Late model Heng Long/Taigen Panzer 4 Cupola.

[jarndice]

I spent over 40 Euros buying Tamiya's sprue "C" for the late model Panzer 4 Cupola,
Of course Tamiya do not include all the parts you need on one sprue and you have to fork out another 40 Euros for Sprue "B",
To make matters worse Axels do not know when Sprue "B" will be in stock.
Looking closely at the Heng Long "Early" Cupola and the Tamiya "Late" Cupola the only obvious difference is the early has a hinge for the split hatch on each side whereas the late has one hinge for the one piece hatch,
The Hatch dimensions are the same in both the early and the late,
Carefully cut off the hinge that's nearest the centre of the Turret,
File the ridge off of the split hatch and smooth the area of the hatch that was hinged to the cupola,
Glue both parts of the split hatch together.
You now have a late model Panzer 4 Cupola and you have saved 80 Euros.

[PainlessWolf]

Good morning,
Jarndice! This is useful, time and money saving information. Thank you for posting it. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[Arnie_DK]

I made my own late hatch using a leftover hatch from an early Tiger and some home made hinges.
Its not perfect, but it's close enough

[jarndice]

A very nice job Arnie,
If you have a Metal PZ4 Cupola the split hatch hinges are bolted in place so as long as you have a small spanner it is easy to remove and then replace the now joined hatch segments into the hinge runners and lower it in place, tighten the nut and fill the opposite hole.