Can Do PANTHER G Tank 1/144 DRAGON PzRgt 24 Aachen November 1944 Mid Prod
Item History & Price
You are bidding on an original DRAGON CAN DO POCKET ARMY Late Production PANTHER Tank of Panzer Reg't. 24 stationed in Aachen in November, 1944. It is painted in dark yellow w dark green & dark red color in 1/144 scale. This is based on a real Panther tank on the WESTERN FRONT, 1944/45. It is a mid-production model with steel wheels.
These have become quite rare and hard to find. This one is one of only 8% of total production making it quite rare. Just do a... search....
These tanks come in excellent, like new condition. See the photos. They were first manufactured by Dragon Armor in ~2003 and are now out of production, as is the entire line. The tracks are rubber. They do not turn. The turrets do turn 180*. You will receive exactly what you see.
They were used in 144-scale war gaming, were carefully handled and stored. They were purchased new by myself, have had only one owner in a smoke free house. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
For price comparisons feel free to explore ebay and the internet.
At the end of this description is a little essay on the development and use of the Panther tank in WW2 and the development of the Dragon Armor/Can Do Pocket Army lines.
Please note. Now that eBay charges fees for the entire purchase price, including shipping, I considered just offering "free" shipping and folding the S&H into the item price. This, however, would preclude me from offering a combined shipping discount, so I have forsworn doing so. This does leave me at the buyer's mercy in the DSR ratings so if you have a question about my S&H please feel free to contact me regarding it. Thank you.
This item may not be mailed to Italy. If you are in Italy please contact me prior to bidding.
Caveat Emptor?: Not really, more 'buyer be aware.' I am a private collector and a personal consumer. I am NOT a retailer. I do not have a stock of "inventory" or buy things wholesale. Everything I sell, whether as New, Used or 'Other' has been bought and paid for at retail and often with taxes and/or shipping as well. I price at close to what I paid and so do not have much of a margin. Everything I sell must be considered as pre-owned and comes as-is. I provide a photo, will gladly provide more and give a full and accurate description of each item including any known defects. I do not have a return policy because I am NOT a business, just a private person, and simply cannot afford to deal with returns. My shipping department is me and three cats who are shiftless and lazy and have the finest union contract on earth with free food, board and 100% medical. Their motto is "knock it under the sofa and fuggedaboutit." I ship everything within 24 hours of receipt of payment (unless received the day before a Sunday or holiday) because that is what I want for myself. I usually ship USPS Priority and always include a tracking/confirmation number; you will invariably receive your item in less than a week, CONUS.
A Short History of the Panther Tank:
Early in World War Two the belief in the invincibility of the German armored forces, the Panzertruppe, was earned. Many attributed the German successes to superior equipment and lots of it. Those people couldn't have been more wrong.
The great German victories in the first years of the war, Poland, Western Europe, North Africa and ultimately the first year and half in Russia were all lead by the Panzer III tank. This small (20+ tons), not all that well armored and somewhat under-gunned main battle tank took the lead in armored battle. The Panzer IV which later became the mainstay of the armored forces remained, for the first years of the war, an 'infantry support' tank. Quite early in the war it became obvious first in France (with the Char Bis and Somua variants) and then in North Africa (with the British Matilda) that if the PzIII wasn't outgunned it was certainly out-armored by the nearly impenetrable allied tanks.
What gave the panzertruppe its vaunted reputation was the fact that every tank had a radio, and each tank had a crew of five. The allies continued with crews of three or four, doubling up on duties and overworking the personnel. The radios allowed for unequaled command and control, not only between tanks and command but between the tanks themselves, allowing for rapid deployment and clear communication about where reinforcement was required and weak points that could be exploited.
Also early in the war a delegation of Russians came to inspect the German tank factories on the invitation of "der Feuherer" who insisted they be shown "everything." The presumption being that they would be dazzled by German technological superiority. They complained that they were not being shown 'everything' because the heaviest German tank they saw was the 25-ton, 75mm low velocity gunned Pz IV. (Russia was already well into the manufacture of the KV- and T-34 tanks.) This should have been a clue to the Germans.
Germany had in fact already gotten a clue in North Africa where it was discovered that only the 88mm anti-aircraft gun, fully depressed, had the power to kill British Matilda tanks at any reasonable distance. Germany set about creating an armored platform for this gun. A platform that lackadaisically resulted in the near mythical Tiger tank two years or so down the road. Only 1356 Tigers were built, however.
