GUP 1:12 Panzer IV Ausf D...

[43rdRecceReg]

Just found this on Ebay, quite by chance. I must say the details are not at all bad, even though the rear roller might be slightly wrong. Doubtless, the General's eye would have been caught by one of these, although the tank doesn't appear to come equipped with any cartoon girls...

Girls und Panzer Pz IV Ausf D 1:12...

Girls und Panzer 1-12 Pz IV Ausf D.jpg (78.79 KiB) Viewed 4386 times

Here's the link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/GIRLS-UND-PANZ ... 1838687490
At the price of a Trumpeter, maybe the Trumpeter would make more sense..

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
I think I remember hearing that the General has one of these and RC'd it. Other personages of note may as well. *Looks at Sassgrunt* ;o)
regards and a great find, Roy,
Painless

[43rdRecceReg]

Good afternoon,
I think I remember hearing that the General has one of these and RC'd it. Other personages of note may as well. *Looks at Sassgrunt* ;o)
regards and a great find, Roy,
Painless

Ahhhh...yes, not much escapes the all-seeing eyes located on that wee Island in the middle of the Pacific, Painless.

[43rdRecceReg]

..and here it is again. From this shot it's possible to glean an idea of it's actual size.

Figma panzer IV 1:12 - Girls und Panzer model

This shot came from this review site:
http://www.gunjap.net/site/?p=248973
The model looks to have lots of potential..

[PainlessWolf]

Hello again!
It is easily almost the size of the 1/6 scale Stuart that I am working on. The 'General' noted that it was quite large.
regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

This is a very cool looking piece. I have always been fond of the early Panzer iv variants maybe a future project for me.

[43rdRecceReg]

Hello again!
It is easily almost the size of the 1/6 scale Stuart that I am working on. The 'General' noted that it was quite large.
regards,
Painless

Yes, I may even invest in one myself if they're still available here. The very fact that they have the correct angle on the rear engine deck, and correct engine event louvre configuration already ticks some of the crucial boxes: the ones leading to that almost irresistible 'buy!' urge.
If it's good enough for the General; that's recommendation enough for me, despite being a behind the scenes one...

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
If I did not already have a 1/16 scale early PZ IV in the closet awaiting a build into either a detailed early or DAK version, I would be seriously tempted by one of these.
regards,
Painless

[sassgrunt]

Actually, the General surprised me with one of these as a Christmas present a couple years ago; knowing how much I like early Panzer IV's, (and how much I lusted after this one in particular). He bought himself the later long-barreled version, which didn't appeal to me as much. It is 49cm long by 24cm wide, and they put a lot of effort into getting the details correct. Drive sprocket and idler: solid (not louvered) engine deck; smoke discharger on top of the early exhaust muffler, and even the skinny turret traverse muffler of the D model as well. Those are details that even the 1/16 manufacturers have trouble with. Hatches all open for the figures, (yes, there ARE optional G&P figures, but they cost as much as the tank itself)!
Roadwheels have hollow backs, and I find it is more trouble than it's worth to try to remove and correct them. Along with the roadwheels, my only real gripe with it is the giant rubber band tracks. Not very flexible, and they don't look all that great anyway. I opted to use a set of 1/16 KV-1 tracks, and cut the ends of each link on a diagonal. They don't look quite right, but it takes you awhile to figure out why not, (and by then, it will have moved on, I hope). The only real problem I had with that idea was removing the drive sprockets (you have to destroy the hub to get at the retaining screw, because they must have hired the Heng Long glue monkey to install them.
Although the General paints his vehicles up in strict G&P schemes; I have always wanted to build a model of the 2nd Panzer Division tank that claimed to have sunk a destroyer off the port of Boulogne, France on 23 May 1940. They painted a cartoon destroyer on the back wall of the turret, and I always thought it was cool. (Of course, there is quite a bit of skepticism over what actually sunk the ship, as sources claimed it was also attacked by JU-87 Stukas at the same time). Hey, whatever - I like the bravado that the tank crew showed in even going up against it!

[43rdRecceReg]

Actually, the General surprised me with one of these as a Christmas present a couple years ago; knowing how much I like early Panzer IV's, (and how much I lusted after this one in particular). He bought himself the later long-barreled version, which didn't appeal to me as much. It is 49cm long by 24cm wide, and they put a lot of effort into getting the details correct. Drive sprocket and idler: solid (not louvered) engine deck; smoke discharger on top of the early exhaust muffler, and even the skinny turret traverse muffler of the D model as well. Those are details that even the 1/16 manufacturers have trouble with. Hatches all open for the figures, (yes, there ARE optional G&P figures, but they cost as much as the tank itself)!
Roadwheels have hollow backs, and I find it is more trouble than it's worth to try to remove and correct them. Along with the roadwheels, my only real gripe with it is the giant rubber band tracks. Not very flexible, and they don't look all that great anyway. I opted to use a set of 1/16 KV-1 tracks, and cut the ends of each link on a diagonal. They don't look quite right, but it takes you awhile to figure out why not, (and by then, it will have moved on, I hope). The only real problem I had with that idea was removing the drive sprockets (you have to destroy the hub to get at the retaining screw, because they must have hired the Heng Long glue monkey to install them.
Although the General paints his vehicles up in strict G&P schemes; I have always wanted to build a model of the 2nd Panzer Division tank that claimed to have sunk a destroyer off the port of Boulogne, France on 23 May 1940. They painted a cartoon destroyer on the back wall of the turret, and I always thought it was cool. (Of course, there is quite a bit of skepticism over what actually sunk the ship, as sources claimed it was also attacked by JU-87 Stukas at the same time). Hey, whatever - I like the bravado that the tank crew showed in even going up against it!

Thanks for the insight, Mike, and the mini-review. By the way, that was a very nice gesture on the part of the General!. Apart from the running gear downsides you've described here, it looks as if this would be an ideal platform
for a larger scale Pz IV, without having to go as large (and expensive) as 1:8 and 1:6. I agree with you, the short barrelled 'D' has something about it, that seems to be lacking a little in later iterations (F2 onwards). It's a sort of un-evolved quality to it that find appealing; sort of unrefined in engineering terms (like those primitive WW1 tractors..). That's why I like the Cromwell so much with those bolted on armour plates on the Turret.