I recently purchased the Tiger 1early by Academy from the advice of an earlier thread here.

I was wondering which manufacturer is prefered for a Pz IV (designation is not as important, could be a D or H or any of them)
I'm looking for accuracy more than anything.

I would venture a guess that it would be the new Tamiya Ausf. J. I hear it's a beauty. DML also has several PzKfw IVs that we talked about in recent threads. I don't know of their quality, but it is probably good.

I have a couple, the old Tamiya PzKfw IV Ausf. D doesn't look bad, but you can tell it is a 30 year old kit. I also have the old Italeri PzKfw IV Ausf. F1/F2/G. I like it and the detailing is finer than the old Tamiya kit (Tamiya's was designed to be motorized/played with). Neither costs too much (less than $20)

Hi!
I'm actually starting to build a Pz IV from Italeri (Ausf. F1/F2/G), and just a note about this version: the only version correctly presented is the G.....
I also have the Tamiya kit ausf D, as Rob said an old model but a fair one!
I have the Academy auf H, very good and well detailed, but if I gonna chose one to buy right now I would go to the Tamiya new PZ IV ausf J, I just heard good things about this model, I just didn't have the chance to buy one yet!
Cheers

I haven't looked at the Tamiya 'J', but I like their PzIVH (early), kit #35209. The usual Tamiya molding, glueable tracks and lots of options for the build. Also, Cavalier makes a zimmerit for it.

The Tamiya D is a nice little kit - very good for only $20. And, as far as I know, the only D available. A lot of people will probably tell you to avoid the Academy IVH, but its a good kit if you want to experiement with aftermarket parts and new techniques. I added an aluminum barrel and putty zimmerit and it turned out really nice. Avoid the old PzIVJ from DML - its not even worth the $18 price tag.

I am currently preparing all the parts to build a pair of Normandy Panzer IV J's.

I have the following -

Tamiya Panzer IV J - very nice kit - probably one of the best kts from this company. The kit really does just "fall together" the overall detail and options is pretty high. Tamiya gives you rubber/vinyl one-piece tracks that look nice. The retail on this kit is $41.00 but most of the online shops sell it for $30-35.

DML Panzer IV J - "new tool" version - also a very nice kit. The box is just jammed with parts. DML has individual link tracks in all of their kits. The DML Panzer IV series kits are some of my favorites. I believe that the Shanghai Dragon release retails for around $ 19.98 with some shops selling it as low as $15.98, the kit number to look for is 6080.

If you want to see them side by side, give me a couple of days and I'll post some shots of the major components so you can compare and make up your mind all on your own...

Tamiya makes the H and it is every bit as good as the J model

DML makes lots of variants and all are very, very good.

Later,
Tim

I have the Italeri Panzer IV f1,f2,g (and have lost the instructions somewhere) but I have been looking at it (thinking about buliding it)

I have been comparing it to reference photos I have to agree it is not a bad kit (for being an ancient one).

MSW

I have a personal preference towards Tamiya when it comes to their Panzer IV Varients. Their Panzer IV Ausf. H and J are excellent. In my personal opinion, Tamiya's Ausf. J is far superior to DML's Ausf. J. I'm planning on doing a Ausf. F1 in the near furture, so Italeri looks like the alternative for that one.

Hi,




I have that kit so if you need I can scan the instructions and send them to you.

I just got the Academy kit pazer kit IV H with side skirts . and its done nice for 15 bucks, thats a great price and the tamiya panzer is 40 bucks

to me best pz lV is the f-g by italeri and the newer h by tamiya