Ken Schwartz takes a look inside the box of the recently released Dragon Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf F2 (G) kit #6360.



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Thanks!

It looks to be a truly amazing kit, as several reviews and buildups have proven. I wonder why the turret interior is simplified from the IVE version with the removal of the turret floor and shell bag. Also, it seems to be keeping the separate rubber bitz for the roadwheels would have been the "Smart" thing to do, if only to spare us from the tedium of cleaning the treads.

This kit looks great... and the Panzer IV is my favorite of the war.

However, I didn't see a picture or mention of the main gun barrel.... is it aluminum, or plastic?

Main gun is one piece plastic.

I'll tell you, in my opinion I'm happy that Dragon left the rubber wheels molded on the rims and not separate like their Super kits Panzers. For me I did like knowing that I didn't have to paint straight lines with my wheels, however I noticed that once the rims and wheels were painted, it was hard to squeeze those rubber wheels on and paint would sometimes chip there. Now all I have to do is just paint the wheels.

Agamemnon,

I think the absence of the full turret interior has more to do with the "Smart Kit" methodology than anything else. They still provide the interior for the cupola in the form of the vision blocks and other things, so it's a compromise of sorts in that regard. From what the build-up reviews have had to say so far, it's a very well engineered kit. I'm with you and javazquez (how's that for straddling the fence? ) in that I too was disappointed in the rubber rims no longer being separate but also see the advantage from an ease of use/handling perspective on returning to them being one-piece, also in line with the "Smart Kit" thinking.

Now I just have to find a good home for the kit #9019 that's still in the stash that this one replaces.

Did you paint the wheels and rims apart from each other, meaning the area where the 2 meet was also covered in paint?

I've read that an easy way to avoid this is to paint the wheels with the rims on, then remove the rims, paint these black, sand any black (or other rubber color BTW) off the inside, and then they would fit perfect.

Anyway, this kit might lead to the Vorpanzer being postponed even further before I get to start building that one. The horror, the horror....

I've heard stories that the separate wheel rubbers actually split when forced on wheels with paint on them. They're that snug.

One thing that does surprise me is the lack of a connector between hull and turret. It's designed to just sit there, or be glued into place. I don't think I've ever seen a kit do that before.