(OOOOOOOOPS I posted this in the wrong spot at first, so here we go again)

Well....."I" for one have been waiting a long time for this one.
This is the first rendering of this in Plastic (for 1/72).
This long after Trumpeter did thier "Sturer Emil",
I thought (time wise)they would be closer together.
Well let me stop rambling and get on with this.

The box come with a nice rendering of a built model.


The Instructions are eight pages of info that are easy to read and follow along.
















There are three sprues of parts......,
Three loose pieces (that comprise the hull and fighting compartment),
two sets of tracks (more on them as we go),
and a small set of decals.










Now when I first opened the box .....
I "thought" I was "shorted" some parts......
I saw the sprues but I didn't see any tracks.
then I noticed two small bunbles of "bubble wrap"....
The tracks are molded as One (1) piece,
with all the outer wheels, return rollers, sprocket and idler.
I find this puzzling, but I'm not on the A or B team.
My biggest trouble with this is, is that the injection points are
in the center of two of the Return Rollers, the Drive Sprocket,
and three of the Road Wheels.(on the "out side" where it can be seen)




"I" feel that the Drive Sprocket, Idler Wheel, Return Roollers and Wheels could use better detail.








Course molding like this leaves the outside of the track a "little" soft in the detail.


Perhaps replacing with Mirage, Hobby Boss Parts?




(Once I get a HB Munitions Panzer I'll add pic's of the wheels and tracks)

OK the Best parts to use to replace the suspension parts
can be found on the
Hobby Boss 1/72 Munitions Carrier Munitionsschlepper Pz Kpfw IV Ausf D/E 82907
As These parts have the correct details.

Or perhapse molding the tracks like Airfix did with thier 1/76 Cromwell?


Now on to the Fighting Compartment and the hull.
These parts are quite nice and except for the Molded on tools and Cables,
I am quite pleased with them.
They even have these little "tabs" to "snap" the parts together as you go.


























I am a little disapointed in the gun being two halves,
maybe there's a metal equivalent out there?
I think the rest of the parts are Nicely rendered,
Here are a few of them.










The End


whew.....
I "think" I covered everything....
If I missed something please let me know and I'll get in and edit it.

I picked this kit up at the same time as my now finished Trumpeter Merkava 3.

I am almost done with Trumpeter vinyl tracks, the last kit I built with them, not more than a fortnight ago, was the Super Pershing. I thought I had bested Trumpeter vinyl tracks, but the struggle for dominance is obviously yet to be completed.

So, personally, Trumpeter's new track type is a massive improvement, warts and all.

I must admit though, I most certainly like Airfix's Cromwell track arrangement. Certainly something that manufacturers need to note carefully.

From what I read the model is missing the dummy driver's port on the right side under the cannon.

Probably an aftermarket item will be available soon that will fix this.

P.A.

Or spend an hour, at most, to make your own.

Took me less than 30 minutes to make the box, doubt it will take more than that(probably a lot less) to add the details.
It's just sitting there atm, will need a few swipes of a sanding stick to fit it properly.

Hi
Try Mirage to replace the parts...HB is more than one step beneath Trumpeter...nearly Hasegawa style.

Thanks for the detail shots. This SP was based on the Pz 4 D chassis, a limited run tank in of it's self. Info from Chamberlins's book.

Isnt there a wooden floor in this? I dont see the parts provided for it.