1/16 Build number 2 - Panzer IV J Late

[Darius359au]

Bit of a photo dump to start showing whats in the box

Big Box


Big Box bigger than the previous Big Box


4 not so big big boxes in the Big Box - each of the boxes would made a box for a decent sized 1/35 kit though!
(theres 74 sprues ,hull and turret parts ,a shit ton of photo etch including 86 etched bases for each of the 4 types of main gun rounds ,turned aluminium barrel for the gun and numerous other bits)


instruction book ,(52 pages) ,double sided painting guide ,decal sheets and flyer showing all the special bits for the kit!


close up of the decal sheets , the top one's are mainly stencils for the main gun ammunition - 2 to 3 per shell x 86..... what the f*ck was i thinking

[Disco]

Yes! Another thread! I was looking at buying a model military model but the required paint list being 15 items long killed that idea for me

[Mythor]

Awww yessss, another tank! Good luck!

[Darius359au]

Today's adventure is hull bins for the PzGrt39 AP Rounds ,(standard armour piercing round with and explosive filler for a bang after going through armour) ,pretty simple , 3 bits of photoetch and a box.

2 bits of PE like this


one like this for the top piece


looks good




and what you get after its finished...at least I know the other 2 bits of PE are there

hell ,there's a lid piece that goes on top of the bin so it can be closed so you cant see anything in the box anways so if i was really lazy...

and hull bins in place ( not glued or painted yet ,i've got to finish the rounds first)


Engines mostly done , base painted ,(just need to paint the air filter hose) and waiting on weathering ,the maybach was easier to build than the otto in the T34 ,I didn't need to do the fuel lines ,but I do need to come up with some belts to go around the various pulleys.








Like the fuel ines in the T34 it's a bit obvious there needs to be belts..

[Darius359au]

ammo bins done and some paint laid down ,nothing fixed in place yet buts starting to look good

[Darius359au]

Bang Tubes ,lots and lots of bang tubes ,over 74 or so infact..

just a few being primed


1 each of the 4 types , left to right are H.E.A.T round ,HE round ,Pzgrt40 (tungsten penetrator) Antitank round and Pzgrt39 Antitank round (the 2 HE rounds are an olive green colour which doesn't show up to well in the picture)


same order and a closeup of the PE bases


Hull stowage bins for the Pzrgrt39's


there's supposed to be decals that go on each one as well but I'm only going to do that with the visible ones or I'd end up going nuts..

[Darius359au]

finishing up and weathering the engine and engine bay ,next up the lower fighting compartment and the drivers /radio operators areas in the bow.

[Darius359au]

started the base weathering for the lower hull internals ,the chipping looks stark and heavy against the cremewiess but that will get toned down with washes and other things.

bow shot ,transmission and the Pzgr40 bin aren't fixed in place yet ,same as the plate everything in the lower hulls attached too.


radio operators side of the transmission


drivers side ,instrument panels not fixed in place yet on the transmission ,i've got to add the dial decals yet.


fighting compartment


engine bay

[Darius359au]

Finished the weathering and installed the Transmission.

drivers side ,the dial decals were a pain in the arse!


radio operators side




finished and installed


next is installing the engine/fighting compartment plate in the lower hull ,finish the lower hull internals , then its start the running gear and start on the upper hull!

[Disco]

Oh that looks cool

[Darius359au]

I surprised myself how well it turned out

[Darius359au]

Done with the lower hull internals ,now for the running gear and start building up

steering brake cooling ducts in place.


drivers hole


radio operators/bow gunner's seat ,(not a lot of leg room if you were the radio op!)


drive shafts ,aleast the driver had a shield on the shaft in front of him..




I'm happy with the way the wearing came out on the checkerplate.

[Darius359au]

Road wheel assembly line ,6 friggen parts per wheel set...

[Darius359au]

suspension and road wheels all done!

suspension assembly


finished units ,(note the cast markings on the housings ,a nice extra detail!)


one side all attached ,the road wheels will get attached once I've painted everything!


and for some fun ,making the hinges work on the front glasis

.9mm drill through the hinge,(hand done with a pinvice)


and a .8mm piece of brass wire for the hinge pin

[Darius359au]

some progress , mainly decaling shell cases and starting work on sponson racks.





Close up of the H.E.A.T round's in the sponson rack!

[Darius359au]

Still making the 75mm rounds for my PzIV J,this time it's the HE round - inner rivet counter kicked in here trumpeter gives the wrong colour call out for painting them,they want dark grey for the projectile and a red band around the base of it , the actual colours was olive green for the projectile and the red band is actually a copper driving band for the projectile!
(Oh and I really hate the teeny decals on these suckers )

[Darius359au]

Bit of a photo dump , been chugging away and the lower and upper hulls are done with the interior now finished and weathered!

Ah yes , the really simple instructions for the radio racks....I'm considering never buying another 1/16 german tank so I don't have to build one of these things ever again..



1 radio done ,fairly rough but paint will hide that



finished rack in place on the right side of the image


and some overview shots

[Otto-matic Reiffel]

I feel like some model kits are overly complicated just for the point of having more bits to glue together.

Looking good though Darius, you have a hell of a lot more patience for this than I do.