there is also the expression 'alternative facts'

The Panther II was actually in development before the first Panthers even saw combat, were it to be put into production, it would have probably been in place of the Ausf.G

there is also the expression 'alternative facts' [/quote] Lol. Does that mean the whole 2016 election and Trump presidency only a "What-if "? Don't mean to get political, but the line was too good to pass up. Back on topic: and the more I think about the more I am leaning towards a Panther II with Zimmerit in an ambush scheme.

The Panther II Program was in conjunction with the Tiger II, the idea being to share components between the two. I looked at the pictures of the sprues yesterday as closely as is possible, what amusing hobby did is confusing. It appears that the kit turret has the correct shape length, rear and mantel. The lack of a fume extractor and periscope on the roof, the stereooptic rangefinder and the roof periscope gunner sight is confusing. I believe if you look to the Tiger II turret of the same period and use the same placement of the gunner's sight, not use the rangefinder and roof top sight and add back the fume extractor and pericope as would be on a Ausf G turret you would have a reasonable representation of what the prototype would have looked like. If you build a model as a prototype and leave it at that your somewhat ok even though the prototype was never completed. To go beyond that is fantasy, and thats ok as long as you accept it as fantasy. The idea of "what If" inventing scenarios that WWII in Europe lasted into 1946 is distasteful to think of. I enjoy modeling and the history of the events associated with what I model. I want to know what actually happened, not just for the satisfaction of the knowledge but to have a better perspective what is happening to us now. The whole concept of Alternate Facts and the idea that I have my facts, you have your facts and the real truth is some place in-between frankly scares the hell out of me and sounds a lot like Stalin and the Soviet Union.

Some real facts: My mothers uncle got killed by a Soviet bomb dropped on Flensburg a day / few days after the cease fire. The reasons for his accidental death were: 1. German AA-artillery fired on Soviet bombers, presumably on orders given by someone who hoped to get the western allies to join Germany in a new assault on the Soviet union. 2. My mothers uncle didn't want to go to the damned air-raid shelter now that the war was over. He had gone to that bloody shelter every time and not a single bomb had fallen on their street during the whole stupid war so he'd be damned if he ran to the shelter like some rabbit this time. The bomb blew him from his apartment into a bed on the top floor in a building further down the street, maybe 50 - 60 yards away. Luckily for all of us the western allies were not interested in prolonging the war .... / Robin

The panther was obviously intended to be the mainstay of German armor. Tiger ii was a specialty vehicle. Since panther development started first, it is remarkable to me the Germans didn't make tiger ii standardize on panther parts, but instead try to develop a new version of panther to standardize on tiger ii parts. Also, I understand panther ii hull kept the exact same external dimensions as panther I, but were smaller on the inside because of the thicker armor. As a result many standard panther i parts can't fit inside the panther ii. If they had only kept all the interior dimension the same, but made panther ii very slightly larger outside, they could have had the thicker armor and used all the standard parts already developed for panther I. Panther ii just seems like a study in abysmal wartime planning.

The Hull was different from a Ausf. D and A. using thicker armor using less plates. The inside of the Panther II is very slightly larger and very similar to the Panther G. The whole idea was to make manufacture more simple. The IDEA was to make it EASIER to build with suppliers having to manufacture less different parts. Much as the US did with the Sherman. The Pz. IV was the mainstay of the German Army through most of the war to the end. It was not simple to build even though the last version was a lot more simple than the early models. The Panther II was the basis for the later Panther G. The Panther II would have been a better tank than the Panther G, but Germany needed tanks now not 6 months from now, development of the Panther II was to slow for the immediate needs of the Eastern Front. So the Panther II program was shelved. The Panther in any form was never the mainstay of the German Army. Like the Tiger they never could get as many as they needed.

me want one. Hopefully they followed the drawings.

Built-up photos from Amusing Hobby's FB page: