Stokesy's Desert Clanker - Trumpy 1/16 Pz IV Ausf.F2

[Stokesy44]

Cant make up my enfeebled mind as to which kit.

I was in the den last night in a vain attempt to decide but came away more confused than when I went in

I don't have a very big stash but I counted I had 8 contenders for the build. I wanted to show my support for the SIG so I've opened a thread anyway.

Feel free to mock but be gentle

[digger303]

Cant make up my enfeebled mind as to which kit.

I was in the den last night in a vain attempt to decide but came away more confused than when I went in

I don't have a very big stash but I counted I had 8 contenders for the build. I wanted to show my support for the SIG so I've opened a thread anyway.

Feel free to mock but be gentle

I know it's always the way when you can't get your bucket of sand to match the kits in the stash camo
Time to go shopping

[Twokidsnosleep]

Mock mock mock
How’s that??
Pick one and go mate

[tg18083]

What are the contenders?

[Tomcat64]

Seems you're not the first to face this dilemma...

[Stokesy44]

I know it's always the way when you can't get your bucket of sand to match the kits in the stash camo
Time to go shopping

Can't. I'm serving a 12 month no new kits ban

[Stokesy44]

What are the contenders?

I was just listing them in my head and I've realised I have another one

Thanks for nothing chum!

[Stokesy44]

Mock mock mock
How’s that??
Pick one and go mate

I know, I know! I'll pull myself together by the weekend Sir

[Stokesy44]

Seems you're not the first to face this dilemma...

landing pads for giant alien ships (big Stargate fan, me)

[tg18083]

What are the contenders?

I was just listing them in my head and I've realised I have another one

Thanks for nothing chum!

Play spin the bottle with the contenders, plenty of successful marriages started that way.

[ForbesHutton]

Open a poll and put it to a vote.

We have your best interest at heart.

Trust us, we're from the internet.

[Miiqqula]

Can't. I'm serving a 12 month no new kits ban

Wait... what
Have you been a naughty boy?

[digger303]

Just pick the one you've had the longest then you will feel you've made progress on the stash

[Stokesy44]

Open a poll and put it to a vote.

We have your best interest at heart.

Trust us, we're from the internet.

[Stokesy44]

Just pick the one you've had the longest then you will feel you've made progress on the stash

I think you might be on to something there matey. I shall reassess

[Stokesy44]

Can't. I'm serving a 12 month no new kits ban

Wait... what
Have you been a naughty boy?

Its more a case of telling myself I have a stash of beautiful kits, stop adding to them and start reducing them. Or else!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Can't. I'm serving a 12 month no new kits ban

Wait... what
Have you been a naughty boy?

Its more a case of telling myself I have a stash of beautiful kits, stop adding to them and start reducing them. Or else!!

It never works for me
I feel they multiply in the darkness of the closet

[Miiqqula]

Wait... what
Have you been a naughty boy?

Its more a case of telling myself I have a stash of beautiful kits, stop adding to them and start reducing them. Or else!!

It never works for me
I feel they multiply in the darkness of the closet

Doesn't work for me either. I promised myself last year that I wouldn’t buy any new models until I get the my stock reduced. Well, a loophole was immediately found . Sell ​​first, and then buy. What I did for a while, but that didn’t make any sense. After that, I immediately made a new promise, that is, don’t promise anything to yourself that you will be able to find a loophole

[Twokidsnosleep]

I am just gonna drop this in here for you.....

[Stokesy44]

Doesn't work for me either. I promised myself last year that I wouldn’t buy any new models until I get the my stock reduced. Well, a loophole was immediately found . Sell ​​first, and then buy. What I did for a while, but that didn’t make any sense. After that, I immediately made a new promise, that is, don’t promise anything to yourself that you will be able to find a loophole

I had a lawyer look over the document I signed and it seems there's a way out. Apparently, once you get to a certain age, you cant be held accountable for anything you say, do or sign. Its called the old git defense. Then there's always the old maxim of 'youth and enthusiasm will always be overcome by old age and treachery'.

[Tomcat64]

[aur0ra145]

The most true statement I've ever seen.

[Twokidsnosleep]

The most true statement I've ever seen.

Laughing pretty hard at this one Neil
Scalemates had saved my bacon from buying the same thing twice ....on numerous occasions

[Stokesy44]

I'm not there yet but I have done that with after market stuff.

Nearly bought a second resin engine cowling for an Eduard Spitfire, just glad I opened the box and found the one I already bought before I placed the order.

Similar but different, I bought an old Tamiya King Tiger on the cheap and it needed a zim set and PE grills. I have no recollection of buying the after market stuff but its there in the box anyway. I bought it from Amazon - apparently!

[digger303]

The most true statement I've ever seen.

Laughing pretty hard at this one Neil
Scalemates had saved my bacon from buying the same thing twice on numerous occasions

Scalemates is bloody marvelous Only bought 2 kits twice because I didn't check never again I hope. Because my stash is stacked 2 boxes high and 2 deep I have so many right at the back so Scalemates has a spot where you can say where the kit is and I mark my stack with the alphabet so I have it all filed away within easy picking reach. I love Scalemates it has saved my bacon, saved me time and made my life easier.

[DBMiller]

What's your secret? You have the biggest thread for this build and haven't picked out a kit yet!
I smell a (desert) rat!

[BigWall]

What's your secret? You have the biggest thread for this build and haven't picked out a kit yet!
I smell a (desert) rat!

Smoke and mirrors and he's got us all on his hook! LOL!

[Stokesy44]

What's your secret? You have the biggest thread for this build and haven't picked out a kit yet!
I smell a (desert) rat!

Smoke and mirrors and he's got us all on his hook! LOL!

The sad truth is I have not finished my current build yet and I cannot make my mind up about picking 1 of the 9 kits in my stash that qualify.......... Or

[digger303]

What's your secret? You have the biggest thread for this build and haven't picked out a kit yet!
I smell a (desert) rat!

Smoke and mirrors and he's got us all on his hook! LOL!

The sad truth is I have not finished my current build yet and I cannot make my mind up about picking 1 of the 9 kits in my stash that qualify.......... Or

the meds have worn off watch out

[Stokesy44]

the meds have worn off watch out

I AM NOT CRAZY. Poor people are crazy. I'm eccentric.

[tg18083]

You, Sir, are a big tease. If you are not careful, the lot of us will move on to on-line model personalities that are more 'receptive'.

[Stokesy44]

Here we are then. I'm now all in for the desert build.

Bought this 2 years ago during a Black Friday sale. Been itching to build it for a while now and the big 88mm I just finished has really wetted my apatite.



Wiki blurb

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.

The Panzer IV was the most numerous German tank and the second-most numerous German armored fighting vehicle of the Second World War, with some 8,500 built. The Panzer IV chassis was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, the Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun.

The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. The Panzer IV was originally designed for infantry support while the similar Panzer III would fight armoured fighting vehicles. However as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, the Panzer IV had more development potential with a larger turret ring to mount more powerful guns and took over the anti-tank role. The Panzer IV received various upgrades and design modifications, intended to counter new threats, extending its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process.

The Panzer IV was partially succeeded by the Panther medium tank, which was introduced to counter the Soviet T-34, although the Panzer IV continued as a significant component of German armoured formations to the end of the war. The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia, which saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War. 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, a production run in Axis forces only exceeded by the StuG III assault gun with 10,086

On 26 May 1941, mere weeks before Operation Barbarossa, during a conference with Hitler, it was decided to improve the Panzer IV's main armament. Krupp was awarded the contract to integrate again the 50 mm (1.97 in) Pak 38 L/60 gun into the turret. The first prototype was to be delivered by 15 November 1941.[29] Within months, the shock of encountering the Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks necessitated a new, much more powerful tank gun.[30] In November 1941, the decision to up-gun the Panzer IV to the 50-millimetre (1.97 in) gun was dropped, and instead Krupp was contracted in a joint development to modify Rheinmetall's pending 75 mm (2.95 in) anti-tank gun design, later known as 7.5 cm Pak 40 L/46.

Because the recoil length was too great for the tank's turret, the recoil mechanism and chamber were shortened. This resulted in the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43. When the new KwK 40 was loaded with the Pzgr. 39 armor-piercing shell, the new gun fired the AP shell at some 750 m/s (2,460 ft/s), a substantial 74% increase over the howitzer-like KwK 37 L/24 gun's 430 m/s (1,410 ft/s) muzzle velocity. Initially, the KwK 40 gun was mounted with a single-chamber, ball-shaped muzzle brake, which provided just under 50% of the recoil system's braking ability.[32] Firing the Panzergranate 39, the KwK 40 L/43 could penetrate 77 mm (3.03 in) of steel armor at a range of 1,830 m (6,000 ft).[33]

The longer 7.5 cm guns were a mixed blessing. In spite of the designers' efforts to conserve weight, the new weapon made the vehicle nose-heavy to such an extent that the forward suspension springs were under constant compression. This resulted in the tank tending to sway even when no steering was being applied, an effect compounded by the introduction of the Ausführung H in March 1943.

