Graeme's Panzer IV, Simon's memorial build.

[Lee Drennen]

Graeme. Nice job on the wheels

[Steve Jones]

Great to see some tank wheels. Bob (Bowcat) deprived me of seeing his wheels so I feel a lot better. LOL

Great update my friend. Keep up the good work

[rtfoe]

Guess you'll know why I don't have a Panzer IV in my gallery yet :tears-of-joy: :tears-of-joy: ...the thought of those roadwheels just make me procrastinate. No actually I have a Stug IV and the spares are stored two on a curved rack on the back and two on the front slope next to the gun...perhaps for added protection.

Graeme, that's just the assembling but wait till you have to paint the rubber portions. The Italeri kit doesn't give poly caps I think so you might have to poke cocktail sticks into the hub and use that as leverage to twist as you brush paint in the rubber lining. Of course the other option is to paint it all rubber and then use a circular template of the right size and spray on the body colour.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

wait till you have to paint the rubber portions. The Italeri kit doesn't give poly caps I think so you might have to poke cocktail sticks into the hub and use that as leverage to twist as you brush paint in the rubber lining. Of course the other option is to paint it all rubber and then use a circular template of the right size and spray on the body colour.

I almost invariably paint tyres in two goes: half the wheel at a time.

[stillp]

I almost invariably paint tyres in two goes: half the wheel at a time.

Half the width or half the circumference?
Pete

[Guest]

Good point Half the circumference. I hold the wheel between my fingers and paint the (more or less) half of the tyre that’s still accessible, then let it dry and paint the rest.

[Graeme C.]

Jakko, great pictures, certainly gives me some ideas, the middle one may be a bit extreme!
Richard, the cocktail stick option is my usual method!
Jim, Lee, Steve & Pete, Thanks for the encouragement, plenty of things to think about on which direction I should take this build, a knocked out or abandoned panzer maybe?
A little progress, cleaned up & assembled the top rollers, yet more sanding, but at least there's only eight of them! Added a couple of bits to the turret, ventilators, vision slits & cupola, the first etch bits are a couple of guards above the side hatches, a definite improvement over the moulded on ones.

[scottie3158]

Graeme,
Just had a catch up sorry about being late. very nice start. I am the same as you i have always found the best way to paint tank or softskin wheels is to get a good tight fit on a cocktail stick or piece of sprue used thinned paint and to slowly spin the wheel very quick and painless.

[Graeme C.]

Good to have you along Paul, a steady hand is needed though!

[Guest]

Jakko, great pictures, certainly gives me some ideas, the middle one may be a bit extreme!

True, I included it mainly because it shows (more or less) what I meant by the length of track on the front plate with a wheel behind it.

It would make a good subject for the group build on another forum that I’m building my exploded M113 for, though …

[Graeme C.]

True, I included it mainly because it shows (more or less) what I meant by the length of track on the front plate with a wheel behind it.

It would make a good subject for the group build on another forum that I’m building my exploded M113 for, though …

I did try this though..

[Guest]

Posed like that to see if making it a wreck is feasible, or are you actually going to make it into a wreck? If the latter, I’d advise cutting the engine deck (with its sides) loose from the rest of the superstructure, and fitting it normally. The forward superstructure came loose from the engine deck relatively easily on Panzer IVs, I think — well, after the tank being hit and exploding, anyway

[Graeme C.]

A bit more done, adding hatches to the turret & some etch parts. I wanted to have the commanders hatch open, but Italeri moulded the hinges on the hatch halves, so a little bit of cutting with a sharp scalpel removed the hinge part & glued to the cupola. Open commanders hatch!

Jakko, it did cross my mind as it would make an impressive model, but there's no interior. That said a slightly less damaged vehicle abandoned & captured maybe? Plenty of inspiration in Panzerwrecks 22 ;Desert & your pictures have got me thinking.:thinking:

[BattleshipBob]

Coming on very well Graemae!

Waiting for the lads who published the StuG book ( my best book ) to finally release there two vol set on the Pz IV

[Graeme C.]

Thanks Bob, you're buying a book that isn't about Stugs? What ever next, you'll be building a British tank.......

Done a bit more, the turret is pretty much done, with a couple of etch bits to do.
Onto the hull, the mud guards needed a bit trimming off as the etch set has some, those & the upper assembled to the lower hull.