Here's some background from Tanks Encyclopaedia along with some images from t'interweb
Overview
Introduction
Panther tanks first saw action on the Eastern fronts. They were also used in Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. They took part in the Ardennes offensive, the battle of the Bulge plus the defence of Germany. It had better cross-country mobility than the Tiger tank and had the same if not more hitting power, with its 7.5 cm Kw.K 42 L/70 long barrelled high velocity anti-tank gun. Around 6,000 were produced.
The use of sloped armor kept the weight of the tank down but maintained its protection level. The angled front 80 mm armor glacis plate gave more protection than the Tiger tank’s 100 mm vertical armour plate. This fact is not often mentioned. An enemy’s standard armour piercing round fired from directly in front of the tank hitting the glacis plate in a straight line had to penetrate 139 mm (5.4 inches) of armor due to the angle of the armour. If the enemy tank was firing at the front of a Panther tank but at a 45 degree angle to it, the shell would have to pass through 197 mm (7.7 inches) of armor.
Enemy tank crews always tried to out flank Panther tanks to fire at its more vulnerable side or rear armor. German Panther tank crew’s tactics involved presenting their frontal armour towards enemy tanks as much as possible.
The Panther was born out of the shock of combat on the Eastern Front during the 1941 Operation Barbarossa. There, German units first met the T-34 and KV-1 tanks which posed significant problems to the German tank and anti-tank cannons.
This led to the start of development of the VK30.01(D) and VK30.02(M), the two designs that would compete to become the Panzerkampfwagen V. The MAN design would go on to be selected and rushed into production.
The Panzer V Ausf.D
The first production Panther tank was the Ausf.D not the Ausf.A. This confuses many people. In the past German tank versions started with the letter A and then went on to B, C, D etc. In January 1943 M.A.N produced the first production series Panther Ausf.D tank.
The Main Gun
The Panther Tank was armed with a long barrelled high velocity 7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 42 L/70 gun that could knock out most Allied and Soviet tanks at long distances. It had an effective direct fire range of 1.1 km – 1.3 km. With a good gun crew it could fire six rounds a minute. The barrel length including the muzzle brake was 5535 mm (5225 mm without the muzzle brake). It had an elevation range of -8 degrees to +20 degrees. It was fitted with a Turmzielfernrohr 12 binocular gun sight. Seventy nine rounds of 75 mm ammunition could be stored inside the tank. There was a coaxial 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun next to it.
Crew
The Panther tank had a five-man crew. The turret was large enough for three people: the commander, gunner, and loader. The driver sat on the left-hand side of the tank chassis at the front and next to him on the right-hand side was the hull machine gunner who also operated the radio.
Camouflage
When the first batch of Panthers left the factory they were painted Dunkelgrau dark grey. In February 1943 all factories were instructed to paint all German armoured fighting vehicles Dunkelgelb, a dark sandy yellow. Each individual Panzer unit then applied its own individual camouflage pattern. They were issued with Olivegruen olive-green and Rotbraun reddy-brown paint. In the winter a covering of white wash was applied to the tanks.
Panther tanks first saw action on the Eastern fronts. They were also used in Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. They took part in the Ardennes offensive, the battle of the Bulge plus the defence of Germany. It had better cross-country mobility than the Tiger tank and had the same if not more hitting power, with its 7.5 cm Kw.K 42 L/70 long barrelled high velocity anti-tank gun. Around 6,000 were produced.
The use of sloped armor kept the weight of the tank down but maintained its protection level. The angled front 80 mm armor glacis plate gave more protection than the Tiger tank’s 100 mm vertical armour plate. This fact is not often mentioned. An enemy’s standard armour piercing round fired from directly in front of the tank hitting the glacis plate in a straight line had to penetrate 139 mm (5.4 inches) of armor due to the angle of the armour. If the enemy tank was firing at the front of a Panther tank but at a 45 degree angle to it, the shell would have to pass through 197 mm (7.7 inches) of armor.
Enemy tank crews always tried to out flank Panther tanks to fire at its more vulnerable side or rear armor. German Panther tank crew’s tactics involved presenting their frontal armour towards enemy tanks as much as possible.
The Panther was born out of the shock of combat on the Eastern Front during the 1941 Operation Barbarossa. There, German units first met the T-34 and KV-1 tanks which posed significant problems to the German tank and anti-tank cannons.
This led to the start of development of the VK30.01(D) and VK30.02(M), the two designs that would compete to become the Panzerkampfwagen V. The MAN design would go on to be selected and rushed into production.
The Panzer V Ausf.D
The first production Panther tank was the Ausf.D not the Ausf.A. This confuses many people. In the past German tank versions started with the letter A and then went on to B, C, D etc. In January 1943 M.A.N produced the first production series Panther Ausf.D tank.
The Main Gun
The Panther Tank was armed with a long barrelled high velocity 7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 42 L/70 gun that could knock out most Allied and Soviet tanks at long distances. It had an effective direct fire range of 1.1 km – 1.3 km. With a good gun crew it could fire six rounds a minute. The barrel length including the muzzle brake was 5535 mm (5225 mm without the muzzle brake). It had an elevation range of -8 degrees to +20 degrees. It was fitted with a Turmzielfernrohr 12 binocular gun sight. Seventy nine rounds of 75 mm ammunition could be stored inside the tank. There was a coaxial 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun next to it.
Crew
The Panther tank had a five-man crew. The turret was large enough for three people: the commander, gunner, and loader. The driver sat on the left-hand side of the tank chassis at the front and next to him on the right-hand side was the hull machine gunner who also operated the radio.
Camouflage
When the first batch of Panthers left the factory they were painted Dunkelgrau dark grey. In February 1943 all factories were instructed to paint all German armoured fighting vehicles Dunkelgelb, a dark sandy yellow. Each individual Panzer unit then applied its own individual camouflage pattern. They were issued with Olivegruen olive-green and Rotbraun reddy-brown paint. In the winter a covering of white wash was applied to the tanks.
Kit
Onto the kit
This is a 2019 Tamiya update of their original 2005 kit - it's not a huge parts count so hoping it all goes together relatively quickly.
Here are the sprue frames starting with wheels & tracks
Turret & hull bits
The hull plus some additional greeblies - this is my first 1/48 Armour kit and nice to see the lower hull in metal to add the weight I would normally generate with additional wheel weights in a 1/35 kit
Instructions, decals & painting guide
This is a 2019 Tamiya update of their original 2005 kit - it's not a huge parts count so hoping it all goes together relatively quickly.
Here are the sprue frames starting with wheels & tracks
Turret & hull bits
The hull plus some additional greeblies - this is my first 1/48 Armour kit and nice to see the lower hull in metal to add the weight I would normally generate with additional wheel weights in a 1/35 kit
Instructions, decals & painting guide
With my current project waiting for some weathering bits I'm hoping to make a start on this one over the weekend
(not 
going really well so far 
so I've painted it back in freehand
