Panzer IV Thoma shields (screen schurzen)

[capt midnight]

I kind of took a short break from my Jagdpanzer IV project to do these up for a buddy. I had built and painted the PIV a while back and am just now getting around to doing the schurzen. My winter PIV has the plate schurzen on it, so he was interested in the screens. Well, here's what I've got so far after a couple of days knocking it around.

Here's the hull with the screen mounting brackets installed.

hull with brackets

close up of bracket

This is the first screen I finished. Testing the fit and appearance.

front screen

I managed to make up the front and rear screens for both sides. Just have the middle screens to make now.

four screens finished

This is what I came up with for the mounting brackets. This one is the first one, kind of a test run. It soldered up just fine, so I might just use it, too.

mounting bracket

I'll have a plate on the outside of the screen secured to the bracket on the inside with straight pins soldered in place. After I get this lot sorted out, I'm planning on starting the lower mounting brackets.

Bill

[Model Builder 4]

Great work Bill I'm really liking the look of that, I have the tamiya pzlV with just the turret armoured plates and was contemplating a set of these for it, I'll be following along with your progress

Cheers, Lee.

[c.rainford73]

Bill these are spectacular my friend always preferred these over the plates. Well done

[capt midnight]

Thanks, guys. I figured I'd start with the screens, but I do still have the plates around the turret to do also. Didn't get too much done today. I managed to get all the mounting brackets and backing plates made up. Just have a zillion holes to drill for the pin "rivets".

Just a couple of quick notes about the construction so far...

1. I used metal window screen material for the shields. Solder doesn't want to stick to it, so what I did was sandwich it between two pieces of brass, with flux. I clamped the brass pieces in position, then let the solder flow between them. I also did some soldering on the screen side, just to make sure that the screen was trapped good.

2. The screen pieces will distort diagonally, so make sure everything is square before you solder.

3. I know that the full size shields didn't have the vertical end caps on them except for the rear end, but I put them on to keep the screen from coming apart. They are on a running tank, after all.

More to come as I make some progress.

Thanks for looking!

Bill

[capt midnight]

Managed to get the last of the shields finished up today. I'm hoping to get some of the mounts attached to them tomorrow. Here's a couple of shots of the shields. Still have some clean up to do on the middle panels.

Oh, yeah. You'll have to overlook the slightly oversized temporary clamps.

Bill

[HERMAN BIX]

Real nice work Captain

A word of constructive criticism, on my computer screen the front & rear edges look to be a bit far forward, and a bit far back.
If its not too late or indeed just a hassle, the front edge should be about in line with the rear of the drive sprocket hub cap, and the same for the rear-about in line with the front of the idler cap.
Or, the picture is just making it look like this !..........
I was fortunate to get a roll of bronze screen that folks use to restore older homes, and it solders a treat.

Your package of Pz/Jpz IV goodies went today, but I can easily get another one away soon with some bronze mesh in it if you like.
If not for this one, but another if you are in the mood !!

[capt midnight]

Real nice work Captain

A word of constructive criticism, on my computer screen the front & rear edges look to be a bit far forward, and a bit far back.
If its not too late or indeed just a hassle, the front edge should be about in line with the rear of the drive sprocket hub cap, and the same for the rear-about in line with the front of the idler cap.
Or, the picture is just making it look like this !..........
I was fortunate to get a roll of bronze screen that folks use to restore older homes, and it solders a treat.

Your package of Pz/Jpz IV goodies went today, but I can easily get another one away soon with some bronze mesh in it if you like.
If not for this one, but another if you are in the mood !!

Thanks for the offer of the screen, Herman. I bet I can find some around here. I'll have to look and find some to keep on hand. You never know when you'll need about 2 meters of brass screen. I really appreciate the box of goodness from down under. Can't wait!

I checked the screens and aligned them more into their final positions. The front ends line up just back of the center of the drive sprocket, and the rear end is just past the center of the idler. They will shorten up by a couple of mm when I trim off the excess brass strip. I went back and looked at the pictures again, and they really make them look a lot more off than they really are. Hopefully in the next day or two I'll be able to get the mounting brackets on the screens and start on the lower latches.

Bill

[HERMAN BIX]

Been meaning to ask, have you decided on a colour for the pegs !!

[capt midnight]

Been meaning to ask, have you decided on a colour for the pegs !!

I'm thinking about a natural wood finish. Should look pretty good if I can get the look right!

Managed to get the brackets onto the shields today. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

Bill

[capt midnight]

Got a bit more done today. I decided to do away with the pegs. Couldn't get the paint to look as much like wood as the wooden pegs.

I tried to get some photos lined up square to the front and back end. The back ends look a bit long, but they are pretty close to reference pictures I could find. I checked with the guy I'm building it for and he was happy with them the way they are. They do look a bit different in person.

Back end of shields

Front end of shields

And here's a full on side view. If you notice, they look even longer in this shot.

Full side view

For the lower braces I used some round mild steel rod. I wanted to find a middle ground between scale look being able to run it without ripping everything off. It looks like the shields are a bit far off of the hull, but they are pretty close to the ostketten treads.

lower braces

I thought it might make it easier to repair a slipped tread if you could get under the shields, so I figured I'd give a try at making the lower latches operational. Here's the first test latch I made.

Test latch

Everything seemed to work pretty well, so I made up the rest.

Completed latches

Here's a close up of a couple of the completed latches.

Close up

I'm gonna try and get some of these mounted onto the shields tomorrow.

Thanks for looking!

Bill