In June 1941, with the invasion of Russia the extent of slavic tank development became known. Harshly. Initially in the "KV" tanks and shortly thereafter in meeting the first T-34s, Germany realized that they really had to rush their new tank into production. Both Russian tanks outgunned the German PzIIIs with their little 50mm guns, carrying 76.2mm high velocity cannon; both heavily out-armored the Germans and the T-34 was a lot faster and more maneuverable- arguably the first best tank of the war, but that is another story.
The Germans were extremely lucky that the KV-1s and -2s and the T-34s were employed piecemeal and in the infantry support role, not en masse where they could have literally destroyed the oncoming German Panzer divisions.
The T-34 was a revolutionary design in its time and its appearance on the battlefield in August of 1941 gave the Germans quite a scare. It was fast, agile and with its wide treads it was able to cover ground that the German tanks of the same weight got stuck in. The most notable thing about the T-34 was its sloped armor which increased the head-on thickness making it almost impossible to penetrate. Germany realized that its entire Panzertruppe, less the Tiger, had just become obsolete.
What to do?
Some suggested to just take a captured T-34 and copy the thing. Not a bad idea but it could have lead to confusion on the battlefield. It also would have demeaned German engineering ingenuity and know-how to copy a Slavic design. Work began on a new medium tank which eventually manifested, two years later, in what is arguably the best tank of the war- which arrived on the scene just in time to take part in the devastating series of defeats that led to Germany's demise. Perhaps copying the much cheaper and simpler T-34 would have been a better idea.
In any event over the next two years, from late Summer, 1941 until July, 1943 work proceeded on the new, PanzerkampfWagen V, Panther tank. Upon its debut in Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk, it cut a very fine figure of a tank. Thick, sloped frontal armor made it virtually invulnerable to anti-tank fire and with its wide treads it could travel over ground its predecessors could not. It was also faster than the Panzer IIIs and IVs it was to replace (which never did quite happen). Its main gun, a very long L70, high velocity 75mm, had better penetration than the Tiger's 88mm and it was formidable, indeed. Considered to be the best tank of the war.
Unfortunately for Hitler and Germany it was not ready for battle in July, 1943. Its transmission and fuel system were faulty and many of the tanks broke down even catching fire, before they reached the battlefield. Not an ausp[icious start and giving the Russians the opportunity to capture several for evaluation. Ultimately the flaws were fixed and the Panther became a reliable and important part of the war effort. The final model, the "G" was fast, well built, reliable and deadly.
These served primarily to support the PzIV of which nearly 8, 600 were built as the war devolved for the Germans into a constant struggle to plug holes in the line, cover retreats and basically engage in a losing, defensive war. The Panther proved formidable but there were never enough to turn the tide, the were more mighty sand castles that were washed away by the Russian waves.
Only about 6, 000 Panthers were ever built although Germany did waste much of their meager resources in experimenting with the Panther, fitting an 88mm gun and outfitting the tank for night-fighting with infra-red searchlights.
The Panther was a great tank and after the war France appropriated all they could get to rebuild their armed forces with, effectively giving the reconstituted France one of the most powerful armored forces in the world... for its size.
The Can-Do Line of “Pocket Army” Tanks; A Short history:
In 2003 Dragon Ltd came out with two lines of new toy tanks, one in 1/72 scale and the other in 1/144. While the 1/72 scale had been around for a long time the 144 scale was relatively new and untested commercially. Initially the offerings in both lines were were quite similar. Tigers, Panthers, King Tigers, Jagd-Panthers and Jagd-Tigers, Abrams and Bradleys.
As the 1/72 Dragon Armor line continued in this vein, advertising itself as “die-cast” the (the “new” die-cast which had a very significant % of plastic), Can-Do “Pocket Army” (The Can-Do line was advertised as the "pocket army" because their small size allowed you to carry them in your pocket. They're being all plastic meant that if you did so the main gun would snap off, usually at the base. So my recommendation is- don't have an “in your pocket” army.) branched out into Panzer IIs, -IIIs, -IVs, Marders, Hummels and more. It was a relatively cheap way to test the 144 waters in plastic. The waters were relatively deep and the Dragon Armor 1/72 line began expanding exponentially and the less expensive (1/2 - 1/4 and lower retail price) and smaller (1/8 the volume) Can-Do series has seemingly gone out of production. In consequence their prices have increased dramatically.
