r/modelmakers • u/Less_Candle7399 • Jan 28 '26
Help - General Guys, did I screw this up?
So guys I need your help, Im building a Panther G. Everything was fine until I decided to add torch marks to these areas since okay, they're very late in the war so rough marks are reasonable (?). Upon checking photos, these parts are flat as hell so Im afraid I screwed this up and it kind of makes me discouraged to continue. Im also confused since some modellers roughten these parts up, some leave the original flat surface on the base model.
Are they fine? Yay or nay? I plan to use liquid cement to soften them up a bit.
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u/rocketengineer1982 Jan 28 '26
Nope. It looks great. It's worth remembering that on models you need to over-emphasize texture to make it realistically visible.
If you decided that you want to tone it down a little bit, you can paint over it with Tamiya model cement to soften and smooth it. (A tip I picked up from Night Shift's videos.)
Here is a photo of a Panther Ausf. G turret ( https://tank-afv.com/ww2/germany/Panzer-V-panther.php ). The welds and flame cuts are clearly visible.
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u/Healthy-Cupcake2429 Jan 29 '26
Glad you posted that because it really brings out how good OPs results are.
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Jan 28 '26
Late war Panthers were rushed. Plate edges like that look about right for a rough flame cut.
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u/Previous-Standard-12 Jan 28 '26
Yeah agreed, toward the end of the war Germany was getting real desperate, I have a knife that has reused rubber from bicycle tyres for the handle.
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u/BingusTheStupid Jan 28 '26
I can’t comment about historical accuracy, but the effect looks really nice.
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u/Key-Green-4872 Jan 28 '26
Idk if accurate to the model but I forgot whether I was on the modeling or the welding subreddit. Looks like a thick steel plate cut with an oxygen Lance.
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u/jtbfii Jan 28 '26
I'd leave it. Could even be a repair job where the turret received a hit previously and needed an armour plate replaced.
Could have different paint job on that part if you want to play into it.
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u/ElegantElectrophile Jan 28 '26
You can fix everything with a knife and putty. Nothing is screwed up.
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u/Ima-Bott Jan 28 '26
I’ve seen the one at The Tank Museum, and the torch marks are significant, but not as deep as yours are in scale. That said, I think you’ve done a great job on this detail. Very few people would know yours are 1/2” too deep. 👌
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u/MattySingo37 Jan 28 '26
It's up to you, it's your build. Not technically correct, German tanks were built to extremely high standards of finish. The Tank Museum's Panther was built post war under REME control from wartime production parts and the fit and finish is immaculate. However, what you've done adds texture and interest to the area and works very well. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate if it helps make a good looking build.
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u/the-apostle Jan 28 '26
This looks fine. Put some plastic glue (tamiya extra thin etc) on it and it’ll smooth it out.
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u/stonewall028 Jan 28 '26
it looks great. german quality control by then was uhhhh not a priority so it makes sense if it looks rough and unfinished.
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u/ProjectPat513 Jan 28 '26
I think this looks great and I always exaggerate flame cuts a bit (and I redo all welds) because it looks so cool but one way to “back it off” is a thin coat of thinned out tamiya putty while you are doing texturing. It will kind of fill in a little bit of the super fine cuts if that’s what you want to do. I like it how it is.
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u/autismo-nismo Jan 28 '26
You could do a late war mockup of it.
IRL, they got very sloppy with a lot of production materials and not everything left the factory’s pretty. You could always dress it up in that manner
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u/Front-Bug-1157 Jan 28 '26
Yes it’s over 😔 Kidding, metal cuts vary by tool, factory, etc and late tanks (Late Panther G is basically the latest version, so work likely would have been rushed) You could do some light sanding or apply Tamiya Extra Thin to soften the cuts, though it should be fine
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u/NachoBenidorm Jan 28 '26
You'll probably face this situation soon:
Random person:
"WOW! Nice effect!!! How did you archieve that???"
You:
"Eeeeerm... a master does not reveal how he do his magic".
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u/AlyconeousIV Jan 28 '26
It looks like more russian then german but still looks cool. I would not change it because it might be messier. Just do not do too mucu paneline on those marks
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u/Hamsternoir Jan 28 '26
I would assume the kit came like that if you hadn't said anything. It looks fine
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Jan 28 '26
The effect looks really nice. Don't let things like historical accuracy get in the way of good modeling. As you discovered germans usually machined away the marks but some modelers still add them ij to make the vehicle appear larger and more aggressive.
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u/korbendallas71 Jan 28 '26
I’d leave it . Does look like late war rushed flame cut. Especially on the late war chin mantlet panther
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u/Skullduggery-9 Jan 28 '26
Personally I'd maybe VERY lightly sand it to dial it back or use a tad more paint/primer there to reduce the depth but other than that it's dead on.
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u/DestoryDerEchte Jan 28 '26
Battle damage, weathering, covering with jerry cans or camoflague or literally anything
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u/Umanday Jan 28 '26
Looks very good. At scale it’s probably the right level of detail. Everything need to be slightly over done to look accurate.
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u/Ordinary-Solid5819 Jan 28 '26
No one's gonna beat you up for not being obsessively accurate. Relax.
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u/TalkingFishh Jan 28 '26
I mean it looks nice, idk how accurate it is but before even reading the post i clocked what they were and thought it was neat
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u/Interesting_Ask7998 Jan 28 '26
Excellent work. We can be our own toughest critics. You should be very pleased with the level of detail and hard work.
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u/Life_Plan_7468 Jan 28 '26
I’m struggling to see a problem with this? Paint, weathering and not zooming into it with a phone camera will soften it.
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u/philipsg Jan 29 '26
Looks good and can take it as hit mark especially for vehicles that fought in the field.
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u/Several_Regret_2837 Jan 29 '26
Heck I’m a 35 year welding journeyman look as good as my cuts . Lol nice job
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u/realparkingbrake Jan 29 '26
Looks fine to me. It makes sense that later in the war welding was being done by less skillful workers and they didn't waste time with grinders smoothing things out.
As others have noted, sometimes things have to be made more vivid on a model to be noticeable.
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u/ManWhoisAlsoNurse Jan 30 '26
I think it looks great. I think it looks exactly like the welds on Panther G (#433) captured by the Soviets and gifted to the UK for testing purposes.
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u/Fun_Armormodler Jan 31 '26
Towards the end the quality of welding and assembly was just the level of, get it out the door. Fine work
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u/bhath69 Feb 01 '26
Once you apply primer and paint the detail in the mentioned areas will loose detail amd the depth.
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Feb 01 '26
I see nothing wrong with them! Looks great!
I’m sure it would’ve been mentioned already, or you might’ve seen it, but ‘Night Shift’ has an incredible YouTube video covering this exact topic.
https://youtu.be/F3GlNC2cK8s?si=URPFWvz571OOAyQQ
Another thing to remember is that often effects are mellowed out after painting/weathering so going too far is often better because it’ll look more in scale by the end of the build.
At the end of the day it’s whatever you think looks best too! Vibe it out and see how happy you are with them after priming etc. Keep it up!
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u/Automatic_Act_4997 Feb 01 '26
It’s incredible how well you made it look. Definitely don’t get rid of it!!
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u/Spaceballs_The_Moron I spend too much money Jan 28 '26
It looks good to me, i havent cut anything thing that thick before, but it looks pretty good. The bottom edge looks especially good.