Sd.Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther

[Paul A H]

Sd.Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther

1:72 Revell

With the Jagdpanther, the German armament industry managed to bring together a near-perfect balance of firepower, armour and agility to produce one of the best tank destroyers of the Second World War. Its 8.8cm gun was capable of knocking out allied tanks at long range, it was difficult to kill and relatively easy to conceal. The Jagdpanther was only held back by the inability of the failing German war machine to produce them in sufficient numbers.

The Jagdpanther was developed by Mühlenbau und Industrie AG (MIAG), who combined the hull of the successful Panther tank with the fearsome 8.8cm PaK 43/3 L/71 gun to produce this highly successful design. By the end of the war, only 384 had been manufactured, too few to have any real impact on the battlefields of Europe. So effective was the design, however, that captured Jagdpanthers served with the French army into the 1950s.

This re-release from Revell is packaged in the usual end-opening box featuring a picture of a late-production Jagdpanther trundling past a knocked out vehicle in the snow. Inside the box are four sprues of caramel-coloured plastic, instructions and a small but perfectly formed decal sheet. As you might expect from one of Revell’s newer releases, there is virtually no flash present and no sink marks anywhere on the kit.

The level of detail present throughout this kit is very good indeed. Each of the road wheels is beautifully crafted and made up of two parts. The tracks are equally well detailed and are of the link and length variety. The crew access hatches are moulded separately and may therefore be posed open, although there is no interior detail. A good variety of pioneer tools are provided, as well as spare track links that can be added to the side of the hull if desired. My only criticism in this area is that the tow cables supplied are moulded ramrod straight, so the builder may wish to manipulate these into a more realistic shape, or replace them with an aftermarket alternative.

Revell have included the parts to make either an early or a late model Jagdpanther with this kit, so the builder has two guns and two mantlets to choose from, and two sets of parts for the different exhaust systems.

Two colour options are provided for the builder; one late model Jagdpanther from 1./schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 654, Alsace, February 1945 and one early model Jagdpanther from Grafenwöhr, October 1944. Painting instructions are for Revell’s own brand of colours, but these can easily be converted for users of other brands of paint.

Conclusion

This is another nice kit from Revell for the small scale armour collector. It looks like it will build up well, and the level of detail is sufficient to keep demanding modellers happy. The more adventurous amongst us can always go to town with Extratech’s photoetch parts and Maybach engine, plus any other adornments they wish to add. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

Edited October 26, 2010 by Paul A H

[mrcooljules]

i have a few of these in my stash, might get to build one in the near future

[Mike]

I had a squint in the box before I sent it to Paul for review, and it looks the bee's knees for such a small scale

[Paul A H]

I had a squint in the box before I sent it to Paul for review, and it looks the bee's knees for such a small scale

Yep, Revell's 1:72 armour is the bee's knees! I have their 1:72 Nashorn somewhere (on my part-built shelf of shame) and the level of detail is eye-watering!

[mrcooljules]

I had a squint in the box before I sent it to Paul for review, and it looks the bee's knees for such a small scale

but if it was poor, would you still say so?

Yep, Revell's 1:72 armour is the bee's knees! I have their 1:72 Nashorn somewhere (on my part-built shelf of shame) and the level of detail is eye-watering!

i have quite a few, inc the half tracks, which are reboxes of Hase kits..

got a few of the Tigers, FAMZO's panzer IIII's

[Mike]

but if it was poor, would you still say so?

Our reviews are always polite but truthful - what more can you ask?

[mrcooljules]

Our reviews are always polite but truthful - what more can you ask?

thats good them :-)

[BWP]

The only problem with this kit -- and for many people it won't be a problem at all -- is that the kit is much closer in size to 1/76 than 1/72.

More info here: http://www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/Reve...pantherprev.htm

It's an unusual goof for Revell AG, as the majority of their 1/72 kits are very accurate for the stated scale.

Edited November 3, 2010 by BWP