Other companies attempted to cash-in on the new 144 scale craze including Takara and their very extensive ‘World Tank Museum’ line, 21st Century Toys (out of business) and their and ‘New Millennium Classic Armor’ series (which were poorly done and cheap looking) along with many others (F-Toys, Trumpeter, et al). None of which supply display cases with their vehicles and the prices of the vehicles have sky-rocketed. Just search ebay.
The Can-Do models were different in a special way. Their suspensions were multi-piece, each road-wheel molded separately and the tracks were rubber. WTM and others had single piece molded tracks and wheels. You can actually see light through the road wheels on the Can-Dos. A very complicated production.
The display cases will work with any of the extant WTM et al 144 scale vehicles.
Dragon Armor 1/72: A Recap-
In 2004 Dragon Ltd announced that they would be coming out with a new 1/72 scale die-cast line with extreme detail and each offering would be based upon an actual tank with details and paint-scheme drawn from color photographs taken during the war. At the time die-cast was taken to mean actual all metal except for a few parts.
The first tank produced, #60001, was a Tiger tank based on one Michael Whitmann commanded and the line proceeded forward with more Tigers, King Tigers, Jagd Tigers, JagdPanthers and JagdTigers than you could shake a stick at. They weren’t quite die-cast, Panther’s turrets and Tigers hulls were, but the detail was awesome and the paint jobs really beautiful in a 1/72 scale sort of way.
They basically came out mirroring what Dragon called their 1/144 scale “Can-Do Pocket Army” which was all plastic, incredibly detailed and shared paint schemes with their bigger 1/72 brothers. The two lines paralleled each other for about the next two years.
By around 2007 the Can-Do line came to an end but the larger 1/72 products kept expanding into British, Russian, and American vehicles, armored cars and assault guns, Marders and s-p artillery, mirroring the Can-Dos and then going far beyond them. It was apparent the the profit was in 1/72 scale. As new items were introduced their molds became the basis for new specific, individualized (similar) vehicles. The Can-Do line had paved the way but the Dragon Armor flew higher and farther.
Initially produced with either a metal hull and plastic turret or visa-versa later models had a metal insert in an all plastic hull, to provide “heft” that all plastic couldn’t, and eventually seems to have devolved into what is now an all plastic line. “Die-cast” redefined.
New models keep being produced and older ones accrue in value as they are and always will be, out-of-production. The marvelous detail of all their product and beautiful reproductions continue to carry this line despite prices (inflation adjusted) that rival what the original, real ones cost to produce.
These have become quite rare and hard to find. This one is one of only 8% of total production making it quite rare. Just do a... search....
These tanks come in excellent, like new condition. See the photos. They were first manufactured by Dragon Armor in ~2003 and are now out of production, as is the entire line. The tracks are rubber. They do not turn. The turrets do turn 180*. You will receive exactly what you see.
They were used in 144-scale war gaming, were carefully handled and stored. They were purchased new by myself, have had only one owner in a smoke free house. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
For price comparisons feel free to explore ebay and the internet.
At the end of this description is a little essay on the development and use of the Panther tank in WW2 and the development of the Dragon Armor/Can Do Pocket Army lines.
Please note. Now that eBay charges fees for the entire purchase price, including shipping, I considered just offering "free" shipping and folding the S&H into the item price. This, however, would preclude me from offering a combined shipping discount, so I have forsworn doing so. This does leave me at the buyer's mercy in the DSR ratings so if you have a question about my S&H please feel free to contact me regarding it. Thank you.
This item may not be mailed to Italy. If you are in Italy please contact me prior to bidding.
Caveat Emptor?: Not really, more 'buyer be aware.' I am a private collector and a personal consumer. I am NOT a retailer. I do not have a stock of "inventory" or buy things wholesale. Everything I sell, whether as New, Used or 'Other' has been bought and paid for at retail and often with taxes and/or shipping as well. I price at close to what I paid and so do not have much of a margin. Everything I sell must be considered as pre-owned and comes as-is. I provide a photo, will gladly provide more and give a full and accurate description of each item including any known defects. I do not have a return policy because I am NOT a business, just a private person, and simply cannot afford to deal with returns. My shipping department is me and three cats who are shiftless and lazy and have the finest union contract on earth with free food, board and 100% medical. Their motto is "knock it under the sofa and fuggedaboutit." I ship everything within 24 hours of receipt of payment (unless received the day before a Sunday or holiday) because that is what I want for myself. I usually ship USPS Priority and always include a tracking/confirmation number; you will invariably receive your item in less than a week, CONUS.
