About 8 years ago I made an aborted attempt to return to plastic modeling. In the course of a few months I started 3 armor models--a Tamiya 1/35 Panzer II (completed in 2006), a Tamiya 1/35 Sd.kfz.223 Armored Car (completed in 2008), and a Tamiya 1/35 Panzer IV Ausf.J. They all ended up in storage. In 2006 I made another go at the hobby. I am currently on a personal campaign to improve my painting skills and try new things, so it's time to take the old girl off the shelf and give her some attention.



We join this program already in progress...



The first two photos show what I found in the box--an assembled hull with 6 of the bogie trucks in place, some etch fenders, and various detail parts installed. One fender and one tool bracket broke off in storage.

Back in 2001 the Tamiya Panzer IV Ausf.J was considered one of the best and most accurate models available. A lot has changed since then, but she still has good bones. I want to get this model to the painting stage quickly, but I will also make some corrections along the way.



To get the ball rolling I cleaned up two sprues of suspension parts. The hubcaps on Panzer IVs vary from mark to mark and even vehicle to vehicle so I checked references and confirmed that Tamiya provides the right parts. The hub on the bogie swing arm also varies, but the Tamiya kit matches pictures I have of a Panzer IV Ausf.H.



The drive sprockets incorporate a soft plastic bearing and attach to the final drives by friction. I replaced the bearings with styrene tube stock, which will allow me to glue the sprockets in place.



Back in 2001 things like open sponsons did not concern me. Now they do. If started from scratch I would fill that open wedge with styrene and then putty all the nooks and crannies. This would preserve the full depth of the fenders. Brass replacements would also work. In this case I want to keep costs down and move quickly so I will panel over the problem with very thin plastic card. A quick test showed that the card will leave some depth.



In preparation for the sponson fillers I shaved off all protrusions under the fenders. I did not bother filling the knockout pin marks or other trenches since the fillers will hide them. Before eliminating the skirt guides I used a pencil to mark their locations on the sides of the fenders.



After taking some measurements I cut out the sponson fillers using 0.012" styrene sheet. Other measurements in millimeters. Each filler consists of two parts, with the short section filling the kinked area at the front of the fender. I would recommend making them a little wide and long, then shaving them back for an exact fit. When test fitting the fillers, I also discovered that the hull pan walls bow inward at the center.



Using a piece of thick sprue I made a spanner to stretch the hull walls. This required careful test fitting to make sure that the spanner did not push out the hull walls too little or too much. After gluing the spanner in place and securing the ends with some thick styrene wedges I installed the sponson floors. I used Testors liquid cement to glue around the perimeter of each filler. I did not use any glue down the center because I did not want the thin styrene to melt and sag into a knockout pin hole or trench. I finished off the job by putting thick styrene strips inside the hull where the sponson floor meets the hull wall.



This build uses an old etch set from Eduard. Eduard tends to simplify parts for ease of build (Smart Etch?) as shown in the two pictures above. The left image shows the Eduard left front fender piece in place. The right image shows the left rear fender piece from DML's Premium Porsche Tiger. On the Eduard set the two hinges and hinge pin are flattened. I mention this because I will substitute some etch pieces for spares and scratch built items as I go. The tool clamps come immediately to mind.

That's it for now. I still need to pick a prototype to emulate so feel free to throw out some suggestions. I would love to try an urban winter scheme, with angular whitewash patches over three color camo. The question is, did any early Js (as depicted in this kit) survive that long, and if so, with what unit?

-Doug

Hi doug,
That looks excellent, Can't wait to see it finished.

Matt

Hi Doug your making excellant progress on that old tamiya kit it's looking good so far keep up the good work i too can't wait to see more pics

Nice work, keep it up. Will be following your progress. All the best and have fun!!

Darryl

Welcome aboard Matt, Lyndon, and Darryl. Sit back, relax, grab your favorite umbrella drink and enjoy the cruise!



