In Box Review:
This is a new boxing of the Hornby era! The lower section of the box is folded (not glued as previously) and bears a sticker with – HOR01 – F38968 A02308 –13-07 PACKED IN THE UK. The box lid is of the traditional design. There are four sprues of tan plastic (in a sealed polybag) bearing simplistic (but fairly accurate) detail and a little flash. An F1 or F2 variant can be built from these mouldings. In my box there were two sets of tracks, which are of the ‘rubber band’ type. The two-colour decal sheet is disappointingly out of register. The deflector to the gun mantlet is omitted from the F.1 variant. The 7.5cm KwK, L/24 support howitzer of the model is closer to the Ausf C or early D type.
Painting Guide:
Hu: 28 Matt Camouflage Grey / Hu: 34 Matt White = interior surfaces
Hu: 67 Matt Tank Grey = base colour
Hu: 118 Matt US Tan / Hu: 93 Matt Desert Yellow = over-spray
Hu: 26 Matt Khaki = disruptive camouflage pattern

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and was Jerusalem, builded here
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Any pics Ratch and the tracks, rubber band? Like Matchbox tracks?

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I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry!

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One of Airfix's nicer AFV models from the 60s - just remember to reshape the circular Notek light to something more like the original. The presence of a spare wheel rack on the F2 is something of a contentious issue at the moment, given the new Dragon one.

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

I'll try to take some pix in the next couple of days
Rubber band tracks they are
Re the spare wheels PzKpfw IV in action has five photos of the F2, only one of which shows the spare wheels - mounted on the right wing, forward of the glacis - and one illustration with two wheels in a rack on the left of the turret
The two illustrations of the F1 show three spares in a rack on the left of the turret and one on each side at the rear. There is only one photo and spares cannot be seen (possibly obscured by men digging the tank out of the snow)

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and was Jerusalem, builded here
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Airfix's F2 is an early one with the globular muzzle brake, making the spare wheel rack unlikely (in theory ) Instead of the rack, early F2s had a couple more lengths of the staff for the bore-cleaning brush.

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

Thanks for the info David 8-)
Do you have any links to pix of that arrangement (for reference), I'd be most interested
I bought the in action book at Bovington to hopefully get some definitive info on the IV (at that time I already had one Airfix and bought a Revell ausf J at the same time) It seems that the more you learn, the more you realise the less you know

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and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
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The In Action books are good primers, but suffer a bit because recent research has overturned some things once thought. In this case it is now known that the F2 and G aren't separate models at all.

On to the cleaning staff..

This is an E showing the usual stowage of the cleaning brush for short-gunned Panzer IVs at the rear of the LHS of the tank - two sections of staff, one with the brush on.

http://www.panzernet.net/panzernet/stranky/galerie/tanky/pz4/galeriepzkpfwIV43.htm

This is an F2, which doesn't seem to have any cleaning brush at all.... just a frame (for jerricans?) and at the rear one of the curved holders for spare wheels.

http://www.panzernet.net/panzernet/stranky/galerie/tanky/pz4/galeriepzkpfwIV23.htm

This F2 (modified by its crew or the REs) has a fitting on the hull side which is one end of a rack for two additional sections of staff, the other one is hidden behind the semi-circular fitting (which I think is a vent) next to the driver's side vision port. The rest of the bits would be stowed as on the E.

http://www.panzernet.net/panzernet/stranky/galerie/tanky/pz4/galeriepzkpfwIV42.htm

To finish is a late F2 (with Pak 40 type muzzle brake), this one looks like it has the remains of a spare wheel rack, the staff would all have have been stored together now, in the same place as on the E

http://www.panzernet.net/panzernet/stranky/galerie/tanky/pz4/galeriepzkpfwIV78.htm

There's an Osprey New Vanguard on the later version of the Panzer IV, I think it's No 39. Hope this helps and if it doesn't make sense, I'll have another go

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

Thanks David all additional info gratefully received

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and was Jerusalem, builded here
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You asked for it

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1177506611/nitpicking+the+Pz+IV+F2+%28part+3%29

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

Here are the sprue shots

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Mouldings look pretty clean for their age

One of my favourites from the Airfix tank range. The only thing that I found a nuisance was removing the moulding pips on the suspension without breaking off the ends of the leaf springs.