A Short History of the Panther Tank:
Early in World War Two the belief in the invincibility of the German armored forces, the Panzertruppe, was earned. Many attributed the German successes to superior equipment and lots of it. Those people couldn't have been more wrong.
The great German victories in the first years of the war, Poland, Western Europe, North Africa and ultimately the first year and half in Russia were all lead by the Panzer III tank. This small (20+ tons), not all that well armored and somewhat under-gunned main battle tank took the lead in armored battle. The Panzer IV which later became the mainstay of the armored forces remained, for the first years of the war, an 'infantry support' tank. Quite early in the war it became obvious first in France (with the Char Bis and Somua variants) and then in North Africa (with the British Matilda) that if the PzIII wasn't outgunned it was certainly out-armored by the nearly impenetrable allied tanks.
What gave the panzertruppe its vaunted reputation was the fact that every tank had a radio, and each tank had a crew of five. The allies continued with crews of three or four, doubling up on duties and overworking the personnel. The radios allowed for unequaled command and control, not only between tanks and command but between the tanks themselves, allowing for rapid deployment and clear communication about where reinforcement was required and weak points that could be exploited.
Also early in the war a delegation of Russians came to inspect the German tank factories on the invitation of "der Feuherer" who insisted they be shown "everything." The presumption being that they would be dazzled by German technological superiority. They complained that they were not being shown 'everything' because the heaviest German tank they saw was the 25-ton, 75mm low velocity gunned Pz IV. (Russia was already well into the manufacture of the KV- and T-34 tanks.) This should have been a clue to the Germans.
Germany had in fact already gotten a clue in North Africa where it was discovered that only the 88mm anti-aircraft gun, fully depressed, had the power to kill British Matilda tanks at any reasonable distance. Germany set about creating an armored platform for this gun. A platform that lackadaisically resulted in the near mythical Tiger tank two years or so down the road. Only 1356 Tigers were built, however.
In June 1941, with the invasion of Russia the extent of slavic tank development became known. Harshly. Initially in the "KV" tanks and shortly thereafter in meeting the first T-34s, Germany realized that they really had to rush their new tank into production. Both Russian tanks outgunned the German PzIIIs with their little 50mm guns, carrying 76.2mm high velocity cannon; both heavily out-armored the Germans and the T-34 was a lot faster and more maneuverable- arguably the first best tank of the war, but that is another story.
The Germans were extremely lucky that the KV-1s and -2s and the T-34s were employed piecemeal and in the infantry support role, not en masse where they could have literally destroyed the oncoming German Panzer divisions.
The T-34 was a revolutionary design in its time and its appearance on the battlefield in August of 1941 gave the Germans quite a scare. It was fast, agile and with its wide treads it was able to cover ground that the German tanks of the same weight got stuck in. The most notable thing about the T-34 was its sloped armor which increased the head-on thickness making it almost impossible to penetrate. Germany realized that its entire Panzertruppe, less the Tiger, had just become obsolete.
What to do?
Some suggested to just take a captured T-34 and copy the thing. Not a bad idea but it could have lead to confusion on the battlefield. It also would have demeaned German engineering ingenuity and know-how to copy a Slavic design. Work began on a new medium tank which eventually manifested, two years later, in what is arguably the best tank of the war- which arrived on the scene just in time to take part in the devastating series of defeats that led to Germany's demise. Perhaps copying the much cheaper and simpler T-34 would have been a better idea.
In any event over the next two years, from late Summer, 1941 until July, 1943 work proceeded on the new, PanzerkampfWagen V, Panther tank. Upon its debut in Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk, it cut a very fine figure of a tank. Thick, sloped frontal armor made it virtually invulnerable to anti-tank fire and with its wide treads it could travel over ground its predecessors could not. It was also faster than the Panzer IIIs and IVs it was to replace (which never did quite happen). Its main gun, a very long L70, high velocity 75mm, had better penetration than the Tiger's 88mm and it was formidable, indeed. Considered to be the best tank of the war.
Unfortunately for Hitler and Germany it was not ready for battle in July, 1943. Its transmission and fuel system were faulty and many of the tanks broke down even catching fire, before they reached the battlefield. Not an ausp[icious start and giving the Russians the opportunity to capture several for evaluation. Ultimately the flaws were fixed and the Panther became a reliable and important part of the war effort. The final model, the "G" was fast, well built, reliable and deadly.
