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1.35-scale TAMIYA German Panther tank model, topside painted Polly-S acrylic DIRTY WHITE (yellowish tint mimicking dirty snow) camouflage, lower hull painted Polly-S acrylic DARK GREEN. This two-tone pattern was recommended by mid-1990s Fine Scale Modeler magazine article in using contrasting paint scheme for subtle shadowing effect. Panther kit came from 1970s-era TAMIYA mold, it had good surface detail, but hull was not cast in solid piece, hence it was completely empty above the tracks. Some modelers used plastic sheet styrene to cover gap, I decided to leave it open for this modeling session.
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Spare road wheels hung off turret sides, spare tracks bolted to rear engine deck for additional armor protection against Kinectic and Shaped Charged (also called Hollow Charged) warheads. Kinectic warheads used shear high-velocity punching power for penetration, while Shaped Charged warheads invest extreme heat onto specific surface locale and burn its way through armor. First successful use of Shaped Charged warheads in combat was famed May 1940 German glider assault on Belgian fort Eben Emael on Albert Canal. Fort Eben-Emael - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eben_Emael
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Model diorama titled Verschnaufpause (German military term for Pause Between Battles), or slight lull in combat to quickly rest and rearm before next major engagement. This was definite case for Germans trappedin Kurland Pocket in Baltic region as they replused multiple Soviet offensives between October 1944 and April 1945. Other noteworthy German military terms is Schwerpunkt (Point of Effort), or immediate tactical objective in unit coordination. Glossary of German Military Terms and Abbreviations - www.feldgrau.com/glossary.html
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Panther tank official designation was Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Sd. Kfz. 171,  SdKfz title was German military acronymn for Sonderkraftfahrzug (special transportation vehicle). All vehicles (tanks, halftracks, assault guns, etc.) specifically manufactured for military use had SdKfz designation, contrasted with civilian vehicles impressed into military use had Kraftfahrzug (Kfz) title. Panther tank - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_tank
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Inset 1 : Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf D1 (Ausf A), initial Panther design rolled out in 1942, characterized by drum-style commander copula at turret top and slot glacis machine-gun port. Panther sloped armor conception came directly from German encounters with Soviet T-34 tanks in 1941. With many T-34 aspects being superior to German design, they were readily augmented into future tank development. German Tiger I was already in development stage, hence did not incorporate such sloped ballastic armor layout. Panzerkampfwagen T-34(r)
Soviet T-34 in German Service - www.achtungpanzer.com/t34.htm
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Panther tank was a preimer WW2 tank design, with its high velocity 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun, sloped ballastic armor hull, large boggie wheels for fast cross-country movement. Often overshadowed by its cousin the German Tiger I tank armed with larger 8.8cm gun, Panther's gun was equally powerful regardless of lesser barrel size. Nevertheless, it has been stated that German Tiger tank's mystic is forever impressed into American military psyche due near diasterous initial US combat against German forces in 1943 Tunisia - North Africa, upon which US soldiers reviewing abandoned Tiger tanks were astonished by its size and armament (contrasted with US Sherman tanks). One US GI remarked the Tiger's gun was as long as a telephone pole (which was not too great of an exaggeration).
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 Related model and history : German Tiger I tank - UweMilitaria.org/2-Track/HollywoodTiger/index.html
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Inset 2 : Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf D, as noted by its cast commander's cupola (which became standard for all future Panther tanks), but still had slot glacis machine gun port. Panther combat debute was  massive armor battles in Kursk Salient-Ukraine, July 1943. They served with German Army Group South's Panzer Abteilungen 51 and 52, along with Panzer Regiment Stab 39 during Operation Citadel (German codename for Kursk Salient operation). Unfortunately, problems with engine fires, transmission failures, and gearbox seizer, broken down many Panthers during the battle. The Battle of Kursk - www.theeasternfront.co.uk/Battles/battleskursk.htm
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Rollover : Panther model front angle, with toolsets, tow cable, and glacis bow machine gun port. Number 536 referred to 5th Company, 3rd Platoon, 6th vehicle in platoon. Black diamond-shaped symbol is Runic character OTHALA (allusion Ancestral Property), used as German 14th Panzer Division insignia. Both German Wehrmacht (army) and Waffen-SS divisional symbols employed variations of German Runic characters. German 14th Panzer Division - www.feldgrau.com/heer14p.html
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Runic symbols are ideograms, thus they project allusion of concepts and ideals, rather then being a pronounceble alphabetic language. For example, Runic OTHALA in Germanic, is rendered OTHAL in Gothic (property), ETHEL in Old English (homeland, property), and ODHAL in Old Norse (nature, inborn quality, property). But all project image of immobile heritagical property or enclosed dynamic self interacting with nature. Presume these ageless cultural symbols harken Germans to instill fortitude in homeland defense. Runic alphabet - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runic
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Spare helmet hung off turret utility hooks, small tab of silicon glue was placed inside helmet and secured to hook. Thus did not use modeling tube glue or liquid cement for fear it might disolve painted surface and scar plastic underneath. For turrent machine gun details, hole was drilled, gun barrel positioned, then highlighted with Black paint wash for added depth.
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Inset 2 : US soldiers from 407th Infanry Regiment / 102nd Infantry  Division pose on top of abandoned Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf A (as noted by glacis bow machine gun port and driver armor visor), their M1 Garand rifles stacked at roadhweel base. Since men are not wearing winter outfits, speculate photo taken near Dutch-German border around Wurm river basin (Oct 1944), or may be eastern German regions of Westphalia, Hannover, or Magdeburg (April 1945). Wurm River - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurm
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