As Tamiya's 1:48 Panzer IV has been out for quite a while, so won't go over old ground and talk about the basic construction, suffice to say all of Tamiya's 1:48 range of armour are straightforward and simple to assemble thanks to their excellent instructions and superb engineering. My intention is to comment on a number of improvements and accessories I have added to it and describe my building and painting style. I decided from the outset that I wanted to depict a late Panzer IV J with the wire mesh Schurzen on the hull sides and stove pipe exhaust pipes. The impetus for this build was provided by the Editor when he provided me with a number of update sets to produce just such a version. Eduard, Aber, Part and Hauler all make mesh screens with, varying degrees of accuracy and complexity. I had also accumulated a few updates myself and like most modellers, I tend to buy sets that will improve a kit only to have them sit on the shelf gathering dust! There is a reason for this (or so I keep telling myself!), in that the accessories may not be available when you get time to build the kit. But one has to wonder how much is enough! Will all these things make a better model? I guess it's up to the individual to decide if this accessory obsession many of us seem to have is worth it? My intention was to use as many of these accumulated updates as I could, simply to make myself feel less guilty and justify why I keep buying them!
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