introduction

Unquestionably the Pz. IV tank was the workhorse of the German army in WW II (and several other armies after the war). Tamiya's line of Pz. IVs have been the workhorse of the modeling world prior to the arrival of Dragon and other companies. Not only do the Tamiya kits continue to sell well, but they have such good design and ease-of-building that after market manufacturers offer upgrades for most Tamiya AFVs. The Pz. IV is not exception, and the relatively new company, Orange Hobby, has several PE upgrades out for Tamiya kits in general and now the Pz. IV.

kit contents

The set comes in plastic bags covering stiff paper backing, and contains:

Five Photo Etch Frets
Resin jack block
Individual metal cleaning rods and antenna
Brackets for antenna mounts
Metal ring for around the turret
Various small bolts and other small brackets
Muffler bracket details for sidemounted muffler
Sidemounted roadwheel storage bin
Towhook bracket enclosure
Full rear turret bin including brackets
Metal brackets for towing chains
Trackbar for front glacious plate
Brackets for smaller muffler
Rear end divider bracket*
Fire extinguisher brackets
Tow shackle brackets
Spare track link brackets
Various tool bracketsSmall decal sheet

*I am using this for lack of a better term, I am referring to the lower portion of the upper back plate and the upper portion of the lower back plate.

the review

This kit has several features that many other PE sets offer, but is extremely nicely-made and has some really good features. The detail is very well-depicted, and is both crisp and clear. My only wish is that Orange Hobby would be more precise in drawing up directions for their products. It seems like their isn’t much here on how to construct the individual brackets, for example. Since I have limited PE experience, that will be a bit daunting once I try to assemble these items. They only show completed drawings on what is in each assembly, rather than how to get to that stage. They don’t even list what part numbers go where in most instances. That may be trouble for someone who has limited skills and abilities or experience when it comes to PE.

I do think however that it appears to be simpler than some of the PE from other manufacturers, including, but not limited to Dragon and Aber. I think that someone who might want to start into PE might find Orange Hobby a little easier to build in some but not all cases. I have noticed, however, that the parts are arranged per item. In other words each bracket has its own section on each part of the fret. It is a nice way to separate the parts needed for each item.

conclusion

Overall I’ll give this kit a solid B. Again I think that the parts are great, but the directions are lacking in detail. They do however list in English part names on the frets themselves and keep everything for one assembly in one blocked-in area on each fret.

I would like to thank Orange Hobby for graciously providing this review sample.