The Panzer IV was Germany’s medium tank intended to give infantry support while the Panzer III was to be used against tanks. In the end however the Panzer IV was improved and produced until the end of the war and was used for all activities while Panzer III production ended in 1943.

The kit is of a mid-war Panzer IV, the Ausf F variant. The model builds up into one of two sub-variations of the F. You can make either the earlier F1 with the short-barrelled 75mm gun or the later F2 with a long barrelled 75mm gun. The notes place the F in action in 1942 so being used in either North Africa or the Eastern Front. Discussions on the Airfix Tribute Forum speculate that the kit is based on an Ausf G now in the museum at Munster. I haven’t found any complaints about dimensional accuracy unlike for instance the Airfix Panther.

The box is a sturdy top opening sort with the usual Airfix notes on the side –  Skill level (2 and 8+ years old ) Paints required (only three Humbrol colours) and 1 Flying hour redeemable. This is a new boxing proudly proclaimed as a Hornby product though the cover image goes back many years (1960s I believe)

The instruction leaflet is double-sided A3 folded as A4. From the look of it the instructions have been made up using scans of an older leaflet in a new layout– the text and images are a bit fuzzy while the borders and page numbers are sharp as modern printing gets. Construction is broken down into six separate stages shown across two of those A4 pages so the diagrams are large and easy to follow.

The three paints listed are given as Humbrol numbers with their names – the recommended colour for the vehicle is “Buff”

The decal sheet is small – you get three Balkankreuz, a choice of two tank numbers and an Afrika Korps umbrella/palm tree.

 There are 4 sprues of grey plastic in a single plastic bag along with a pair of rubbery tracks.

There are 101 numbered parts spread over the 4 sprues. Fifty of those parts go into making up the suspension. Four parts are needed for the variants – two parts for each.  Detail is sufficient and par with what is expected from a kit this old. Hatches are moulded separately. There is no interior detailing.

 Flash is minimal to non-existent. There are some pouring stubs around the leaf suspension on the hull side parts which could prove difficult to remove cleanly being attached to some delicate moulding.

 Comparing the hull sides to some walkaround photos it becomes clear that on my kit there are some obvious ejector pin marks – 6 on each hull side. When they’ve gone to the effort of putting on the detail for two small hatches on the left hand side of the hull next to the return idlers it seems a shame that these pin marks are present. They are the most obvious ones across the whole kit, only later did I find others on the hull top but these should be hidden when the model is completed.

 A few of the wheel parts are slightly out of alignment, not uncommon on moulds of this period and age. There is no defined tyre moulding to the wheel so a bit of care will be needed in painting.

The rubbery tracks are low on detail and obviously aren’t going to sit correctly unaided when added.

 This will give you a reasonably detailed if not 100% accurate model of a mid-series Panzer IV but expect to spend a lot of time on building the suspension.

 en.wikipedia.org/Panzer IV History of the variants

http://www.worldwar2aces.com/panzer-tank/panzer-iv/ a walkaround

Graeme Leggett

May 2010