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

The PzIV is definitely one of Airfix better small scale armour kits.  The basic model is pretty good, very good even, considering its age and there is plenty of potential for conversions.....If one were feeling particularly heroic it should be possible to bash this kit with the Airfix StuG to create a reasonably good model of a StuG IV.  

For what it's worth & all the best

I believe that there is/was an Airfix Magazine article regarding this conversion.

Cheers

Stu

I'm a big fan of the Airfix Pzkw IV. I'd like to make a Brumbaer out of it (the Airfix magazine conversion is based on a practically-impossible-to-get vac set. If I get the dimensions of the superstructure, then it will be a relatively simple matter, I think, to fabricate it out of card, adding bits and pieces of hatches etc where necessary, and of course the hole for the gun. I could copy it in resin, too ...

Edit:
Coincidentally, I'd ordered, forgotten about, and received today a DML 1:35 Brumbaer. It's going to be relatively simple to get the box-like superstructure fabricated. The details will take a bit of work, but I think I can make it reasonable in 1:76.

Stay tuned.

Review:
There are four sprues of tan plastic bearing simplistic (but fairly accurate) detail and a little flash. The tracks are of the ‘rubber band’ type and the two-colour decal sheet is disappointingly out of register. The deflector to the gun mantlet is omitted from the F.1 variant. The 7.5cm KwK, L/24 support howitzer of the model is closer to the Ausf C or early D type.
History:
The first Panzer IV’s were produced in 1936; early versions were armed with a short-barrelled 7.5cm assault gun. Experience gained in the Polish campaign resulted in improved armour to create the PzKfwIVF.1 in 1941. In 1942 a longer barrelled 7.5cm gun was introduced on the F.2.
Painting Profile:
Hu: 28 Matt Camouflage Grey / Hu: 34 Matt White = interior surfaces
Hu: 67 Matt Tank Grey = base colour
Hu: 118 Matt US Tan / Hu: 93 Matt Desert Yellow = over-spray
Hu: 26 Matt Khaki = disruptive camouflage pattern

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983
My Portfolio & Workbench

I would say that the Airfix kit's 75mm L/24 gun and mantlet is suitable for an Ausf D, E or F once the deflector is added, but the Pz IV Ausf C had an internal mantlet of quite different configuration:

http://wargames.spyz.org/convPZIVC/pz4_ausfC1.gif

Note that there is no external angled armoured plate attached to the gun of the Ausf C.  In this version the gun is housed in a curved armoured cover with an opening roughly the shape of a B turned ninety degrees anti-clockwise.  :idea:

The current generation of tracks are particularly difficult to work with, making the running gear assembly a tricky and frustrating process.  It might be possible to achieve better results by cutting the band tracks into links and lengths and fixing them individually.  :idea:

For what it's worth & all the best

The presence of grills on the engine deck mean the model is better off fitted with the long 75mm anyway and built as a G (the F2 designation was apparently short-lived).

In the past, I believed that the Airfix kit was patterned on this ex-Bovington exhibit, but it has some features the Airfix kit lacks, so I'm going to hedge my bets  :D

http://www.jagdtiger.de/index2.htm?http://www.jagdtiger.de/GermanVeh/PzIV-05.htm

David

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David Maynard. 1962-2009. Gone too soon but not forgotten.

This is odd question, but, does it come with both types of main gun? as in the long 7.5cm and the shorter 5cm guns

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1:72/76 armour,1:72 aircraft and 1:72 figures are my favorites

Yes  :!:

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and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
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IPMS 10983
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Er, Ratch, I think that's incorrect.  The two barrels in the kit are the short and the long 75mm, aren't they, not the long 75mm and the 50mm?

In any case no Pz.IV was ever armed with a 50mm gun, so far as I'm aware.  Early Pz.IVs had a short 75, eventually replaced with a long 75.

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