The Ausf. F tanks that received the new, longer, KwK 40 L/43 gun were temporarily named Ausf. F2 (with the designation Sd.Kfz. 161/1). The tank increased in weight to 23.6 tonnes (26.0 short tons). Differences between the Ausf. F1 and the Ausf. F2 were mainly associated with the change in armament, including an altered gun mantlet, internal travel lock for the main weapon, new gun cradle, new Turmzielfernrohr 5f optic for the L/43 weapon, modified ammunition stowage, and discontinuing of the Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung in favor of turret mounted Nebelwurfgerät. Three months after beginning production, the Panzer IV Ausf. F2 was renamed Ausf. G.

Sprue shots will follow tomorrow evening if all goes to plan.

[RangerNeil]

I think someone has caught the 1/16 scale bug!!
Woe unto you my son for down this path lieth poverty and the possibility of a frying pan round the back of the head from the wife!!

Seriously - the comfy chair is pulled up for this build and the cold beer and dorito's are at the ready as I am torn by a 1/16 T72... So I want very much to see how this goes together.

[Stokesy44]

I think someone has caught the 1/16 scale bug!!
Woe unto you my son for down this path lieth poverty and the possibility of a frying pan round the back of the head from the wife!!

Seriously - the comfy chair is pulled up for this build and the cold beer and dorito's are at the ready as I am torn by a 1/16 T72... So I want very much to see how this goes together.

You know you've got a job on your hands when the first thing you tackle is where to put the box during the build phase!

[digger303]

I think someone has caught the 1/16 scale bug!!
Woe unto you my son for down this path lieth poverty and the possibility of a frying pan round the back of the head from the wife!!

Seriously - the comfy chair is pulled up for this build and the cold beer and dorito's are at the ready as I am torn by a 1/16 T72... So I want very much to see how this goes together.

You know you've got a job on your hands when the first thing you tackle is where to put the box during the build phase!

You'll be able to sit in it and turn it into a peddle car. ..and go phew phew at the neighbors

[Stokesy44]

You'll be able to sit in it and turn it into a peddle car. ..and go phew phew at the neighbors

Nice one Digger. I think there will be a number of firsts with this beast.

So here it is.

First up is the suit case size box



The plastic is boxed up separately once you prize open the lid



And then its time to pick one's chin back up off the floor after seeing they didnt leave much room inside.






Lower and upper hull and turret - spot the nice metal barrel in with the upper hull .



Tracks, broken down as track links, guide horns and track pins - I think they're handed too - should be a giggle



PE - mostly interior stuff for the ammo stowage and radio mounting frames




Actual rubber rims for the road wheels



Nice Trumpy instructions. decal sheet shows all the stencils for the ammo. Numbers and badges are on the other side



Looks like the engine is up first. Hope to break ground on this beast tomorrow evening.

[digger303]

mY GOD IT'S FREAKY HUGE

[bfrd]

Woah, that is a big bit of kit.

[Josebagasteiz]

Great choice !!!

Another tank that I love.

hope to see you start.

[BigWall]

And the hook has been set!

I'm ready for the ride. This is going to be cool!

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Guys - yes, its a tad on the large side of the kit spectrum

Started on sections 1 and 2 of the instructions and built up the engine. Excellent fit all round. A bit of ambiguity in the instructions as to left and right sides of the engine but I got there in the end.







Just need to put a couple of caps on the left and right covers and its done. The caps were on another sprue and I couldn't face looking for them!

I also dug into the track bags and had a little look at putting the tracks together. One of the reasons I bought this version of the Pz IV was it has no side skirts. I wanted the tracks on full display.

The bits come off the sprues easily with minimal clean up. The track pin went in fine and tension holds it in. The size makes them easy to handle so no drama





Next up is the rather stunning looking generator unit which sits next to the engine. A job for Saturday me thinks

[Tomcat64]

That looks great already mate - lovely big parts!

[RangerNeil]

Loving the detail on that engine - do they provide drive belt(s) for those pulleys too or do you have to work a solution out yourself??

[Kevthemodeller]

Off to a good start mate, this is a whopper of a kit

You may find This interesting and of help.

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Guys

I can only model during office hours because the crane driver knocks off at 5.30 and he winches the sprues out of the box!

[Stokesy44]

Off to a good start mate, this is a whopper of a kit

You may find This interesting and of help.

Thanks Kev. I have the links for those vids saved. Its an awesome build and he does a great job

[digger303]

Thanks Guys

I can only model during office hours because the crane driver knocks off at 5.30 and he winches the sprues out of the box!

[aur0ra145]

That is a honkin' big tank kit!

[DBMiller]

Damn! You're going to need a real desert for that thing!

[Josebagasteiz]

An excellent appearance of the engine. You have some excellent aftermarkers on the AFV Modeller website for this Trumpeter 1/16 Panzer IV engine, as well as the rest of the Tank.

Regarding the links of the chain the appearance is magnificent, without marks of expulsion of the mold on any side