I do not like band tracks and traded them away. Instead, I will use these individual link tracks from a DML Panzer IV Ausf. J. Two knockout pin marks on each link need filling, though some stood proud. I keep a small bottle of Squadron White Putty, mixed with Testors Liquid Cement, for jobs like this. The pre-thinned putty quickly and easily fills small holes, seams, and gouges. It also works great for making weld beads.



The putty takes at least a full day to cure, so I filled all the holes and put the links aside for Sunday.



I glued the hubcaps in place and mounted up all the suspension components for painting. The kit comes with two styles of idler wheel, both appropriate for an Ausf. J. Since I have not yet picked a prototype to model, I will paint both.



The hollow bogie arms need filling. This job requires a filler with more body, that will cure quickly regardless of thickness--Milliput. I mixed up a small glob, rolled it on paper into thin ropes, and worked pieces of the rope into the holes using a dull Xacto knife blade. I will come back and wet sand the putty tomorrow.



The turret components built up quickly and easily. I scraped off the rain gutter on the mantlet and locking hasps on the stowage bin, as etch parts replace those features. The turret halves, barrel halves, and muzzle break halves were glued with Testors Liquid Cement, smeared on both pieces and then smashed together. If done properly, the liquid cement melts a thin layer of plastic on both sides of the weld. When subjected to sufficient pressure, this melted plastic oozes out of the seam, forming a mushroom shaped weld. When dry, sanding down the plastic weld should reveal a perfect seam, with no requirement for further filling.

I wanted to position the gunners visor in the open position, but did not have the required parts and left it closed. Brass wire will replace the hand holds above each turret door. I have no intention of using the kit skirts, but I need the parts as templates to make new ones.

From here on the build should get more interesting. Will our intrepid hero install the etched parts successfully? Will the evil zimmerit monster make a mess of everything? Tune in to the next episode and find out!

-Doug

Looks good,

Hope you're enjoying getting back into the hobby.

Be aware that you'll need to add zimmerit to a vehicles of this production period. You can add it yourself with Tamiya polyester putty and their zimmerit rake or use an aftermarket set from Atak (resin) or Eduard (pe metal).

Keep us updated.

with regards to zimmerit, i'd say that it's best to buy tamiya basic type putty. i tried plaster and plastisizer on my tiger and it never really worked out. you can easily make your own tools. i've also heard of people using milliput to make zimmerit, but i've yet to try it.

[ [urlhttps://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=forums/131182&page=1#1088248]] (Tiger1 with Zimmerit)is a excellent threat to Zimmerit , Hope this helps Cheers Geraint. By the way I'm watching with intreast as i have a Ausf H in the stash and fancy Building it, as i'm short of at a logger head with some of my other prodjects. And mybe a good old Tamiya kit could really come to the rescue

looking good so far Doug keep it, have you built any of dragon's pzIV's they're more complicated compared to tamiya's but the quality is excellent i'm currently 75% through building dragon's pzIV ausf c keep up the good work mate. Ant

Welcome aboard Marc, Luke, Geraint, and Ant!

Marc, Luke, and Geraint, thank you for the advice on zimmerit.

Ant, I have the DML Panzer IV E with Vorpanzer and Panzer IV F2/G and I agree, they are excellent kits. This will be my first Panzer IV in 1/35 scale.



I started the day by wet sanding the bogie arms, turret shell, barrel, and muzzle break. The bogie arms should have been filled and sanded before installation. After sanding the muzzle break I rescribed the ring at the back. The toothbrush helps remove fine grit when washing off the finished parts.



This picture shows the cross brace keeping the hull walls spread. Fascinating.



The kit lifting hooks look good but lack the proper undercuts. They have reasonable bulk, unlike the etched replacement parts. I used a new knife blade and slowly carved the kit lifting hooks into the correct shape. Leave the parts on the sprue when attempting a job like this!



Run for your lives, it's zimmerit!

I started applying zimmerit by spreading a very thin layer of Milliput (standard grade) on the target surface--in this case the turret mantlet and rotor shield. Milliput remains workable for about 90 minutes, allowing plenty of time to tweak the coating. A toothpick, occasionally dipped in water, helped generate a thin, even coating. With the leftover putty I started on the lower hull.



