i have italeri 270 panther A, 290 Tiger I and 293 panther D.

are these kits still good to build. the DML kits are quite expensive.

thanks for your inputs.

...they has not the quality of Dragon's kit, but with some details added, they look like a Panther.
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In section "3) MODELOS" you have some links to models builded using those kit

Take a look to my gallery too:http://infopanzer.atspace.com/galeria.htm

Cheers

Darío

Of the three, the Tiger is the "best" or at least the best of three poorish kits.

The Panther D and A (essentially the same kit with minor differences) has a lot of errors... upper hull is not long enough to fit properly, the turret is incorrectly positioned and sits on an odd pedestal to keep it above the hatches (since its in the wrong location) etc. The vinyl tracks are stiff and poorly detailed. Dimensionally the kit is off a bit... it was made slightly small for the thick glue on zimmerit in the Ausf A kit, and things like welds, armor detail and texture, etc. are missing or poorly done.

The Tiger is somewhat better but it does not fit well and the molded zimmerit is a bit regular and mechanical. It also has zimmerit on a couple areas that propably should not have the coating. Detail is soft and the model is missing a lot of small/fine detail. Things like tools, lights, tow cables, tracks, etc are best replaced.

If you just want a baisc model to sit on the shelf, or something to practice painting and weathering techniques with, the tanks will be okay for that. But for a serious model, they are lacking a lot. Tamiya's Panther G and Tiger are superior, as are the Dragon kits. The Italeri Panther is probably the worst tank kit Italeri ever did.

When this kit came out there were quite a lot of threads here and elsewhere on bringing the kit up to speed, there was only the Tamiya A as an alternative at the time. Some were sawing the hull apart to increase the length and replacing the roadwheels from the Tamiya SW kit. We all agreed the idler was well done however.

Somewhere, I still have an Italeri ausf A upper hull with a homemade extension. Even at the time it obviously would never be worth it to finish the kit. You're right, though, Bill. After word got around about the kit's problems, you could buy one off a sale table for less than the Clipper idler, which was the only other game in town at that point.

to opt for what might be described as the "small solution," that is plunk the Italeri turret down onto the somewhat more scale Tamiya A hull, order a sprue of G road wheels from Tamiya, guss the whole thing up with bits from the Italeri kit and the Tamiya tool kit and top the whole thing off with a deeply discounted grill set. After the FDA approval of Dragon timed release I was able invision a simpler representation.

The more orthodox receipe, I recall,

1 Italeri Panther
1 aftermarket barrel
1 pe set
1 set after market track
1 set Tamiya tools
1 Tamiya steel wheel Panther with spare dish sprue donated to the project

Some reviewers who have built these kits have suggested sanding down the back of the zimmeritt panels because they are too thick and this improves the appearance after glued to the hull.

HIH, Bill.

It has the wrong number of spare track links on the turret (4 each side), AFAIK it has the wrong muzzle brake (large) and idler wheels (large), there are various other minor problems.

David

The Italeri Tiger turret turret is symmetrical rather than asymmetrical, the engine grill louvers have the wrong curvature, the turret trunnions are not level (so the mantlet will sit cockeyed if you don't correct it), and the mantlet itself fits so loosely that the gun flops down unless you cement it. The Tamiya, Dragon or AFV Club kits are all so much better that it seems nuts to even attempt to make the Italeri versions presentable.

out there but 1) you have them to build 2) you're right the DML offering of what you have are pricey 3) have fun build the models see what happens if un-happy with your results then think pricey . Just my 2 cents ...Mike.

Because the molding is not very good there is a ton of cleanup. Every part has large seams to remove. And the fit is not very good so you will need to do more than the usual puttying and sanding. The Panther is tricky since the upper hull is just too short. You can make attractive models from them, but are they really worth the aggrevation? Probably a lot of people would be put off by the poor molding and fit.

One of the benefits of (especially Tamiya kits) is the moldings are clean and crisp and everything fits very well... modelling is not a chore then, and if you want to add extra detail its not hard. Versus a poor kit where you struggle just to get the major parts together.

As per the original question, I built the Tiger I initial and a lot of sealing and puttying going on there. The drum cuppola has the view slit in the wrong positions.

For economy I have found the Tamiya Tigers at quite reasonable prices at shows and a Dragon Panther A w/metal barrell for only $20. Suggest you take your time and shop around. Hih, Bill.

If you have them, these are good for two reasons:
1. Skill/technique enhancement - gives you great experience and even some pleasure in working through an innacurate yet not-too-tough to build kit.
2. Appreciation - when you build a state-of-the-art kit, you'll appreciate the amount of effort that went into designing it.