John F

Well, I suppose it means that Panther might be visible to more people now, rather than sitting in a cellar. I hope it stays in Europe.

I'm no expert on tanks, but I've read quite a few first-hand accounts from German tank crews, so here's my 2p worth... German tank crews (don't know about Soviet ones) were expected to perform basic repairs & maintenance to their own vehicles, and were trained to perform these tasks with the vehicle's on-board tool kit, so I can't think of a plausible scenario where a lone, untrained civilian might come across an abandoned tank that was so lightly damaged that it could theoretically be repaired with hand tools. Also, tanks are heavy duty pieces of kit so the replacement of even a broken track link would be probably far beyond the capabilities of one person on their own. Also, both sides had a vested interest in recovering as many disabled tanks as they could for repair so it's unlikely they'd be fully "abandoned" in the first place. Anything that couldn't be recovered for one reason or another tended to be demolished to deny its use to the enemy.

I know the feeling. I'm part way through at least 4 vehicle projects, it's not always easy to stay motivated!

Come on Jon, we're all waiting on tenterhooks... what are you going to do with the tracks?

Oof. Love the attention to detail, as always Jon. I look forward to seeing this beast in the flesh, could it possibly be at next year's Yorkshire Wartime Experience?

Well, certainly from my perspective us youngsters know our place...

I'm interested, but it would depend on the price. Did you have a figure in mind?

Yes, the radiator grille emblem of the first vehicle definitely looks like Magirus:

Just for correctness, the Ordnungspolizei was abbreviated in the typically Teutonic way to Orpo (OrdnungsPolizei), not "Oper" (which means "opera") :-)

The flash was introduced in late 1941 in the Western Desert theatre, it's 18" square. The white star was used from 1944 onwards.

There's a thread on this site about the J60 engines, Robert: The engines do appear to be interchangeable, and modifications made to military versions seem to have been incorporated into versions for the civilian market.

You are Granny Weatherwax & I claim my £5 prize :-)

I'm actually really pleased to hear that, Jon... I know you considered using some existing track from e.g. a BMP, but I suspect you'll get the best, most authentic result by fabricating the links yourself.

Does that mean you've made a decision about what tracks to use, Jon?

With a few exceptions, it's also illegal for British residents to drive vehicles in the UK that are registered in another country.