I'm in Vienna, Austria. There are plenty of non-specialist outlets that sell models, but they are usually all Revell (of Germany, naturally). Italeri come up a poor second in availability. Trouble is, their prices are up to twice that of an equivalent RoG kit. David

When Dragon or the likes release a kit, many of the older Tamiya and Italeri kits starts surfacing on the Swedish equivelent Tradera. They actaully can sell at prices that are almost similar to the new Dragon kit. I dont think the cost is the problem ... its less parts and an easy build. There are many, many modellers who build just for fun, for themselves and not even aware of online nit-picking, competitions or modelling sites. Accuracy is not their number one concern ... its a fun, easy and quick build. There is a market for this stuff.

Italeri and Dragon are often mixing their kits. For example, the Italeri M4A3E8 "Fury" is exactly the same kit as the DML M4A3E8. Both kits share identical parts, The Italeri M24 Chaffee is almost the same as the Tamiya kit of the same tank. DML/Dragon have been held up as great kits, but they are often the same as Italeri and Tamiya. Buy the brand name if you must; I, for one, will go with price..... Bill

While I agree that Italeri certainly didn't make an irrational decision from their own perspective, at least here in the US, their recent kit retail prices have skyrocketed. At least here in the US, there is no way that this release will be competitively priced. Will it be cheaper than DML - surely. However, its price won't be that far behind DML, and the kit, subject, and accuracy will hardly justify what Italeri will ask for it. Italeri would have been much better off, IMO, up-dating and re-releasing one of their more "unique" subjects like their M13/40 (really an M14/41) and / or their Semoventi. Both of Italeri's kits of these two subjects are way more accurate than either of Tamiya's; Both essentially suffer from detail that is engraved too shallow and "soft" rather than anything fundamentally wrong which should allow improvements to the original molds; and both could be "up-graded" with only a few new parts like new fenders, better tracks and a small PE fret (most likely made common to both kits). Up-dated (if done right) re-releases of either or both of these subjects would have put something on the shelves that would have been unique, more original, and more justified of what will certainly be Italeri's excessively high asking price for a mediocre also-ran Pz IV. Just my .02... (which, BTW, will not be spent on Italeri's re-released Pz IV)[/quote] Funny you should mention the Semovente... LINK

Great! I don't have a Semovente in my stash yet. Glad I waited.

Italeri updated the turret mold, correcting the bulge at the back. The welds and detailing were sharpened. A close look at the kit compared to older issues show a lot of little tweaks. The track sprues are nice with lots of options but the track pieces have knock out holes all over. It's my favorite Pzkpfw IV kit in 1/35 and I have four in the stash. Search long enough you can find a seller in the mid thirties. But the all new Border kit can be found for around the same. Have to shop around and search out all alternatives. With few exceptions can't afford to pay retail in this hobby.

The entire kit has been retooled. It is NOT the same kit as the old original. Having both this and the DML PzKpfw IV (F2), I much prefer the new Italeri offering. Both are equally great kits with little to choose in terms of detail, although the DML kit does offer clear parts for periscope glass. One thing that impressed me is that both kits offered individual track links; Italeri got rid of their old vinyl tracks. Both turrets are shaped correctly with similar details. The DML lower hull has the return roller axles molded on while the Italeri kit's axles are separate pieces. Both kits' tools look good. Overall fit of both are exceptional. The Osprey publication "Modeling the Late Panzerkampfwagon IV" by Tom Cockle and Gary Edmundson features a PzKpfw IV F1 using parts of the old Italeri kit to combine with the DML kit which Mr. Cockle was helping to design for DML. He also used the old Italeri kit to gain some insight into finishing the design. It would seem logical to assume that Italeri might have used his notes to help redesign their kit. Both seem similar. Bill

I would love to see the Border Models kits but my LHS can't get them. His distributor won't get anything other than older companies. I would like to see the new Tamiya PzKpfw IV(F1). Yes, I will mail order the Border kits. Bill

Distributors with that attitude forces consumers to turn to the internet and when that threshold has been crossed the consumer might not come back ...