DAK Pz IV Ausf G Build

[HERMAN BIX]

Hi, If you own a "PIN VISE" just lightly file a flat into the handle of the towing pin (PINTLE) then using a small bit in your PIN VISE drill through then follow through with a bit big enough to allow the chain through, I am assuming you have a PIN VISE, if you do not I urge you to get one ASAP, It will change your build for the better, E-BAY or AMAZON are the places I would look for one, they often are accompanied by the offer of a pack of drill bits, this is an offer worth taking, I would make one important point, once you have a PIN VISE then PE inevitably follows, if you do feel that urge I have found that "VOYAGER" is a little easier and cheaper than "ABER". shaun

Jeez Mr Jarndice, thats almost like the D'vinci Code !!

[jarndice]

Herman I find it difficult to believe that you don't use a pin vise, it really does change the way you build Tanks, the amount of detail that can be incorporated is something else and as long as you have a decent magnifier it isn't difficult. mind you it does cut about twenty years off your life. shaun

[philipat]

ah yes..."pintle". that's the word that was escaping me.

I have a pin vise and small bits. I may have to try the flattening thing.

[edpanzer]

Great build really enjoying it, please excuse the noobie question but styrene is it polystyrene?

Eddie

[jarndice]

Eddie, Yes is the answer to your question and never apologise for asking questions, How do you think I found out the answer? shaun

[edpanzer]

Cheers Shaun

[philipat]

I’ve done some of the detailing on the front. The two shackles just didn’t look right to me. So, I checked and it seems that HL got their basic dimensions correct, or at least pretty close. I don’t have any scale drawings with an attached scale. So, I used some photos from the Munster Museum and Aberdeen displays to get some proportions. But, they still looked a little off. I think that was because they lacked a certain beefiness. So, I added some beefiness.

- Filled the original pintle hole in the brackets with 2-mm styrene rod. Cut it off and sand it smooth.

- Thickened the protruding portion of the brackets with 1.2-mm styrene sheet.

- Re-drill the pintle holes with a #31 bit (~3 mm). In the end the 2-mm styrene rod disappeared in the new holes. But, without it I wouldn’t have been able to drill the holes. I moved their center forward by about 1-mm so that there is 1.5-2 mm space between the forward edge of the hole and the bracket.

- Extended the inner bracket supports with 1-mm styrene square rod.

- Built pintles to match the rear pintle.
In building the pintles I realized that they needed their collar and that I have a set of plastic, 3-mm spacer washers of varying thicknesses. I used 1-mm thick spacer washers as the collar for each pintle (and the rear pintle, too). I used to plastic cement to secure it all together.

- Added a retaining chain to each pintle. I did that by filing a small flat spot and drilling a .65-mm hole through the brass rod in the handle. The chain’s ring is a staple rounded and soldered together. The chain is brass and has 15 links per inch. I used a staple as a loop to secure it to the bracket on the underside.
Note: seriously consider the decision to add chains when drilling through brass rod. I used a combination of a micro hand drill (http://www.micromark.com/micro-hand-drill,7045.html) and pin vise. Took several hours over the course of 4 days and 5 days later my fingertips still hurt. Looks good...but not a quick detail to add.

- Added 2-mm conical rivets to the tow bracket. Same rivets I used on the gun mantlet and rear plate of the upper hull.

- Added a groove along the extensions of the side hulls. I noticed on all of the photos of the Munster Museum and Aberdeen PzIVs that the front plate (non-reinforced) had a groove between the front glacis plate and the side hull. So, I did this with a Tamiya panel scriber. Great tool for this (and cutting out hatches or styrene)! Most of it won’t be visible after I add the 30-mm reinforcing plate, but it will add some depth to the tow brackets and the upper portion of the front.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Evening,
The Devil is in the details or Heaven, depending on your outlook they say. All I can say is that I am extremely pleased and amazed by the level of scratch detail you are achieving on this Panzer. Looking forward to the paint and following along.
regards,
Painless

[HERMAN BIX]

Each model of H/L tank has had its standout benchmark of builds by which to aspire to.............

THIS, is the benchmark for the venerable IV

[philipat]

Too kind. But, I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the build. I find that I keep getting sucked into different pieces of it.

I’ve done some more work on detailing the rear of the tank. To make the photo and text viewing a bit simpler, I'll break it into two posts.

- Installed 1.2-mm rivets for auxiliary muffler’s armored cover at the point where the pipe exits the hull.

- Redid brackets securing the muffler so that they wrap around it better, particularly at the bottom.

- Bored out the exhaust pipe for the main exhaust. I drilled it out incrementally finishing with a #18 drill bit. Now it looks more like a metal pipe and less like a plastic pipe.

- Drilled out the drains on the idlers with a 1.05-mm drill bit. HL molded these on reversed. As a result, the drain pipe is above the handle. Unfortunately, these are molded on and would require major surgery to correct them. So, I guess I’ll just have to live with them as they are.

- Corrected the brackets next to the rear tow hooks. HL’s brackets lack the bolt heads and they’re angled away from the upper hull. So, I used a 5-mm styrene triangle (by Tamiya) to redo those angles. The triangle is an isosceles triangle; so, it already has the built-in right angle and matches the width of HL’s mounting plate. The bolt heads are represented with 1.2-mm rivets.