TAMIYA1/35 German Panther Tank TAM35065 Plastic Models Armor/Military 1/35

To start things off, this is a very old kit. It was first tooled in the late 60's at a time when Tamiya was producing kits that were designed to accommodate the installation of a battery powered motor. Tamiya has since committed itself to producing scale model kits without motorization options, but the molds used to produce this particular kit has remained unchanged in the years since. The kit you get in the box is the same as one from 1968.Despite it's age, the kit does hold up extremely well. Even in the late 60's, Tamiya was producing stuff with little to no fit issues. In fact, I've built stuff that have had literal decades worth of advancements in technology and manufacturing that have managed to have a significantly worse fit than this kit from 1968.With that said, this kit has received A LOT of criticism over the years from Panther enthusiasts, some of which I'll go over:1) The dimensions are wrong. Indeed, the turret is a little too big compared to what it should be. But really, unless you or someone you know enjoys pouring over reference guides and books dedicated to the technical details of the Panther, no one's going to notice unless it's explicitly pointed out.2) The road wheels are incorrect. This kit uses single center road wheels when the actual tank used two wheels per segment. Some modelers find this absolutely egregious and will purchase aftermarket parts to correct this, meanwhile others just shrugged and moved on with completing it as is.3) The details are lacking, including the absence of Zimmerit. Well, this is an old kit. One could purchase aftermarket parts for it, scratch-build their own details to enhance the look of the tank, and even create their own Zimmerit coating with putty. You could also just build the model as is and be happy with it because while it is in fact a poor replica of the Panther, nobody outside of Panther enthusiasts are going to know that it's a poor replica. I will say though, the tow cables that come with this kit absolutely SUCK.So what are some of the upsides of this model?1) It builds up nicely. Really, for such an old kit, there very little frustration to be had. It's not like a Revell kit which can be VERY hit or miss or some of the older, pre-2005 Airfix offerings. Stuff fits as it should. I have heard that the tracks can be too short, but I personally didn't encounter this issue myself. It is a common enough complaint though that it's probably something worth being aware of. Now, I personally HATE rubber-band style tracks, such as the ones that come with this kit... but given the fact that this kit is still a hot seller 54 years since it's release, I'm clearly in the minority here on this one.2) It's affordable and very accessible. If you just want a cool subject to build that's simple to put together, then this kit is a great candidate for that. I paid like $20 for this thing and got a few good hours of enjoyment putting it together, then a few more hours on top of that by painting and weathering it. It's a great beginner kit. If you're an experienced modeler, this isn't a bad kit to do some scratch building or to practice your Zimmerit skills. You could even use it as a paint mule to practice applying some of the more elaborate ambush camouflage patterns (the disk-shaped MAN one in particular comes to mind).3) It looks like a Panther. Yes the turret is out of scale and the road wheels are wrong. No, no one except those who approach the subject from an academic/technical perspective or who spend hours playing War Thunder are going to notice.I highly recommend this one. Take it for what it is. Yes, it is very flawed when looking at it on the basis of historical accuracy but still, it's a really cool tank that's very accessible and affordable.If you're someone who absolutely cannot look past the fact that this is a not-so-great representation of a Panther Ausf A due to it's inaccuracies, I suggest looking at the offerings from MENG or Takom/Das Werk instead - I've built one from each and they're very, very good but they are also much more expensive. The same suggestion applies to those who want a more complex, time-consuming build.

Spoiler! I give it an A. This is your typical Tamiya quality. Everything fits very nicely. The color shipped is dark yellow which matches the specs I wanted (dark yellow/green/brown) - plus Tamiya makes the same color in a lacquer spray - which just makes overall painting easier. So all around a perfect build.I hadn’t built a tank since I was much younger. Back then I would always struggle with final assembly. Getting the tracks on - everything was always too tight, and I’d break the front wheels and then give up. I am happy to say that, with the thin plastic cements they make these days, getting the wheels to be SOLID is not a problem (Tamiya’s arrangement and engineering of the wheels doesn’t hurt!). Needless to say, those wheels all turn smoothly! (Pet peeve of mine for model cars).The tracks themselves are a softened plastic (almost like rubber), and the idea is to join them together with a hot screwdriver. I had my doubts, but they did go together fairly well (the pilot plugs were slightly bent, but workable).Now, time to put them on. You can’t stretch them like a rubber band, instead start the front sprocket and slowly turn the track to get it mounted and aligned on the wheels. It takes about a half turn of working slowly, so make sure the joint where you connected the ends will end up in a place you desire.Criticisms: insufficient directions on how to install the spare tracks. I only did 6 (it comes with 20); insufficient directions on bending the steel cables. I ended up not using them. Broke the first, second got bent out of whack. In retrospect I would have tried to keep them much straighter, but I wish they had just molded them better (they ARE realistic though).After assembling everything except the utensils (shovel, ax, jack, etc.), I coupled the top and bottom halves (well done Tamiya with that arrangement!), then primered the entire thing and the turret, painted them dark yellow, and then added acrylic dark green and dark brown using a diagram I found online. Then a coat of gloss lacquer in the areas that needed decals, then a flat lacquer on top of that, followed by mounting of the tracks and attaching the turret, and then finally - gluing the utensils (it pops!).In the end everything came together very well, although the front sprockets do turn-in slightly due to the tension. And of course, even though the wheels do turn, that’s more to help you get those tracks on than anything else - don’t expect to be able to push the model around with those tracks turning! Display only! The instructions actually say as much. Overall very fun and quick build. I give it an A

Tamiya, a legend in the modeling industry, does not disappoint with their tried & true 1/35 scale model kit of the Panther tank of the German Wehrmacht. It is an older model from among their selection & much newer offerings have appeared on the market since this one debuted. However this kit is still a fun & reliable build. The fit, typical of Tamiya, is quite good. It is detailed, though not to the degree of it's more modern contemporaries, but it suffices for a builder that just wants a blank canvas to detail to their own desires.

Okay, I'm not going to nit-pick this kit in any way...for the low price tag you get standard (meaning excellent) Tamiya quality, fit, and finish. Older molds...like many Tamiya 1/35 armor kits this still has the machining and parts from the days when you could motorize it, but it certainly doesn't affect the finished product. This is an early version of the tank so many times it's difficult to look up reference images online because so much of the available info is of the newer models, but it's not really difficult to add a few modifications to make it a bit more authentic. However even without doing so, build it straight out of the box and you get a very nice finished product. My only complaint is with the molded plastic tow lines...I just replace those with flexible 'cables'. I recommend this one!

Tamiya is well known for their very good models. The Panther is no exception. I am still working on it and I am very happy. If you like tanks and do not have this one, buy it.