Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2 (Dragon 1/72) - Started around 8 years ago

[Greg_147]

Hello all,

This is a great subject for a GB, and during a clear-up I found just the thing that I hope is worth a revival. This Panzer IV was probably the last thing I started before model making took a back seat for me around 2012-2013ish.



I had completely forgotten about it until I found it at the bottom of a box, which in itself was in a sorry state.




I'm hoping that all (or at least enough) of the parts are still in there somewhere along with the assorted leftovers from other builds. My plan is to cobble together a mini-diorama with a few other old kits that I never fully built:



That should make a dent in the stash anyway :smiling5:

Thanks for looking,
Greg

[papa 695]

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this/these Greg.

[Tim Marlow]

Likewise…..lots of scope there.

[Guest]

Sounds interesting Greg ,I shall join if I may .

[Mickc1440]

I'm in too Greg

[dalej2014]

Love a Panzer, especially in the desert. Pulling up a chair...

[Greg_147]

Thank you all! I'm starting to see why I may have abandoned this one :smiling5: the wheel arrangements on the sprues is an odd choice; they're mounted on by the axles, so you have to clip them off the sprue by the point that actually attaches them to the tank. Despite my best efforts to make this exactly the same length for each one, I'm left with slightly-off road wheels that don't quite align with the tracks.

Speaking of tracks, for some reason I previously glued the upper and lower hulls together, so getting the tracks on is going to be an interesting one! It can be done....I think. Anyway, I'll be covering the thing in dust and sand anyway, so hopefully I can hide any issues caused by the above.

Cupola, wheels and most of the extra chassis details are on, and I've found a tank commander figure to add. Next step is stowage and trying to figure out what to do with these tracks!

[Jim R]

Hi Greg
The poor thing has waited long enough to be finished. Nice idea to make a dio. That's an odd way to mould the wheels.
Jim

[Greg_147]

Well unfortunately the track situation got worse :smiling5: The rubber-band style tracks (which I always hate) were too short, didn't connect properly, and risked tearing if I forced them too much. I've made an attempt at lengthening with a spare track link from the stowage, but it looks pretty rubbish. I was even considering buying some after-market tracks, but couldn't find any in 1/72. Here we see the result after a coat of black primer:





I'm hoping some sand and muck will conceal....that. Here it is after a base coat of Dark Yellow. The only good think about these wheels is that the center portion is separate, which does make painting a lot easier.





A start has also been made on the Kubelwagen. It's far less frustrating :tears-of-joy:

[Gary MacKenzie]

Well unfortunately the track situation got worse :smiling5: The rubber-band style tracks (which I always hate) were too short, didn't connect properly, and risked tearing if I forced them too much. I've made an attempt at lengthening with a spare track link from the stowage, but it looks pretty rubbish. I was even considering buying some after-market tracks, but couldn't find any in 1/72. Here we see the result after a coat of black primer:

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160508[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160509[/ATTACH]

I'm hoping some sand and muck will conceal....that. Here it is after a base coat of Dark Yellow. The only good think about these wheels is that the center portion is separate, which does make painting a lot easier.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160511[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160513[/ATTACH]

A start has also been made on the Kubelwagen. It's far less frustrating :tears-of-joy:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160506[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160510[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1160512[/ATTACH]

Might interest you if you are doing another 1/72nd Panzer iv ( or anyone else doing one ) https://armorama.com/news/fat-frog-panzer-iv-tracks

[papa 695]

Coming along nicely Greg, Like you said hull deep in mud should hide anything.:tongue-out3:

[Greg_147]

Thanks Gary, that would have been perfect. I had a look but couldn't find them in stock anywhere. Ah well, I'll have to make do with what I've got!


A bit more work done on the PzIV: the included stowage and gubbins have been painted (although most of these came molded onto the hull, which is extremely annoying at a small scale!)

Next up I'm going to add some of my own bits. Spare wheels, some Jerry cans, that sort of thing. Then it's decals and weathering.

[adt70hk]

Coming on very nicely!

[Greg_147]

A bit more work done on this one; I decided to add a spare wheel onto one of the sides that was looking a bit bare, so made a bracket out of thin wire.





I also added some Jerry cans from the light vehicle set, and made a rack for them out of a strip of cardboard:



And finally, decals added. Next up is weathering (and an aerial adding at the very end to fill that hole on the right hand side).

[adt70hk]

Looking good!!!!