Zvezda 1/100 Panther

 

     Wrapping up my sweep through my pile of unbuilt Zvezda kits we now are going to consider the Panther kit. Everything that I said about the last three kits goes equally well for this model. The design is innovative and elegant, the detail and quality of casting are unparalleled. Frankly I am running out of glorifying adjectives to use on these models. This kit is cast in a hard, pale gray plastic and shows no sign of flash and you can only find the faintest of mold lines after a thorough examination. This kit again pushes the envelope for snap-tight kits with an innovative approach and an exacting attention to detail. 

      This kit was kindly provided for review by Michigan Toy Soldier Shop and is available to purchase either in their store or through their website

 

back of the box

 

contents of the bnox

 

the sprues

 

just look at the wealth of detail 

and remember that you could hide four of these under a dollar bill

 

the turret was simple; the grenade-launchers clicked into place on the side  and the main gun pushed through the mantlet which clipped firmly into place on the front of the one-piece turret 

 

I confess I had my doubts that this crazy system of assembly would really work

 

mudguards and hull sides, 

again I cannot stress enough how important it is that you carefully remove every trace of casting burrs and sprue points before starting assembly

 

step one, installing the framework 

these provide the attachment points for the exterior panels 

 

step two, the sides of the hull click into place

 

step three, the outer side plates click up under the panel

step four, the upper hull panel drops into place, all of these parts snapped firmly into place without any difficulty and the alignment was perfect, I went back and glued them all because I'm like that

 

the lower hull and track assemblies

notice the torsion bar suspension details all perfectly rendered

but first, the frame gets installed onto the lower hull

 

then the lower hull sides are pressed into place

this required a careful application of force

 

conversely the tracks popped into place without difficulty 

 

by this point I had gotten overconfident and went ahead and snapped the rear of the hull into place,

 I should have waited until the upper hull assembly had been attached to the lower hull

 

lower hull and tracks ready for final assembly

 

the upper hull snapped tightly into place and the turret  dropped onto its guide post

 

stunning detail, superb fit and finish, easy assembly

 

it certainly captures the lethal-looking bulk of the original

 

the host of fine detail is remarkable

 

I can barely wait for the weather to break so I can get started on painting this kit,

the hard part will be doing justice the the fine level of detail

 

 top-shot, I have no words to add to this, it speaks for itself

     As I said when I reviewed the Jagdpanther, if the other kit manufacturers aren't running scared in the face of this sort of quality they should be! Zvezda has brought us unmatched quality and a very affordable price, I only wish that they had a broader selection of models.

        Recommended without hesitation!