Modeller Build Logs

Tristar Panzer IV Ausf. C

Recently Tristar released an excellent kit of the early Panzer IV in the form of an Ausf. C. Moulded in pumpkin coloured styrene the kit features individual track-links, photo-etched parts and an excellent finesse of detail and a high level of accuracy. Initially I thought a kit of the early Panzer IV would have limited appeal, I certainly wasn't that interested in one. After some research the subject began to interest me more. According to Panzer Tracts No. 4 there were 134 of the Ausf. C produced. This kit represents the later type, with a small rain shield above the driver's view port, which was also retro-fitted to earlier tanks. Later in their service these vehicles where retro-fitted with stowage boxes on the rear turret, additional 30mm armour plates on the hull front, a Notek lamp amongst other small details. The Ausf. C was introduced into service in 1938. It was fielded in Poland, France, the Balkan campaign (Yugoslavia and Greece) and the early part of the Russian campaign. A few survived in service longer, in Normandy even! I have never seen one in service with the DAK in North Africa however. The specific tank that I want to model belonged to the 6th Panzer Division during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa. These tanks typically had all of the late features and the retro-fitted turret bin. I plan to borrow a turret bin from Tamiya's Ausf. H kit, replace the tracks with a set of the new Model Kasten 38cm tracks (I have a "thing" for kasten tracks) and use the new Aber fender kit. I also want to correct all of the small detail errors in the kit, most of these have been documented by Kazutaka Yokota in the Kits forum ( http://www.track-link.net/forum/modelling_kits/4332 ). Tristar sent me this kit as a review sample, since I have been too busy to do a good review I thought I'd start this BLog now to document what I have been doing. Thus far I have assembled the lower hull...