it will lead to problems down the line. Note below –
1. Do not put on the 1×1 plate and tile at Step 16. Otherwise you wont be able to fit the the 2×8 plate at Step 49.
2. At Step 18, the engine firewall will not clip into place if you use both brackets. Use only one bracket. You’ll still be able to complete the wall with one bracket.
Then there are the playability issues. First, there is no way to fit minifigures into the vehicles. At the very least, I think there should be a way to insert a tank commander in the turret with his torso and head sticking out of the cupola. But this is a minor complaint and I am looking for a way to fix this. Two other issues are the fact that the tracks do not move smoothly and the turret can not spin 360 degrees. I was able to fix these 2 problems however. If anyone is interested, here is what I did –
In order to get the tracks to move smoothly –
1. At Step 71, I don’t use the 2×2 gray plates. Instead, I use Lego 2654 rounded bottom plates
2. I then plate the underside (the inner 2 studs width) from front to where the 2×6 plate is from Step 33. I used one 2×6 plate and one 2×4 plate for each side.
3. I then follow Steps 72 to 79. I found 57 links per side to be just about right. There needs to be care on how the tracks are lined up though. The inner wheel has to be set exactly along the middle of the track link.
In order to get the turret to rotate 360 degrees without getting caught on the forward hatches –
1. At Step 16, I ignore putting on the 1×1 plate and the 1×1 tile
2. At Step 35, I ignore putting on the two 2×2 plates
3. At Step 49, I don’t use the 2×8 plate, the 1×1 plate, and the two 1×2 tiles. Instead use a 1×8 plate aligned behind the two 1×1 bricks.
4. I then simply adjust the height of the hatch opening gimmick to be one plate lower so that both hatches sit flush with the top deck.
5. And finally, at Step 66, do not use the gray 1×2 plate. Instead, use a 1×2 tile. This will allow the turret to rotate 360. I kept the 1×2 gray plate from Step 66 in my attached photos just for detail sake.
I hope this helps.
I made a few other minor changes that you might notice in the photos. ^^
Buildarmy (store manager) –
Hi, thanks very much for the detailed feedback! I’ll check these and integrate some of them into the second version.
Luca C. (verified owner) –
Very nice this panther I think is the best))
Maxine Warhurst (verified owner) –
They are so helpful and took time to chase up delivery after I contacted them to say it’s still in the UK (I’m in Australia). It’s a Christmas gift, but I know it’s going to make them very happy!
Milan R. (verified owner) –
Oliver (verified owner) –
Very well designed brickbuild Panther kit. Nevertheless, I added some more details (not included in the kit).
The exhaustpipes are made from LEGO hose rigid. Because I messed up some of the stickers, I replaced them with some of my spareparts. I´m looking forward to building more of these.
Peter Juerging (verified owner) –
Very nice model. Added a commander and a driver.
D van den Berg (verified owner) –
I love it
Kevin F. (verified owner) –
Liam Draper (verified owner) –
Hi,
I loved the builds but i can’t remember what problems where for each tanks. So i am going to copy this in all comments. Some i had different colour bricks as what the instructions told me to use, the Intructions cut off what i needed to add in a step, some bricks where not there but different ones where that i had to figure out what for, Intructions need to have a good look at as not all steps are clear as parts where hidden or you had to take bits off to continue on later steps, and last, some parts just didn’t fit or work so i had to modify it or just see what i could remove for it to work.
Other than all of that i loved the builds, they look really cool and i would be buying more in the future,
Keep up the work i hope to see new builds soon.
Hayden Shea (verified owner) –
Couple missing parts and wrong colored tiles. Still have to get back to building to know extent of this though. Looks amazing so far and can’t wait to finish it.
Tim (verified owner) –
A very good model, but the turret doesn’t move 360° without puting it out for a bit.
Matthias R. (verified owner) –
Alex –
Hi, really like the tank but a few key pieces missing. Also, I would recommend putting minifigure hatches in the cupola. The tracks are hard. Is it supposed to be 58 on each side as my panthers tracks could only fit together with another piece. Just and idea = you could include a winter scheme camo for mocs in the battle of the bulge or the Eastern front .All in all a good tank.
hyunkim –
this camouflage panther is already out of stock, then does the original panther come back?
admin –
A few have been added to the stock.
stegi89 (verified owner) –
Haha already out of stock! That means something!
3 Points I really appreciate:
1. Its my first Panther Kid from you and I really enjoyed to build it. The interior is as accurate as possible in this scale.
2. The used color tones match perfectly together.
3. Your service was excellent! In the package were the missing stickers from my last order added without mentioning this.
I am looking forward of your future tank designs.
cheers!
Oliver –
I dont have one yet but I wanted to ask if this tank has hatches to place minifigures?
admin –
The inner space may be a bit too small for the minifigures.