Tamiya Jagdpanzer IV

[tomhugill]

Good morning,
This whole cheapening of the kits as time goes by can probably be laid squarely at the door of Tamiya Marketing and Research. They have gotten the idea ( probably correctly ) from a survey somewhere that most of these kits are built and then left to collect dust on a shelf.

This is exactly what I think.

I think more likely they looked at the JS2, leopard 2, Pershing, type 10 etc and saw that plastic idlers work perfectly well on these, so would be acceptable on this. Idlers aren't undergoing the same forces as sprocket teeth. Yes it might smack a little of cheapness but I bet it has minimal bearing on the tanks running.

[jtracks]

You work quick!

I'm just about to break out the IV!

You're going to enjoy the P IV kit. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[jtracks]

Good morning,
This whole cheapening of the kits as time goes by can probably be laid squarely at the door of Tamiya Marketing and Research. They have gotten the idea ( probably correctly ) from a survey somewhere that most of these kits are built and then left to collect dust on a shelf.

This is exactly what I think.

I think more likely they looked at the JS2, leopard 2, Pershing, type 10 etc and saw that plastic idlers work perfectly well on these, so would be acceptable on this. Idlers aren't undergoing the same forces as sprocket teeth. Yes it might smack a little of cheapness but I bet it has minimal bearing on the tanks running.

I took it outside for a stroll this morning in the dirt. Everything came back in one piece including the idlers.

[jtracks]

.... ..... .......

[tomhugill]

Great work joe she's a beaut!

[Ad Lav]

Love that - swivel mg cover!

Welds look good!

[jtracks]

Love that - swivel mg cover!

Welds look good!

Thanks for the compliments guys. I guess I need to wait 24 hours before priming on the Milliput???

A couple of things worth mentioning. I will have to add a connector to the on/ off switch so that the top hull can be completely removed. And the hatches were a pain. My advice to anyone who plans on having them open and close, glue up the hinges, close and tape them down as the glue dries or they won't lay flat. I had to re-do one of them because it wouldn't lay flat with the roof surface. Other than that, it's going pretty well.

[jtracks]

Love that - swivel mg cover!

Welds look good!

[Ad Lav]

Probably a good idea - 24 hours minimum.

I'm really tempted by this kit but put off by the price hike for what is essentially a panzer IV.

[PainlessWolf]

Joe,
You are doing a bang-up job on this kit. It does have a lot of thoughtful little updates that Tamiya has added. I'm building a Tamiya Tiger for a very good friend and expect to have my own one day as well. I'm not down on the kits, they are fantastic fun to build and exacting in design. I can only conjecture as to why they are using more plastic, perhaps as Tom says, because they can and not hurt the running capabilities of the tank. My only issue is the greater cost associated with it. Following along.
regards,
Painless