Introduction

This simple kit is for the DML Panzer IV and is designed to replace the styrene kit fenders. There are a total of thirty two parts, plus the wire for the hinges. The tread plate is very nicely depicted. This set appears to be relatively simple enough for someone with some PE experience. The part count is relatively low and the parts are for the most part pretty large compared to lots of other PE sets out there.

contents

• Two PE frets
• Wire
• Instructions

Review

The fenders are broken down into several key sections. There is a base for each fender (parts 1 and 2), and as is the case with many PE parts these pieces to the fenders require some bending. The fender tops are split into four upper sections. The first section (parts 3 and 4) does not have tread plate on it but the other three sets (parts 6(x2), 7, 8 and 9) do. There are separate parts for the front and rear portions of the fenders that have full brackets. The front parts (13 and 14) have two folds, and these are quite simple. The rear fenders (parts 17 and 18) are slightly more involved with four folds, but still very manageable. Whether or not they are workable is up to the modeler. The parts appear to be manufactured in a way to allow them to be workable and/or positional in the up or down mode much the same way you can with DML’s plastic versions.

There are two hinges on each side of the front end. Each hinge is made of two parts (11 and 12) as well as a piece of rod to hold them together. Each side also gets two brackets. One is simply added into place, part number 16 sits on the edges between the front part of the fender and the fixed part that sits above the glacial plate. The second (15) gets one fold and sits on top of the glacis plate and the other side rests on the fixed portion of the fender.

The rear fenders are a bit more complex. The base parts of the rear fenders (parts 17 and 18) get a series of three folds, one along each side, a second smaller one on the hull side of the fender and then one along the back. The upper parts (19 and 20) of the fenders simply sit on top of parts 17 and 18. The hinges for the rear fenders are a bit simpler then up front. Parts 23L and 23R correspond with 24L and 24R. They are simply folded and put together with a rod just like up front. That rounds out the parts for this simple yet very nice set of fenders for the Panzer IV series from Dragon.

Conclusion

This kit is a very nice representation for the Panzer IV series. It would make a nice replacement for the Panzer IV G, and gives you the flexibility to install the tools in any location you choose. Anyone with some experience with PE and making hinges should have no trouble with this kit. I don’t know if this set would work for other versions of the Panzer IV as the instructions don’t specify what version it is for, but the PE frets themselves do specify Panzer IV G.