I wanted to take a moment and do an in box review of this New (to me) 1980 Testors/Italeri Panzer IV Tank Kit. As i will be later combining this with a build review, this will be the first part.

The model comes packaged in an attractive box, with pictures of the finished completed model on the front and back. The box contains 296 highly detailed pieces, one piece tracks, and three crew figures. Price was only $10.00. The well built model can be used as a refrence page since there are precious few resources out there for modelers today. Hopefully that will change in the future. The model is scaled to the new standard, 1/35 scale. It is designed to model the Panzer IV Mark F-2. The model pictured is painted in Afrika Corps colors.





The instruction booklet is well written and informative. It features clear and consise parts placement, and a nice history of the vechical.







The parts are modeled in a nice light tan color, and show no "flash" or injector pin marks. As the piece count is 296, it may take you awhile to complete it. If you find it to demanding, the Monogram line also has a Panzer IV that you can purschace and build which has considerable less pieces.









Finally the tracks are modeled in on piece (rubber band style) tracks. They are well detailed and have no mold markings on them



All in all this seems to be a fine kit that will build into a nice replica of the Panzer IV main battle tank. I will let you know of any issues regarding the build.

Bill

P.S. i thought it would be fun to take a 31 year old kit and see how it would be to write a build review of it. It's hard to believe how far this hobby has progressed in the last 30 years. But i remember going into a K-Mart and seeing a whole aisle of model kits from Monogram, Revel, Lindberg, AHM, and Testors. Building these classic kits are a great way to have fun, hone some modeling skills, and learn what it was like to build a model kit. And at the time these were considered pretty complicated.
I hope you all have a sense of humor about what i am doing here. Just wanted to do something a little different than what we normally see around here. Sorry the pictures are not perfect, they are from my cell phone camera, not to bad but not great for detailed micro shots.

Bill

this kit is closer to 40 years old. I believe it was first issued in early 1974 by Italeri.
Still not too shabby though, if basic. I have two of these and will use them for conversions.
I've seen these very modest kits built into museum pieces, mostly by Italians and Spaniards.

So far, so good. The lower hull is mostly done. There were some injector marks on the back plate, but not very noticable. Wheels are all cleaned up and ready for paint. All in all the fit has been very good, with little or no filler needed. I have had to use some super glue to fill in a few small gaps. Sanded those down and will primer it to see how it looks.

Here are more, i am slowly working away on the project. I have to admit, the level of fit is very surprising. I mean there is really no seams, it all fits together very well. Not bad for a very old kit.





As you all can see, Thor the wonder dog finds this all so exciting.

...Bill, I know that this is a pretty old post (a little over a year), but I have a few things to add...I have the same kit, but my box says Italeri...I recently purchased it for $5.00 at a flea market...I've been building for a long time, and most of my stash is now referred to as vintage...I admire people who can turn a kit that is not as advanced as the stuff on the market today into something comparable...I refuse to pay $50 for a high tech kit, another $10-$15 for a fret of photoetch, $35 for metal tracks, and another $10-$20 for some resin upgrade...I despise the rivet counters out there...Many feel that the more coin that is dumped into a kit the better it turns out...Many feel that the build has to be EXACTLY as it was in real life...I grew up with Monogram and Paine, not Dragon and Verlinden...I will always hold those that can transform a relic into a work of art to a high level of esteem...I admire the scratchbuilders...Don't get me wrong...Many of the builds on here are outstanding and have been inspirational to me...I have learned many things from these works of art...And, by the way, I too have a few newer kits in my stash...So, without further adieu, here is my Panzer IV built pretty much out of the box, the only outside additions being a Tamiya water bottle and a tarp and netting...I'd like to see your finished build Bill...

Mike

Lol!This review inspired me to look through my old modelling mags from the seventies! Pretty funny, it seemed every Tamiya and Italeri kit was "highly detailed indeed"...and apparently the god awful winter crew with the Italeri Elefant was a really big deal!

This kit, actually is not that bad for its age. In the seventies and early eighties it was considered much better than the meagre Tamiya offering. You can still compare the two today, as both the Tamiya and Italeri Panzer IV are still easily obtainable. Besides the tracks the only major let down in the Italeri kit is the bulged turret which is not appropriate for some versions. (The Italeri boxing purpoted it to be an F1-F2-G option) .....however that can be fixed if you really want or you can use the Panzer IV as a base for a convesion and use the turret in a panzerstellung. Also, the decals for the DAK option are a little inaccurate. The large black "8" has seperations that makes it look almost like a digital number, in fact the photo Italeri presumably used for reference when studied shows the 8 is simply scratched up, especially at some of the corners. Anyway the Italeri version is much better than the Academy one which is a rip off of the Tamiya kit. Pretty good little review there!

Thanks for bringing up this old review. LOL LOL An accident occured and the model was crushed flat. Thankfully not much work had been done yet.

I then worked on a Airfix M-3 Lee. I enjoyed posting here but this forum seems more interested in adding every nut and bolt, using as much photo etch brass as you can. I still look thru, but honestly i build for the sake of my enjoyment. THose who build to those higher levels are amazing, but its nothing i care to get caught up in.

I still love classic kits, they are where we came from.

Bill