Just picked one up at the LHS, 12 GBP on sale, what a bargin!
First impression is very good, looks like a Tamiya, smells like a Tamiya and hopefully goes together like a Tamiya!
Only odd quirck I found so far is the screw assembly off the main gun?!
Anyway, this looks like the correct fun / money equation, I am gooing to enjoy this 
For that price, what can possibly go wrong? Enjoy your build. I was at the hobby shop and got good deals on some items as well. SU-85 (Tamiya) for $12.00 and Marder II (tamiya) for $10.00. Shop had sale on Italeri and Verlinden/Warrior resin figures, so I ended up purchasing enough kits for me to build for next few years.
There is a very distinctive mould seem straight across the gun mantle.
I Understand that the mantle was cast so it could well be that TAMIYA have reproduced something that should be there which the box art suggests.
I thought I better ask you guys what to do with it; Leave or shave off?
The casting seam is one of the more distinctive features of the Panther G with the “chin” type mantlet. Indeed, you will also find this seam line in after-market resin mantlets - it’s meant to be there.
ditto to that.
n as far as the screw on gun mount, tamiya do still always like their stuff moveable. it actually is a good feature if u plan to leave the gun unglued and use an aftermarket Al gun barrel.
Can someone recommend metal tracks for this kit please?
Best Regards
I would bet that there are Fruils for this kit. If you don’t want to go that route, Modelkasten or Tamiya themselves make indy tracks for the Panther.
I’m currently building that same kit and I chose the Friulmodel ATL-08 Panther Late Type Tracks. Lots of work but after they were done I was amazed. I treated them as a kit by themselves and enjoyed the job, after all it is a hobby. Right? Guys? Help me out here fellas![banghead] It’s only a hobby right? Right? LOL! Sorry, not enough ventilation in here or something, lol. They tend to be a bit pricey but to me they’re worth it, great detail and they are all hinged on a fine wire so they take on a natural sag. This was my 1st time with these type of tracks and I’m hooked.
It’s only a hobby…it’s only a hobby…as long as it stays fun. [;)] The thing about
Fruils to me is the price. In many instances, it cost more than the kit. As long as the kit tracks are decent enough, I stay with them, but for Italeri kits, AM’s are most definately needed.
I made two suits of Fruil tracks already(Pz IIL and M24 Chaffee) and already bought the same set for the Panther in my stash. Instead of the wire they supplied, I used a stiffer steel wire from my LHS of about the same diameter. It was easier to place into the holes as the stiffness made it try to seek the holes instead of bending.
Mike T.
Thx for the respons guys!
Anyone out there who knows if I can get them from a Europe suplier, they are $39 plus freight from US 
Thank You!
try http://www.hannants.co.uk/ for the tracks
Not in their Cathalogue
The Tamiya std ones will have to do until I know if my effort is worthy the Fruil offering beeing 2x the price off my bargin kit.
I have the same kit, and I think the stock rubber band tracks are really pretty good. They are well molded with nice detail and if you do a good job painting them and getting the sag right, they look excellent.
Thank you ABARNE, yes, they look much better then most I have seen, I just like the way the indy tracks sag and I never mananged to melt the vinyl ones together properly in the past
The box art shows the camoflage going down all the way onto the road wheels.
Now, is that actually correct?
And if it is, would it be correct to assume that the rubber was actually sprayed to?
I guess that the paint would wear of a soft material pretty quick, but I cant belive that anything apart from visor blocks where actually masked off.
Making very slow progress but I hope to have the “Fahrgestell” and the hull less strap on completed today.
One does need to be a bit creative to get a nice sag with vinyl. On the bright side though, with the newer vinyl tracks such as on the Tam Panther G, you can simply glue the tracks together and not have to fiddle around with heated screwdrivers or soldering irons. Something to keep in mind if you build something like a Sherman where the tracks are normally tight with no sag.
I think with German camo, pretty much anything goes. I’ve read different things about camo being applied to the road wheels or not. Since camo was usually applied in the field under a variety of circumstances, I should imagine that some road wheels got camoed while others did not. I think I agree with your supposition about the lack of masking on the tires, although I too would expect the overspray to flake off quickly.