Preview: A new Panther Ausf. F in 35th from Takom next month...

Takom is releasing their own "Blitz" Sd.Kfz.171 Panther Ausf.F with infrared & rubber-saving running gear - plus a whole bunch of other features we look at in our preview...

Preview: A new Panther F in 35th from Takom

Panther Ausf. F Sd.Kfz.171 mit Schmalturm und Gummisparende Laufwerke

From Takom

1/35th scale

with link & length tracks

Kit no. #35003

The product link on the Takom Facebook page...

The Panther Ausf. F 

The Panther Ausf. F (Sd.Kfz. 171) was a planned, late-war upgrade of the German Panther medium tank designed to improve battlefield survivability while streamlining mass production. Slated to replace the Ausf. G on assembly lines by the spring of 1945, the vehicle aimed to correct the logistical bottlenecks plaguing the German armaments industry. However, the collapsing strategic situation, Allied bombing raids on factories, and severe shortages of raw materials prevented the tank from ever entering production before the war ended.

World of Tanks etc have all the fanboi's frothing at a release like this one.

The defining characteristic of the Ausf. F was to be its radical new Schmalturm (Narrow Turret), which offered a vastly reduced frontal profile to minimise the target area for enemy gunners. Despite its smaller size, the turret promised significantly increased protection, including 120 mm of sloped frontal armour, a specialised Saukopf (boar's head) mantlet, and integrated housings for a stereoscopic rangefinder. Inside, it was designed to house the modified 7.5 cm KwK 44 L/70 main gun, which utilised a redesigned recoil system tailored specifically to fit the compact internal dimensions of the new turret.

Several Panther Ausf. F hulls are seen in an unfinished state, captured in the factory at the end of WWII.

Two of the prototype Schmalturm (narrow) turrets were retrieved after the war by the Allies. The Americans took one while the British took the other and used it for ballistic tests. The remains of this turret can be found at the Bovington Tank Museum.

Here is the Schmalturm turret captured in period photos with the smaller 75 mm gun mounted.

...And a surviving turret now at the Bovington Museum in the UK.

To counter critical shortages of natural rubber, the running gear was modified to use gummisparende Laufwerke (rubber-saving running gear) featuring all-steel, rubber-cushioned road wheels. By moving the rubber dampening elements to the inside of the steel wheels rather than rimming the outer edges, German engineers dramatically reduced the consumption of Kautschuk (rubber) while maintaining acceptable ride quality. Ultimately, only a small handful of experimental prototype bare hulls and unmounted turrets were completed by Daimler-Benz, leaving the Panther Ausf. F as a final, desperate evolution of German armoured design that arrived too late to see standard combat service.

A photo of the same gear taken from a captured set at the end of WWII.

This kit from Takom:

We do not have any pictures of the kit so far, but we do have several CAD illustrations of the product and its features. The kit comes with the link and length track links & a choice of several features we will look at below...

The Maybach engine can be displayed, along with a choice to pen the top hatches to show the infrared equipment on the kit.

A metal barrel is included with this kit, along with other metal parts, such as a twisted brass cable for the towing line and a photo-etch to replicate the thinner parts of the kit.

A choice of stowage bins and exhaust muffler styles are provided in the kit.

The chassis was modified to use Gummisparende Laufwerke (rubber-saving running gear) featuring all-steel, rubber-cushioned road wheels. Seen here in the "Blitz" style that gives them to the modeller almost assembled.

That is all we have about this kit so far—you can see more on the Takom Facebook page...