PANZER IV BUILD no 012

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi John
a stuka, 1/6 now that would be something to see ,any pics would like to see that .I will be painting the inside and was wondering what to use now i know thanks ,will be getting a couple of cans soon. As i said earlier i fitted the drivers slit needed some filing to get it to fit ,a bit of the top and the corners of the slit and a bit of the armoured shield underneath where they touch On to the hull machinegun needed to take some of the the edge at the rear so it would sit in its resess better ,put the ball in for the machinegun and tightend it up just enough for the ball to move freely I then started to fit the front segments for the hull and mudguard one side fitted the other didnt
The side that didnt fit i undone the long angle bracket that run along the top edge and lifted it slitly and this sorted the problem out ,glad i thought of this before i started filling away bits of it , it now fits perfect
all i did extra to these pieces was to remove the front tang with the hole for fixing the mudguard ,not completly just cot the hole off leaving enough for the front guard flap to rest on it when i get round to.Next was the front hatches hinges are very nice ,i ran a file over them to get free move ment ,in the pics you see they all bolt from inside and the bolts for the bottom of the hinges (the ones bolted to the body protrude slightly too much and cach on the arm bolted to the hatch so what i did was put some washers in and all was fine see pic word of warning i striped one of the threds before i found out what was fouling them up so dont overtighten them ,they are very nice hinges but wont take to mutch torqe

well thats it for now rear deck hatches next.
all the best nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Here are some close ups of the hinged mudguard.

[michael hilton]

Lovely work Nick......I still can't get over your welding....I never thought it possible....splendid.

Regards.....Mick

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi John
those close ups of the hinged front mud guards are great just what i needed looking at them do you think the hinge on the right could be a replacement at some time in its life it looks cruder than the otherone excellent pics thank you.
Hi mike i,m glad you like it maybe in the future i will weld a complete armortek tank up who knows i welded my half track up completly but that was all one thickness and a scrach build so wasnt that worried if it went wrong ,thanks for the encouragement .
best wishes to both
nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Hi Nick. I had noticed that too and wished I had photos of the other for comparison. If you look at the photo of the mudguard raised out of the way you can clearly see the old holes where the original hinge was fitted. So yes the poorly made hinge is a replacement. There is an older photo of this tank in Panzer IV und seine abarten showing this tank before that dodgy paint job. In that you can make out both matching hinges on the other mudguard. There are some pictures of the rear mudguard in my album also.

[Graham Ord]

Have you seen this link, I used it to model the front and rear mudguards on my PIV
http://news.webshots.com/album/560428634mKebeE?start=0
Graham

[Nick Farrugia]

HI JOHN
thats what i thought ,looking at the link Graham has put up (thanks graham)that one has got squared edges but they are matching pair ,i dont supose it maters it could be they were changed along their production run or field repairs i should imagine they got damaged quit regulary. thanks John and Graham
all the best nick

[John Fitzsimons]

The one in my photos has a few items not typical of a H model. I imagine their maintenance guys canabalized what they could to keep a vehicle going. Same goes for your hubcaps.

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi john
your probably right their the bovington pz 4 is a G/to H looking at it you can see allsorts of diferences ,i seem to recal somebody saying it was along time servivor and was upgraded all through its carear until it was captured ,what makes it a H model i dont know perhaps someone can enlighten me .Seeing that pz 4 im not that bothered to change my hubs over.
all the best nick

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi to all
finished the rear hatches today all bolted down ,had to jiggle them a bit but all sorted.I wanted to put a continuous lip all the way around the inside of the hatch openings i think it looks better so did that as well ,i put the handles on the one door and decided to drill holes for a handle on the other door i dont think it had one there but i think it makes it easier to open
In this next picture you should see the extra all round door jams i put in i just think it looks neater next is a pcture of the hinges for the rear deck ,i think there great and well made
Next is the turret came across a small problem ,sombody forgot to tap the eight holes in the mantlet ,eight holes no threds so out came the taps
next i had to file some off the pivot holders to get them to fit in the reseses in the mantlet .
I also rubed the file across the face of the pivot holders before i put the pin in place with locktight on one end ,the rear part of the gun barrel the breech end where the pivot pins sit is a very snug fit at first i thought it wasnt going to fit , but it did with out the use of the file.Next was the bering sleve that goes down in side the recoil chamber this is also a very tight fit and took a bit of perswading, to goin all the way in even with wd40 help and a big soft faced hammer and a block of wood but it gave in in the end sorry no pics of this i forgot The muzle end break was even tighter and i had to screw this onto the barrel a bit eachday with the aid of cutting past i am not kidding you , i found it was getting warm and then would start to bind even with cutting past ,so three days latter i got it all the way down ,boy was i relieved it wont be coming of in a hurry again, for got to take close up pics of this as well. Now this is done i thougt to check the travel of the main gun and found it doesent travel as mutch as i thought or would like, there is hardly any low depresion of the barrel ,the elevation seems ok .
so if i ,ve got some time tomorrow i will see what can be done with it ,thats it for now ,have a good weekend all nick

[Ray Brown]

mate, you're a puioneer for those of us following you with our builds. you certainly have helped me. but i still fluffed a couple of things.

[Nick Farrugia]

HI RAY
dont worry about making errors ,i make them as well this is my second tank so i am more prepared this time arround than i was before,keep building and keep posting it is allways good to see other peoples work we all got to start somewhere and every bodys got their own way of doing things thats what is good about the forum we can all look read and learn keep up the good work . nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Just noticed somthing in achtung panzer re the boggies on the J model. The square section as seen in you second post photo with the 10 bolts around the edge. The two top bolts were left out on the J and later even the holes were blanked out.

Are they real weld on the turret.

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi John
yes thats what i,ve seen i have seen a picture some where with a p4 with both types bolted on could be another repair also in one book, i have seen a p4 with both types of rear idler wheels attached it just goes to show what was done to some of them to keep them going i still looking at the bovie p4 well and truly upgraded. The welds on the turret are real i have been experimenting and think i got it just right will put more pics of it if your interested.
regards nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Great welding. great to see.