Artitec 387.156 Highlights:
Model: Artitec's 387.156 1/87 scale German Wehrmacht (WWII) Panther Version A is fully assembled and painted. All the new Artitec finished models are highly detailed works of art. They are all hand painted and finished using the highest quality resin, plastic and metal parts. Add a few to your collection today before they are sold out. Models are made in small production runs so don't delay in ordering.
Prototype: The Panzerkampfwagen V or Panther was the best all-around tank design of the Second World War. It was designed as a direct response to the Soviet T-34 tank which had proved the better of the Panzer III and IV. Produced by the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (or MAN) beginning in December 1942, the Panther was only slightly more expensive than the up-gunned Panzer IV and less than half the price of the Tiger heavy tank. It was well-protected in the front: 60 mm of armor on the hull front and 80 mm on the turret front. It was armed with a high velocity 7.5 cm KwK 42 (L/70) gun which could penetrate 89 mm of armor sloped at 30° from 2,000 m. It was powered by a 690 hp Maybach V12 engine that gave it a top road speed of 34 mph. The Panther’s shortcomings were that it was mechanically complex (resulting in frequent breakdowns due to the increasing poor quality of materials due to Allied bombing raids) and its side armor was relatively weak; only 45 mm of armor on the turret sides and 40 mm on the hull. Panther crews constantly had to be aware of enemy flanking fire. From the front however, the Panther was invincible to most Allied medium tanks at medium-to-long range. The Panther bested the T-34 and subsequent T-34/85 and its only equal in the West was the Sherman Firefly. It was the second most-produced German tank of the war (over 6,700) after the Panzer IV but ultimately this proved to not be enough to stem the tide on two fronts. This Panther is painted Dunkelgelb with Rotbraun and Olivegrün stripes. It is covered with Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine coating. Zimmerit was a paste, hardened with blowtorches, applied to German armored vehicles between December 1943 and September 1944 to prevent magnetic mines from sticking to armored hulls.
PLEASE NOTE: These models are all handmade and painted which makes every one unique. This means the paint patterns may vary a little and the detail parts like sandbags, turret tracks, antennas, etc. may also be arranged differently. This was also the case in real life. These models are very prototypical.
