by Frank DeSisto

This article appeared in the January 1996 issue of Boresight

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When Tamiya began its "count down" of German WW II tanks with new tool Tigers and Panthers, I thought that they might skip over the Panzer IV series which they had begun to issue 20 (was it that long ago?) years ago. Those older kits represented an excellent variety of chassis types, and were really quite well detailed. Their accuracy suffered, especially dimensionally, because the designers had to fiddle with the chassis in order to accommodate batteries and an electric motor. This threw the whole kit out of whack. There were also some major errors in the thickness of the wheels, and in the omission of the fuel tank filler caps from the chassis sides.

All of these have been corrected on this latest new tool Panzer W Ausf. J This kit represents the earlier production Ausf. J with the large cylindrical exhaust muffler and the skirt hanging rails associated with the solid plate Shurtzen. It also properly represents the lower rear hull plate, crew escape hatches on the turret, thickened turret roof, muzzle break and OVM stowage. This kit's not a "hybrid" vehicle as suggested in some other published reviews. The designers have done their homework.

The markings and painting information is substantially correct, according to readily available reference materials. If using the markings for vehicle 1032, then use the earlier idler wheel. Vehicles 723 and 806 should have Zimmerit applied, whereas 1032 might also need it, but it was difficult to determine from the photo. Vehicle 806 did not have the rails attached for the Shurtzen, whereas the other two did.

This kit is relatively expensive compared to other offerings on the market, but because of the accuracy and level of detail ncluded many will consider it worth every penny. The hull belly pan is completely and accurately detailed. The texture of certain cast fittings and the surface of the rolled armor plate is exquisite. Weld seams are well represented as are panel lines. There are no visible ejector pin marks on any outside surfaces of any components except the jack, and these are easily filled. There was also a single sink mark on the antenna base which was easily filled.

Other features include a commander figure in the more-or-less standard mid/late war temperate climate uniform and a very complete gun breech. The commander's cupola is engineered with open view slits which are separate parts. These can be cut apart and depicted as closed with very little effort. The driver's armored view flap is also separate and can be positioned as the modeler desires.

Finally, the very subtle change to the angle of the engine deck and engine access door have been captured for the first time in any kit of a Panzer IV variant. Incidentally, the reader should not mistake my attention to all of these small items as nit-picking! Many of our readers order by mail and being fully informed before they plunk down over $ 50.00 for a kit is what I as a reviewer owe them.

There are also two accessory sets tailored for this kit. MM-15182, Turned Brass Projectiles (7.5 cm KwK 40) consists of 18 pieces equally divided among RE and AP rounds and spent cases. MM-15183 consists of some vehicle detail parts and some very fine hand tools. Both sets are perfectly suited to the diorama builder. For those on a budget, neither set is necessary to complete the basic kit. There are no individual link tracks available, and again the tracks in the box are more than adequate. This last feature cuts down the construction time and level of difficulty associated with individual link tracks, something many modelers welcome.

CONSTRUCTION
The kit offers no real surprises during the actual construction phase. Since I am constrained to use the markings provided in the kit, I had to add Zimmerit. This was a tedious process, especially since the Panzer IV does not have the large areas and slab sides of say, a Panther, to make things easy. I use two part (A+B) plumber's epoxy putty. Work on one section at a time and if there is a tool or fitting which must fit the area to be Zimmerited, have it ready to check its position. The type of putty I use, while still pliable, can be broken down and removed with water. This is very helpful when there are lots of tight spaces to deal with.

For the actual application, I use an artists' paint knife which has a springy, tapered point. To make the pattern, I use a jewelers screwdriver with a 3 mm flat blade. It takes forever to put the pattern down, but the control I have is worth it. I always keep the tip wet so it won't pull the putty off. Apply the layer of putty as thin as you possibly can. If any ridges form as you apply the pattern, which are too high or thick, remove with a new, wet blade on your X-Acto knife. Smooth the putty down and re-apply the pattern. Refer to reference photos for patterns and placement, as there was a great deal of variety to be seen.

I added the following from styrene rod and strip: locking strips on hatches, detail around the inner fronts of the fenders, track storage brackets and clamps and straps for the exhaust muffler. Grandt Line nut/bolt castings were added to the hull rear plate and muffler straps. A lifting eye was added to the 7.5 cm gun's recuperator housing using a Grandt Line eye bolt. Steel "wrapped" guitar string replicated the springs on the inner front mud flaps, while bent brass rod was used for the tow cable hooks.

PAINTING AND MARKINGS
When all assembly was finished, the entire model was washed in warm soapy water and rinsed in cold water. Thisgot rid of dirt and anything which would interfere with the adhesion of the paint. It was air dried inside of a box to minimize the settling of atmospheric debris. All paints were acrylic by Polly-S.

Panzer Dark Yellow: overall vehicle
Panzer Dark Green: dapple pattern camouflage
Rust: tracks and tow cable Steel: machine gun barrels Panzer Dark Grey: road wheel tires

The model was gloss coated and the markings applied using the Super Scale system. When they dried, a flat coat was applied.

Weathering of the tracks was done with a black wash, and when dried, bright silver was brushed on to depict wear. Rust and soot stains were applied around the exhaust with pastels. Black pastel was used to accent panel lines and add dimension to certain areas. Earth tone pastels were applied and blended with some white dry brushing. A final flat coat was applied and some light dry brushing with a touch of white finished the job. An antenna was added with brass rod, painted the vehicle base color.

REFERENCES
I consulted the following references to verify the kits accuracy, details and markings options:

PanzerKampfwagen IV In Action by Bruce Culver;
Achtung Panzer-Panzer IV by Art Box;
Tamiya News #1, Panzer IV;
Sturm und Drang #4-Panzer IV;
Profile #43-PanzerKampfwagen IV by Walter Spielberger;
Tanks Illustrated #9-Last of the Panzers by William Auerbach;
Osprey/Vanguard #18-The Panzer-Kampfwagen IV by Bryan Perrett;
Spielberger Armor Series #4- The Panzer-Kampfwagen IV and its Variants by Walter Spielberger;
Aero series- Panzer-Kampfwagen IV Workhorse of the German Panzertruppe by W. Spielberger & Uwe Feist;
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of WW II (Revised Edition), by P. Chamberlain, H. Doyle and T. Jentz;
Panzers in Normandy Then and Now by Eric Lefevre;
Squadron/Signal's Panzer Colors I, II and III by B. Culver.

I also compared the kit to the original Tamiya offering to determine where the improvements, if any, might be.

CONCLUSIONS
The reader should note that my opinion where it concerns the kits accuracy was not derived from comparing it to other kits, but to photos and drawings of the actual item. This is not the case of Tamiya's kit being so good because another manufacturer's kit is lacking in certain areas. It's good because the actual item shows that it is.

I know you're tired of hearing me say it, but we have still another accurate, well engineered and molded "State-of-the-Art" kit from those folks at Tamiya. The gripes mentioned above are far outweighed by the positive aspects of this kit. For those modelers who will not compromise when it comes to accuracy, I highly recommend this latest product.

Thanks to Bob Kubis and Y. Sano at Tamiya America and Tamiya Japan for providing the kits and accessories to me on behalf of AMPS/BORESIGHT. I thank them for their continued support and for their recognition of our Society's place in the world of scale AFV modeling.