It's a hatch stop. I'm still not sure if it works by having the hatch go past it and then preventing it from swinging back, or whether the hatch just rests against it.

Kimmo

Right
I just found this pic:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/kimikobo/PIV14.jpg

Kind of looks like the door locks on to the stop and that it's released by pulling the handle downward?? There where no mention of a extended handle like the pic has in the Griffon instructions. Perhaps it wasn't introduced yet for the Ausf.F's

It was a basic fitment for the side hatches introduced I believe with the PzIV E. The hatch is held in place by a tab which is released when crew pull down on the lower cylindrical part of the fixture.

The E model had single hatches while the F and beyond had the double doors.

Thanks Ian!
Means i got it wrong on the model then...

It looks just fine to me.

Slow updates from me. I managed to break my camera so haven't been able to snap any shoots! I got some work done and am just about ready to go into "paint-mode"
It's just a dry fit so some parts will shift around. For example I scrapped the idea of tracks on the turret (for now... )



Not sure if I can keep the pace though, some upcoming deadlines at work that will eat up a lot of time... (Not to mention I'm a bit scared of firing up the airbrush again)

Great work Johan! Sorry about your camera, hopefully not a DSLR You got yourself a nice palette for the upcoming painting sessions. I think, in terms of honoring the authenticity of the model, you are right to skip the tracks on the turret top. I think the crew would place it where it would provide some protection, at the sides or front. Hate deadlines as well, if one could just win the lottery...

Erik

Nicely done.

I know the paint fear myself. Grasp the nettle and just take your time bud.

Hi, Johan!

Your Panzer looks very nice, I like the shell impact on the glacis.
However, I have a feeling that the side visors on the hull, near the driver's and co-driver's positions, are installed upside-down at the moment. I'm not a Panzer IV expert, but maybe you should take a look at them.
And I have seen many shots of German tanks with tracks wrapped all over them, including the turret top, so no problem there.
Also the spare wheels on the side look as if only the photo-etch strip is holding them. On the real thing they would have probably fallen off like that, I suppose there should be some additional retainer for them?
But overall - looks great, wish you luck with the painting!
Best regards,
Alexey

Erik, Andy: Thanks for the encouraging words Also, my "camera" is my S4 Samsung so nothing major there (even got it on warranty hehe)

Alexey: You're right!! I totally missed that. I wont go back now but i'll put it in the learnings category: Study drawings better!
About the road wheels holder I'm not sure how it should be. The idea is to depict a "battlefield modification" since the F1 didnt have any spare road-wheels holder. I guess they could have tied them down with a piece of rope or chain?
If anyone sits on more info then please share!

Very nice build so far, the camera on the Galaxy S4 is not that bad, but if you are going to do loads of these build logs an inexpensive DSLR would be a plus.

I like the battle damage on your model, even if it was accidental.

I was using an inexpensive an Sony a230 until just last week when I was given an a65 and it served me well for all my build logs

Great build Johan. I'm looking forward to the paint job.
- Johan

Johan (what a great name ): thanks! Hope I'll don't make a mess...

Steven: I think I need to ask my wife for some camera lessons since she owns a pretty nice Nikon. (So many buttons )! Thanks for the words of encouragement. I've been following your builds here on armorama and your PE-work is a true inspiration. I hope that one day I can match your level of quality and workmanship!

Will you bring the model to C4-Open this year?

Hey!
What is C4-open?

no airbrushing yet... Started to warm up with some brush paintign:


I got everything setup though so hopefully i can get some time in this week (will need to test on some scrap models before moving on to the actual one)

C4-Open is held every October in the city of Malmö. C4 is named after the Danish king Christian the fourth. It is in my opinion the best show in Scandinavia.

- Johan

Ah, I see. To be honest I've never considered taking a model anywhere other than the bookshelf...
Looks like fun though, if I manage to finish it I'll at least consider it!

While getting the airbrush skills back to speed (currently abusing an old 88) i started on the base. It's mini arts "house with fountain". It's the second of these I've built and i really like them. Affordable with decent detail! (Still not quite figured out how to get the most out of the vaccuform but that's on me)

You may want to check your references for the antenna. It should be tapered. Excellent job, on the etch.

Looking good. Are the miniart buildings to 1/35 scale though? Because I've had a few and felt like the windows and doors were bigger than 1/35. Maybe it's just me. Look forward to seeing this done though.

Matt: Yea, I tried to cheat it since I couldnt figure out the whole "stretched sprue" thing.. Might have to give it another go!

Jordan: They are said to be 1/35 but i agree that they seem to be a bit out of scale. The door is especially noticeable as beeing really high. I can do some measurements later tonight!

I did some measurements and the door is 70x28mm which translates to about 245x100cm.
So it's not that much off in width. In height though, I'd say at least ~12mm off (compared to a normal swedish door)

Hi Johan,
Your project is coming along nicely. Dioramas are great but you'll need a bigger bookshelf!!!

The sprue-stretching thing: I just clamp one end of the sprue down and carefully heat with a moving cigarette lighter while pulling the sprue. Once cooled, check for a suitable section -- viola! Handy for scratching misc. lost bits and parts as well. Scratch-build lost parts and they will appear!!!

I was wondering about the MiniArt Diorama: Was there originally more depth around the perimeter edge (approx. 7mm or so)? It looks like you cut that off. I recommend leaving it on. I just cut a thin recess for it into a 1" thick piece of Styrofoam block. Then I fill the base irregularities with Tile Grout (just enough to level smooth). I sandwich the two together and let the assembly cure. Viola! I have a nice sturdy base to work on.



In addition, to add some rigidity to the building sections, I've noticed that some builders will fill them with expanding foam being mindfull to leave an exit hole for the expanding foam to escape.

I look forward to seeing more of your progress.
--mike

That dio looks very cool, I'm looking forward to see how you'll finish it.

Kind regards, Sven.

Johan,
Is that Sierra Pale Ale ( ) I see in the background? -- one of my favorites. Unfortunately I can't drink and dio! I had one beer earlier tonight and became totally useless to continue on my dio construction!

Skål! !
--mike

Nice backdrop for the Pz IV. How is your painting practising coming along? Do you use acrylics? I've been practising some modulation with AK acrylics, and I start to understand why some people swear to lacquer thinned tamiya acrylics, as they behave much better compared to water based acrylics. But then again, that might just be me...

Looking forward to the next update.

I drink and dio all the time (Ronnie James Dio that is)