Panzer IV Ausf F1 to H Build

[KTRob]

Added the opening Driver and Radio Operator's hatches, and the little tabs on the guards.

The tabs were made of Square styrene cut thinly, about 1.5mm.

If I could offer one tip, don't put the splash guards for the hatches back in place until the hatches are on, my hatches have ended up not perfectly in the middle of the guard so I had to cut some of my tabs down to fit.



I like to put a bit of primer on as I go, it exposes any major flaws or bits that need filing down.

Had to make a new fender support as one has gone AWOL, just copied the one I had left:

[KTRob]

Next job was to replace the moulded on transmission unit screws with some real ones, these are 12BA from http://www.ba-bolts.co.uk/.

First holes were drilled slightly smaller than the thread:


Then the top was countersunk with a larger bit by hand:


Finally the screws were added, the reason I made the holes a bit smaller than the thread is so they wouldn't just fall out. I have put a spot of glue on each one just to be sure. Big improvement on the originals.



The cover plate bolts were replicated using cut up hex rod:

[KTRob]

Final bits today have been the Jack Block and its little shelf:


The block is a piece of balsa cut to the size of the plastic block that was on the tank, the straps are from a PE sprue I'd kept.
I am going to try to make some rivets by holding a piece of copper wire in pliers and hitting it with a small hammer to form a head for the rivet.

The shelf was made up from offcuts of styrene, I tend to bag up all the odd little bits of offcuts, they come in handy for things like this:


Finally I am thinking about making the front fenders operable, chopped up a dolls house hinge to see how it would look, but haven't decided yet:

[Dietrich]

If anyone would like the dimensions for the Panzer IV mounting struts and the Schurzen here is a copy of the Pdf.
All measurements are in MM.
It is marked to show who drew it so as not to infringe on copyright.

[The extension pdf has been deactivated and can no longer be displayed.]

[EddyK]

Very interesting built! I'll folow it with interest!

[philipat]

Nice work. Those doll house hinges look a little too large, but maybe it's just the close-up of the photo.

Be sure to cut out the vertical lines in the driver's port. If done carefully, it's an easy detail with a big payoff.

[ALPHA]

Interesting thought Grasshopper....I had thought the same thing....but if those cans were filled with water instead of gas... they would serve as good projectile stoppers.... a bullet would almost ...and remember I say Almost...come to a dead stop ...maybe not even reach the other end of the can...
Water is a good bullet stopper ....as is dirt which I am older than...and also what could be in those cans

ALPHA

Hi Alpha, yes indeed you would be correct for a standard rifle bullet fired from the ground, however when you take into account a .50cal round fired from a diving aircraft doing 270+ knots on a strafing run, those Jerry cans wouldn't even slow the bullet down even if filled with sand let alone water.

Just to put into context, a spitfire round could penetrate up to 5 inches of solid steel plate when fired at strafing run speed.

Because of the muzzle velocity + a/c speed + angle of attack the heat of the round would vaporise the water ahead of it until submerged to a depth of 4 feet. It is only after this depth that the round would either break up or lose any effective injuring characteristics.

This is why a lot of sailors at Pearl died once in the water and during the Normandy invasion on the landings when getting out of the landing craft because they thought they would be safe just under the water.

Just my military input two Penneth lol.

Good point Merlin...but filling them with water or dirt...is still better than having those babies sitting atop the turret like that with gas in them ....even if it's diesel.....having a barrier that will help stop bullets.. from any direction is better than none at all...or even worse....one that is flammable or explosive

Diving into water is a 50% 50% deal.... if you can dive down enough and hold your breath there is a good chance you can dodge a bullet...most of the guys that died in the water were close to the surface...where the water has least resistance ....you ever shoot into water Merlin?....the bullet no matter what caliber will travel about three feet then drop totally to zero velocity ...reason ballistic testing tanks are less than six feet long

With that said...a 20mm cannon like what some Japanese attack aircraft British Hawker Tempests had is a different story...mostly because that's not a bullet ...The guys in Tiger Tanks were afraid of those lol

ALPHA

ps. no protection is ever 100%....I've seen guys get killed by a ricocheted frag ...so basically an indirect shot ...war is war...do you take cover or do you just stand out to be a target ?

[KTRob]

If anyone would like the dimensions for the Panzer IV mounting struts and the Schurzen here is a copy of the Pdf.
All measurements are in MM.
It is marked to show who drew it so as not to infringe on copyright.

schurzen for PzIV.pdf

Cheers Dietrich, I put a link up to those plans earlier in the thread, looking forward to making those.

[KTRob]

Very interesting built! I'll folow it with interest!

Thanks Eddy

[KTRob]

Nice work. Those doll house hinges look a little too large, but maybe it's just the close-up of the photo.

Be sure to cut out the vertical lines in the driver's port. If done carefully, it's an easy detail with a big payoff.

Thanks philipat. I plan to add a glass block to the vision port with some Perspex.

I think your right, that hinge doesn't sit right. I tried making one of my own and its not a pretty sight

The other problem is finding the tiny springs to go on the fenders.

Maybe I will just detail them to look better but not operable.