Manufacturer: Airfix
Genre: 1/76 plastic model
Comments: This model was first released by Airfix about forty years ago, in the mid 1960s, and it's showing its age a bit. The standard of detailing is very low compared with more modern releases from companies like Hasegawa or Tamiya, but it has one major virtue when it comes to wargaming: it's cheap. Really cheap. And in the end, when it comes to the wargaming table, as long as it looks like a Panther it will do the job just as well as a super-detailed customized resin and etched-brass masterpiece (maybe better, since it's lack of detail makes it pretty sturdy).
If I were planning on fielding a lot of them, (a 1:1 panzer battalion, for example) I'd build a simple one or two piece running gear module and cast them in resin, since the wheels and tracks are the most time-consuming area to build, as well as being the most fragile part of the model. However, for the sorts of numbers that usually turn up on the table (seldom more than 4 or 5 at most) the extra time involved doing that isn't really warranted.
