Here we see the model in it's original guise. The black lines are where the original tool racks were mounted. A good representation to start with.

As with the JagdPanther the original exhausts have been removed to make room for the Flammvernichter.

Inside the chassis can be seen the plumbing for the smoke generator and the generator itself.

This view shows the turret loaders hatch opened up. It is planned to use this in conjunction with the blank firing gun.

This view is of the gearbox with it's lid off. All the shafts are set in bearings within the casting of the 'box.

It was decided to remove the wheel sets, sprockets and idlers to aid in construction (destruction?). You can see the bearings for the suspension arms.

There are rumblings in the camp whether to make this a Berge Panther! Hence the joke (I hope) superstructure! This view clearly shows the removed sides.

Here we see the superstructure from the top. The glacis plate has yet to be cut.

And this is what you get leftover!!

No we don't use cardboard!! These are the templates to be used in conjunction with a friendly local engineering company to cut some new sides from 10 gauge Aluminium.

Here we see the new Aluminium sides in their naked glory!

The rear had to be modified with the addition of a metal plate.

This view shows the underside of the superstructure with the reinforcing bracket along each edge.

And this shows the glass fibre reinforcing over the brackets.

With the rivet holes filled and a coat of paint the sides start to look the part.

Again, with the rear tidied up a bit you can start to see how it will look when finished.

Here's a close up view of one of the forward hatches machined from solid Aluminium.

And here's a close up of the hinge.

This is what it looks like in the open position.

And here is a birds eye view of both the front hatches.

As a comparison with the picture above, here are the finished Flamvernichter exhausts, although not fixed yet!

Another picture of the exhausts.

Here's what the gearbox looks like with it's top off. (And no grease!)

This picture shows the late 'chin-gun' mantlet and debris guard.

And here it is from the side.

And a close up of the debris guard.

An overall view of the turret from the rear.

A close up of the loaders hatch complete with rain strip.

This picture shows the electronic panel which fits under the control panel. Notice the two servos for control of the sound and smoke generators.

And after the addition of the cooling fan. The GWS Programstars don't run too hot but with a fan to cool them they run as cool as a cucumber!

And here you see the electronics below the control panel.

This picture shows the control panel up close. From left to right you have Main on/off switch, accessories on/off (sound, smoke etc) and pistol safety. Then you have the battery meter with it's blue push to test switch, charging socket above that, volume control on the right and the two led telltales from the smoke generator.

And now you can see how they'll look when peeking through the hatches.

This is self explanatory! We were fortunate that because the smoke generator is smaller in the panther we could fit four speakers!

This picture shows the general layout of the inside of the chassis.

On the Panther I decided to open out the engine grilles as on Chris Walkers JagdPanther. I didn't do this on my JP as I was concerned about water ingress. What I've decide to do is to seal underneath with plasticard or similar so hopefully allowing most of the sound and water out!

Here we have the Panther's trick up it's sleeve! The whole of the base of the turret has been replaced with sheet Aluminium and the turret top attached by hinges so allowing access to the gun!

And this is what you find when you hinge the turret open. An eight shot 8mm blank firing gun and the appropriate equipment to fire it.

This picture shows the pistol in close up. Part of the cam that operates the pistol trigger works a micro-switch which operates the recoil mechanism slightly after the trigger fires-just like the real thing!

And this shows the recoil mechanism with the springs for the soft return.

And bringing up the rear so to speak is the tow gear to allow it to tow our trailer.

Here are the new replacement toolboxes made out of brass. The originals were of the earlier shape and were removed when the side armour was replaced.

And here we see them fitted to the rear panel of the Panther.

And painted. I wonder how long they'll stay like this!

Here we see the gun barrel support and the new drivers periscope rain cover.

This view shows all the brass details in place on the engine deck. Obviously the jack will live on the rear panel and the crew-heater will have to be blended into the cast detail on the original .

Here we see the crew heater from above painted.

And here is one of the engine grilles painted. .

This picture shows the left fender and Schurzen rail. This was omitted on the JP but is a must for Panthers. Bracketry has been made to support Schurzen in future.

And here's the right side.

This view shows the left hand fender in close up. Howard reckons they're stronger and that I won't be able to bend them-yeah right!

A close up of the jack. Something missing from the JP but will be added in the future.

And here it is mounted on the rear of the model.

After seeing the debris guard on Peter Shaw's 1/6th Panther Howard decided on this Mark II version which does look better.

A brief look at the cuppola with brass strip added to represent the anti-aircraft MG mount.

This view shows off the chin-gun mantlet well. This was introduced to prevent shells ricocheting of the mantlet through the thinner armour of the superstructure roof.

That's not really an out of scale kerbstone in the foreground!

Hands up!

As with the JagdPanther the Panther represents a late model with Flammvernichter exhausts. However we made the mounting brackets heftier after experience with the JP!!

We didn't paint dots on the underneath, we're not that keen! It did take all one day to paint the dots though.

I like seeing the models climbing up over a ridge like this but it must be a tankers nightmare exposing the belly of the tank.

Here we can see the suspension working well climbing over this concrete rampart!

I know there's a T-34 here somewhere!

Here's that concrete rampart again!

This close up shows the right hand tool racks. The fire extinguisher was turned from brass with a piece of red wire for the hose.

And a wider angle view of the tool racks and spare track links at the rear.

This view shows the left hand tool racks. The headlamp was  turned from brass and a scale piece of tube used for the barrel cleaning rods. This tube has a piece of angle welded (soldered) along it. Was this to stand on?

Here is a close up of the engine decking. The crew heater was scratch built from brass as were the toolboxes. The flamvernichter were made from copper pipe with 90 degree bends soldered on!

This picture shows the turret clearly. You can see the welding marks (made with a Dremel!) and brass anti-aircraft MG ring.

Here is a good overall view. You can see that there is a lot more yellow on the Panthers paintwork than the JP, better we think.

These are the controls of the model. From left to right is the main on off switch, sound/smoke (accessories) switch, gun safety, battery condition meter with push button, charging socket, volume control and smoke generator tell-tales.

This is the Panthers trump card! The whole turret hinges up to allow access to the gun. This gun seems to make a bigger bang than the JP!

To prove a point we towed an escort van behind the Panther! We'll do it again and video it and post the video on the website.

The Panther earns it's keep in our yard!