202 replies to this topic

[Peter M. Skaar]

Here are a few pictures of my Panther D turrets.  I put the decals on these a few days ago.  This part is tricky because unlike the Panther A and G which have nice flat turret sides, the D has a couple of protrusions which I believe are pistol ports plus a small hatch on the left side as well.  Putting the decals on the left side was really no issue for me but the right side posed more of a problem with the location of the pistol port on the upper right side.

My first turret that I applied the decals to was #431.  I put the decals on and on the right side there was some distortion of the 1 as it got pulled over toward the 3 because of the protrusion.  I solved the basic problem on the other turrets by carefully separating the 2nd from the 3rd number on the right side.  This allowed the 3rd number to be in much better position to the other 2 numbers on the side.

Shown are both sides of #431 and #421.  I think 421 turned out pretty good overall but I will live with the fact that 431 is just a wee bit off.


                    #431 Left Side


                    #431 Right Side


                    #421 Left Side


                    #421 Right Side


                    #424 Right Side

[healey36]

Those look very sharp, Peter, especially given the 1/285-scale. It can be difficult to get decals to set on some protruding detail, for sure, and no amount of MicroSol can make it work (sometimes it will just dissolve the decal if too much is applied). On larger scales, one can cut the decal into bits and apply it in pieces, but that's nearly impossible at 1/285-1/300 (at least for me). 

 

The positioning of tank numbers was a bit of an inexact art-form, especially for the Germans during the later years/months of the war, so I think you can take some liberties in choosing where to put them. I've seen some photos where the only number applied was on the rear of the turret, with no markings on the sides. 

[Peter M. Skaar]

Thank you very much, Healey!  There are numerous examples of numbers that are hastily applied as well as those that are more precise.