Sometimes, getting what you wished for isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. While I’m not a hardcore armour modeller in the sense that I go out and get all kinds of fancy aftermarket stuff, I still like my tanks to at least be half-decent kits to start with. I also like them in small scale, so that’s why I’ve gravitated towards the old Matchbox and Fujimi 1/76 models. They’re small, well-detailed enough and simple enough to be fun.

However, I was hoping I’d be able to find a Flakpanzer IV for my collection. I hadn’t been able to find a record of such a kit in 1/76, so you can imagine how pleased I was to find out that there was indeed a model of it in this old scale! The kit I found was made in Japan by Arii, and it was even a “diorama set” as it proclaimed on the box!

The problem is that the kit is not quite up to the standards I’m used to on armour, and as you have read, my standards aren’t particularly high. Follow the link below to see what this kit is like, and why you should never buy one, given the chance!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/arii-176-flakpanzer-iv-wirbelwind-oob/

thats so cool how it comes with its own diorama.

It would be cool, if the diorama, or the kit, were half-arsed. As you can see from my writeup and the pictures in it, though, that's not really the case.

If it had been properly executed, though, it would have been cool, especially since there are no other 1/76 Wirbelwinds.

Thanks for the "warning". I don't think I've ever seen an in-depth look at an ARII kit! I suppose you could use a donor Pz IV kit and just use the turret. Or just give up and build 1/72 as well...

I guess the plastic base is the best part of the kit.

Thanks for the review.

I noticed when I got this kit that there wasn't much out there on Arii kits. I thought it might be interesting to show what they were like and share the pain, so to speak!

It's a shame it's not a nicer kit, since the subject is cool.

You're right, I could, and likely will someday, build the 1/72.

At least we all know that Arii armour is to be avoided, now, and as they say, "Knowing is half the battle", right?

To be fair ARII and Edai are about 40+ years old. Superb fun back in the day and I made a bunch of their dio sets up to wargame with when growing up, still have a Wirblewind and a couple of PzIVs which I keep for nostalgia.

For a more serious model in 1/76th Milicast make a Wirblewind, Ostwind and a couple of Mobelwagons ....

cheers
Brent

These kits are from the early 1970s and the kits were reissued so many times, the molds are totally shot. You got one of the last iterations so the kit was well on its way to the dustbin.

I grew up with the first generation of Roco which make this look detailed
So it and its mates were welcome with my stable of old Airfix.

Back on the day what you did was kit bash this onto an Airfix hull. Before the molds degraded this was the best flak quad 20 out there being more in scale than any other.

If you find one in a Grip or Eidai box you'll be in for a pleasant surprise as the kit will look much crisper.

Okay, that's making more sense.

Looking at it, it was just so tired, soft and overally poorly-done that I figured either the moulds were poop or pooped, hard to tell.

I have no problems with old kits; Farpros are no worry for me, and they (or their Aoshima equivalents) are a tonne of work too. Thing is, I'm comparing this to Fujimi armour of the early-mid '70s, and it's looking very sad indeed.

It would be very interesting to compare this to the original issue, to see how badly things have decayed!

Any idea when this kit is from? I can't find any date on the kit anywhere.

According to the Henk site the Arii white box are from the early 1990s. An Arii black box is the from the 1980s. The original Eidai releases were in the early 1970s. My local hobby shop had them on a shelf by the door along with the brand new series one Matchbox kits.

The kits have not been in release since the early 2000s because the molds are so tired.

Hey Adam, the originals weren't a lot better, I have some bits from the searchlight and radar sets still on the sprue and they all have flash while the PZIV tracks are skewed the same as your kit.

They were really probably aimed at getting beginners into modelling being the super fast builds with the mini dioramas the Japanese kits of the day seemed to like, Bandai and Nitto being the biggest proponents of them.

Fujimi don't really compare to Edai/Grip/ArII as they are kits while the later fast builds, the PSC and S-Model of their day.

cheers
Brent

Funny, the Sdkfz 7, Krupp boxers and Halftracks I have were all flash free and well molded in their original Eidai incarnations. The Kubelwagen and armored car I got in Arii white box were awful and the Pzkpfw IV very rough and took a lot of tlc but like I said they were a big improvement on first generation ROCOs from my Aurora Anzio sets.