Kampfgruppe Kingsbury: Jagdpanther 1:72 Zvezda

The Jagdpanther is one of my favourites for the pure aesthetic, it has that swept back sleekness coupled with the long 88, all still managing a fairly low profile for such a big vehicle. It was also the second 1:72 kit I ever had a kid, so has some fond memories of what I believe was a Revell kit back in the day.
The Zvezda kit was the first I had built besides the quick assembly 15mm versions. I bought three of their kits in 1:72, and this was by far my favourite to put together. The IS-2 was my least favourite but more on that at another time. (Lets just say, rubber tracks are the most irritating things ever when they aren't sized correctly.)

The instructions were quite clear and easy to follow despite it being Russian first and English translation second, anyone who is even fairly experienced with there sort of kits should have no problem with the diagrams. This kit holds the prize for being the only one out of the three where I didn't have a hard time getting the tracks on without breakages or copious swearing hah. The schurzen are always a welcome addition and I made sure to score in the separation lines and remove a few to give it that battle worn look.

The decals were a pleasant surprise. I don't generally expect much from kits like this, but there are a varied choice of numbers and the obligatory balkenkreuz. Most kits supply one or two pre-set tactical number options. With this it gives the options to buy multiple kits and number them as you please.

The detailing is nice and the details that are raised and prominent are smoothly done. I will of course still be going through scoring out some of the panel lines and weld joints with a scalpel, as they are fairly shallow in places and will be lost in a couple of coats of paint.

My absolute favourite part of this though, which I haven't come across before...the gun barrel not only moves up and down if fitted correctly, it also moved laterally! Brilliant!