A zimmerit tool by AFV Club supplied the actual pattern. The tool includes two wheels, one thicker than the other, but both making the same pattern. I used the narrow wheel. The ends of the tool also bear groove patterns. I used these surfaces to apply texture to places unreachable by the wheel. Even the tool ends could not reach a few spots so I used tweezers to reach those areas.



With the putty drying I took on the turret skirts. The plastic parts look just fine, but brass will look better. I used a sheet of .005" brass to recreate the skirt shields and brackets, using the kit parts as templates. I still need to make the reinforcing parts for four brackets, various bolts, and the locking bar on each door.

I managed to knock off some etched parts while applying the zimmerit, so I will finish that job before proceeding. I also need to do some preliminary painting before installing the turret bustle and skirts.

-Doug

The zimm looks great.

The home made skirts look very good as well. What kind of scissors did you use tou cut the brass with?

it's possible to cut 0.05 brass with a stanley knife or an old scalpel i think.

Your Zimmit looks great, the mantlet is a peice of art. The turret Schurtzen well...... Great Keep it up. Proves there's life in the old dog(tamiya) yet. Cheers Geraint Didn't some J's only have 3 return idilers

Outstanding build so far Doug, congratulations!

I've once tried to make zimmerit using the standard milliput but just couldn't get it thin enough - what's the trick?

Best regards,
Philipp

Hi Marc, I used a pair of Fiskars fabric shears to make the long cuts, my Swiss army knife to cut smaller pieces like the brackets, and a fairly sharp Xacto knife to cut the thin strips of brass for the brackets. The Fiskars are somewhat hard to control but slice the brass with ease. The Swiss army knife has a harder time with the brass, but allows the most control for small cuts. The knife produces the most accurate cuts of all, and was the only tool capable of producing very thin, straight strips. The edges come out a bit ragged, but running my fingernail down the new strips mostly took care of that problem.




Hi Geraint, Thank you. I agree that the mantlet and rotor shield look good and accurate. I looked at a lot of pictures before choosing that pattern. I had much more trouble with the hull. I had a very hard time controlling the putty and zimmerit tool in those confined spaces. I have some ideas to deal with that.

In December of 1944 firms manufacturing the Panzer IV were ordered to reduce the number of return rollers on each side from 4 to 3. By this date rollers were of the all steel variety and Thoma skirts were in use. DML kit 6080 Panzer IV Ausf. J represents this variant. I am considering making that my next quick build project.




Hi Philipp, the trick is using small quantities of Milliput along with water to control stickiness and consistency. When mixed, Milliput remains sticky for about 20 minutes (phase 1), tacky for about 40 minutes (phase 2), and then lightly tacky until it becomes too hard to work with (phase 3). I can make the thinnest sheets and rolls during the first phase. Very small amounts of water help the phase 2 putty return to phase 1 consistency. By phase 3 I would not even try using the putty for zimmerit. In phases 1 and 2 Milliput will often grab tools instead of the target surface. Get the putty in approximately the right area--it must grab on the target surface--then use a wet finger or trowel or toothpick to squish it flatter and work it into more difficult to reach areas. Controlling the amount of water is critical. If it gets between the putty and target surface the putty just will not stick. In that case, use a paper towel to wick away the excess water and give the Milliput a chance to dry out. If the putty gets too thin, pull up as much water as possible, add little nuggets of putty as necessary, and let it dry out. After I get the putty in place, in a thin enough sheet, I let it go to phase 3. Then I dip the zimmerit tool in water, blot until slightly damp, and add the actual pattern. This prevents the putty from pulling up. If I hit a thin spot, I drop a bead of putty in the area, patch the hole, wait if necessary, then use the zimmerit wheel.



I did not make much progress today. Rebuilding the turret skirts out of brass added a level of difficulty to the project, mostly because Super Glue has a hard time forming a good bond with metal. I taped up the old and new skirts, did a lot of test fitting, then used super glue to put the first set of brackets in place. Since I knew the Super Glue would not hold, I added welds with very thin ropes of Milliput. This helped significantly, though I later discovered that the Milliput can also pull up from the smooth plastic surface. Similar Milliput welds secure the bracing pieces to the aft brackets.