These served primarily to support the PzIV of which nearly 8, 600 were built as the war devolved for the Germans into a constant struggle to plug holes in the line, cover retreats and basically engage in a losing, defensive war. The Panther proved formidable but there were never enough to turn the tide, the were more mighty sand castles that were washed away by the Russian waves.
Only about 6, 000 Panthers were ever built although Germany did waste much of their meager resources in experimenting with the Panther, fitting an 88mm gun and outfitting the tank for night-fighting with infra-red searchlights.
The Panther was a great tank and after the war France appropriated all they could get to rebuild their armed forces with, effectively giving the reconstituted France one of the most powerful armored forces in the world... for its size.
The Can-Do Line of “Pocket Army” Tanks; A Short history:
In 2003 Dragon Ltd came out with two lines of new toy tanks, one in 1/72 scale and the other in 1/144. While the 1/72 scale had been around for a long time the 144 scale was relatively new and untested commercially. Initially the offerings in both lines were were quite similar. Tigers, Panthers, King Tigers, Jagd-Panthers and Jagd-Tigers, Abrams and Bradleys.
As the 1/72 Dragon Armor line continued in this vein, advertising itself as “die-cast” the (the “new” die-cast which had a very significant % of plastic), Can-Do “Pocket Army” (The Can-Do line was advertised as the "pocket army" because their small size allowed you to carry them in your pocket. They're being all plastic meant that if you did so the main gun would snap off, usually at the base. So my recommendation is- don't have an “in your pocket” army.) branched out into Panzer IIs, -IIIs, -IVs, Marders, Hummels and more. It was a relatively cheap way to test the 144 waters in plastic. The waters were relatively deep and the Dragon Armor 1/72 line began expanding exponentially and the less expensive (1/2 - 1/4 and lower retail price) and smaller (1/8 the volume) Can-Do series has seemingly gone out of production. In consequence their prices have increased dramatically.
Other companies attempted to cash-in on the new 144 scale craze including Takara and their very extensive ‘World Tank Museum’ line, 21st Century Toys (out of business) and their and ‘New Millennium Classic Armor’ series (which were poorly done and cheap looking) along with many others (F-Toys, Trumpeter, et al). None of which supply display cases with their vehicles and the prices of the vehicles have sky-rocketed. Just search ebay.
The Can-Do models were different in a special way. Their suspensions were multi-piece, each road-wheel molded separately and the tracks were rubber. WTM and others had single piece molded tracks and wheels. You can actually see light through the road wheels on the Can-Dos. A very complicated production.
The display cases will work with any of the extant WTM et al 144 scale vehicles.
Dragon Armor 1/72: A Recap-
In 2004 Dragon Ltd announced that they would be coming out with a new 1/72 scale die-cast line with extreme detail and each offering would be based upon an actual tank with details and paint-scheme drawn from color photographs taken during the war. At the time die-cast was taken to mean actual all metal except for a few parts.
The first tank produced, #60001, was a Tiger tank based on one Michael Whitmann commanded and the line proceeded forward with more Tigers, King Tigers, Jagd Tigers, JagdPanthers and JagdTigers than you could shake a stick at. They weren’t quite die-cast, Panther’s turrets and Tigers hulls were, but the detail was awesome and the paint jobs really beautiful in a 1/72 scale sort of way.
They basically came out mirroring what Dragon called their 1/144 scale “Can-Do Pocket Army” which was all plastic, incredibly detailed and shared paint schemes with their bigger 1/72 brothers. The two lines paralleled each other for about the next two years.
By around 2007 the Can-Do line came to an end but the larger 1/72 products kept expanding into British, Russian, and American vehicles, armored cars and assault guns, Marders and s-p artillery, mirroring the Can-Dos and then going far beyond them. It was apparent the the profit was in 1/72 scale. As new items were introduced their molds became the basis for new specific, individualized (similar) vehicles. The Can-Do line had paved the way but the Dragon Armor flew higher and farther.
Initially produced with either a metal hull and plastic turret or visa-versa later models had a metal insert in an all plastic hull, to provide “heft” that all plastic couldn’t, and eventually seems to have devolved into what is now an all plastic line. “Die-cast” redefined.
New models keep being produced and older ones accrue in value as they are and always will be, out-of-production. The marvelous detail of all their product and beautiful reproductions continue to carry this line despite prices (inflation adjusted) that rival what the original, real ones cost to produce.
