12th SS Pz Div Panzer IV Ausf H

[Ex_Pat_Tanker]

I don't think I've ever been quite as pleased with a model as this one (ok, so the turret numerals could use a touch-up on the sides that face away from the camera :-\ ). Shurzen is my own design (available on my members section), the base vehicle a Heng Long Pz IV F1 and the turret hatch and mantlet/gun assembly is from Modelino.

The tank is modelled after 615 of the 12th SS Pz Div, just prior to D-Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-297-1722-23,_Im_Westen,_Panzer_IV.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-297-1722-27,_Im_Westen,_Panzer_IV.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-297-1722-24,_Im_Westen,_Panzer_IV.jpg

Hopefully I'll get some pictures of her battling tomorrow... The IR emitter needs some tweaking, but I hope to have that ironed out by the close of play
You lucky folks going to Cobbaton (and Peterborough the following weekend) will get to see her up close
(thats if she survives the trip! :-\ )

Mart

[mcevoyi]

mart

i like that alot ..... very nice and again love th zimmerit and athe extra armour .....

[grompix]

Nice work Mart. I particularly like how you have made the schurtzen - very effective. I'm going to have a go at that with my PZIVH shortly so seeing yours helps a lot.

Cheers
Chris 

[Mackem]

Great work Mart, the modified 'SS' style schurzen are excellent. Enjoy the battle.

Cheers
John

[Ex_Pat_Tanker]

the hull schurzen is detachable, just needs a couple of little strips of masking tape to hold it in place - tho I've not run it in long grass yet...  :-\

The first Pic shows the lower mount brackets (or Hooks for the lack of a better term) and the loops they engage on the back of the schurzen panel. I made mine as one piece out of (thicker than scale) styrene sheet as I wanted something robust enought to battle with, and tho I've seen people try metal sheet instead they usually report their receivers are adversely effected by this.

The second pic shows the schurzen 'hooked on', the third shows it pressed into place - I tried to use the 're-enforcement bar' as a locator - the upper brackets are such a tight that friction holds the skirts in place, the masking tape is a 'belt and braces' solution to take care of any vibration, etc. The whole idea is that if the tank ever runs into something solid, the schurzen can flex or detatch without breaking.

BTW, thanks for the comments guys - praise from you three is praise indeed

Mart

[edelweiss3945]

very nice m8. have you tried putting a burnt umber oil wash on her,it would really high light all that hard work. you could use one of mig productions tri colour wash too. would really set of the zimmerit. your turret numbers are excellent very faithful to the original photo.

[tankman]

Very nice Panzer IV, one can see a lot of time and effort have gone into this model. Well done
Alan

[Ex_Pat_Tanker]

Another Pic, this time with The SturmPanzer from the 12th's sister unit StPz Abt 217.

[littletankman]

Hi Mart,
  Love its an excelent tank. I shall look forward to seeing you when your in Pboro . My tanks wont have the batle system yet as Im still out of work but gotta get something sorted . Want to add recoil to .

[Ex_Pat_Tanker]

@ Edelwiess3945
Thanks for the comments, but I'm not brave enough to try weathering yet! The limit of my weathering ability is to rust the exhaust using a coat of testors rust red and covering it in baking soda. I hope to be able to mix a concoction of black, rust and a dash of sliver to finish it all off (my late Tiger's exhausts are currently detached, so I'll experiment on them...)
I want to get the turret numbers right (they could use a little touch up to even-out the white borders) and then I'll give it a coat of Tamiya flat clear to seal it all in. After that I'll hopefully have a water proof surface I can wipe 'failed experiments' off of I think I'll also need to upgrade my compressor and airbrush as well - my el-cheapo ($80!) set is ok for learning and doing basic colour schemes, but it's not that great for doing the detail stuff...

Andy,
If you are still using the Heng long 27MHz S&S system, you should have a look at RCCommand's latest offering - $95 (~60 quid) for his version of the DBC, hooked up to a better sound chip and using the Heng Long IR receiver tower (presumably suitably modified to work with 940nm IR systems). I've already exhausted all 6 legal channels on that frequency, so the tank's I'll be sending over will all be 2.4GHz.