I really wish there was a user friendly, super strong glue to bond metal to metal and metal to plastic. Super Glue is just too brittle. Gator Glue is not that strong. Two part epoxy is messy and very difficult to work with. I guess I need to learn to solder (better).

After the Super Bowl I cleaned up just over one third of the tracks, another job with high suck factor. I may switch back to the plastic skirts, just to eliminate one level of suck.

-Doug

Doug , dont worry to much about the side Schurzen. I' seen lots of photos of early j's with them missing. They all seem to have the turret schurzen but are missing the hull ones, even through they have the brackets to hold them

Doug-- superb workmanship! What color scheme are you going to use? Are you going to add any battle damage?
Well done
DJ

Thanks a lot Doug for your great explanation, I guess I'll give it a try once the opportunitiy comes around...

Cant't wait to see your Pz IV finnished, it looks better every day!

Philipp

for your first pzIV it's coming along faster than mine, keep up the good work mate can't wait to see this finished. Ant

It looks great so far,

For the pe you can try soldering it or use Gator glue.

Doug that zimmerit is looking great can't wait to see that bad boy with some paint

Hi Geraint, I am going to build the lower skirt brackets from brass but use the plastic rail arms. If I make hull skirts, I will solder the brackets that grab the rails for maximum strength. On my next project I will try thin plastic for skirts, rails, and brackets.




Welcome aboard DJ! I am researching a vehicle from 9th Panzer Division in very elaborate three color camo. The Tamiya kit represents a May or June production vehicle and I am trying to determine what unit(s) they went to. She will have some damage--enough to show some some primer, metal, and rust, but not to excess.




You are very welcome, Philipp. I have some more commentary on the process in my notes for this session.




Thanks, Ant. I will try to keep it moving along.




Thanks for the advice, Marc. I did switch to Gator Glue for some of the bracket work. I stopped by the hardware store after work and bought parts to build myself a soldering station.




Thank you, Lyndon. If I can keep up the pace I should get to major painting by next weekend.



I started applying zimmerit in the really hard to reach places, like the rear lower hull. My main tool was a toothpick cut to form a very small trowel. First, I mixed up a very small batch of Milliput. I rolled this into a rope. Then I cut the rope into small pieces with a knife. I picked up a piece and dropped it in the target area. I dipped the toothpick in water, blotted it on a paper towel, then pushed the bead down onto the surface. From there I pushed the putty around, keeping the toothpick damp. This worked very, very well. To make the zimmerit, I used the small end of the AFV Club zimmerit tool. This requires removal of the zimmerit wheel--an annoying design flaw in the tool. Further, the zimmerit pattern made by the stick just does not match the wheel pattern, and the small end sometimes grabs putty, even when wet. The stick was not machined to the same fine tolerance as the wheel.



The right side lower hull with all zimmerit applied. It was a mistake to stop halfway and wait two days before continuing. Blending the edge proved impossible. However, pictures clearing show similar gaffs on real vehicles so I'll let this issue go. It adds character. I highly recommend doing continuous patches of zimmerit in one session. Further, I would not attempt more that one patch this big and difficult in one session.



The left side lower hull with all zimmerit applied. As I mentioned earlier, the zimmerit tool cannot reach very confined spots. The tweezers from my Swiss army knife came to the rescue!



I finished adding the turret skirt brackets, using small ropes of Milliput to make the welds. Squadron White Putty makes better welds but Milliput holds better. Test fitting shows that the plastic kit skirts fit perfectly over my brass replacements--a very pleasant surprise.

I also cleaned up another third of the individual track links so major construction should resume in another day. Good night for now!

-Doug

Awesome work, I agree a few gaffs on the Zimmerit adds some character!

Also like the "Danger" note to the toothbrush! Very practical.

Great progress!
As an alternative; you can scratchbuild the schurzen from plastic plate.

Awesome! Your zimmerit is impressive. Do you plan on placing figures on her?
thanks
DJ