introduction

The Germans produced almost 9000 Panzer IVs between 1937 and 1945. One of the most common German AFV had stowage bins added to the back of the turret to increase external storage space.

the kit

The kit consists of one PE fret along with an instruction sheet and a length of metal wire, which will build one rear turret stowage bin for the DML series Panzer IV’s.
The PE fret includes five major parts to build the actual bin itself, a rim piece for the lid, and four parts that make the frame for the bottom of the lid. Also included are several brackets and finer details. The instructions are laid out fairly well, although checking references for actual placement positions of the parts is recommended.

One of the areas that might be troublesome for some inexperienced modelers will be getting the bin itself together. There are several thin sections of the bin and there are several folds that need to be made to properly construct this bin, along with the curved shape on the front and rear. Soldering the bin together may be the best option here.

The top of the bin features three piece hinges that consist of two PE parts plus a wire hinge pin. The hinges look fairly simple to assemble. Along the back face of the bin there are two lock assemblies, which are made up of five parts each. One is the bracket for the lid, one the bracket for the bin, while the other three make up the lock unit itself.

The kit includes the option to make early or late stowage bins, the difference being in which brackets are used and their placement. There are two sets of rear brackets; one set is for the early style and one set for the later style. For the early style, three brackets will hold the bin to the back of the turret, with one placed in the center and the other two on the upper section of the bin. To complete this assembly you also need to install a side bracket and a lower bin bracket. They just simply get affixed into place, no bending except for the lower one which wraps around the bottom. The other two just get mounted on the upper outer surface of the bin. To install this option use K17 for the middle and two sets of K5 and K22 for the upper brackets.

As far as the later style goes, you need to use the brackets that mount above parts number K18 on either side, K14 will be used in conjunction with parts K6, K22 and K23 on both sides to make the side mounted later style for the bin mounting brackets. Again, for either option, checking references is recommended.

conclusion

All in all this is a nice set. Voyager gives us the opportunity to have a very thin stowage bin that can be easily destroyed as if it has been hit by a shell or received other major or minor damage. With the thickness of the plastic kit parts this is not always possible. As those of you who use PE know, this medium can be a very nice touch to any model and this kit is no exception.