New commemorative edition of Border Panzer IV J Early/Middle & Rail Way Flatbed Ommr with Rail Way.
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/border-model-panzer-iv-j-rail-way-flatbed-ommr
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/border-model-panzer-iv-j-rail-way-flatbed-ommr
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I’m all over this. I am huge Border fan - they make mistakes but their work is genuinely really good and they still make the best Pz IV in 1:35 that I have seen. Absolutely fantastic.
Not an expert by any means but I note the box art is perpetuating the impossibility of the Driver being able to drive with his head out(!)
That apart, nice to see combi-kits of this nature, even though I’m not normally a WW2 buff.
Yes we had this discussion on another thread on this site a while ago. Still can’t wrap my head around the fact that one can’t drive a panzer iv with his head out of the hatch! I think …
Looks like a great kit though. I’ve never built a Border models kit but do have kit BTO12 Crusader mk iii I believe it is. Hopefully will tackle it soon.
Yes, we did indeed Richard; sorry to sound like a broken record, but the picture just caught my eye!
Wonder if the Ommr railcar is new or the Sabre Model kit?
No problem Brian, I’ll be doing that too every time I see a panzer iv with a head sticking out of the drivers hatch on a model…… but as long as it’s not “moving” it’s ok.
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Good question. I have that Sabre model kit in my stash and have read great reviews about it, but I too wonder if it’s a new kit from Border.
I do love my Dragon IV’s but I never built this version and the flatbed is a nice touch.
Speaking of box art, someone needs to remind the artist that white surfaces on the insides of the hatches is a big no-no. Then there is the wisdom of driving the vehicle off the flatcar without a loading ramp. It might be done if one is in a hurry, (although sometimes not entirely successfully), but in any case, you might want to elevate the gun to make sure you don’t bury it into the ground.
“Clean-up on aisle 4”.
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Ooops!
OK, in all seriousness, they probably did this while loading the vehicle on the train, but I have photos of unloading gone wrong. Although, elevating the gun while slamming the vehicle to the ground with the barrel lock disengaged risks screwing up the alignment of the sights and/or the elevation and traverse gears. Probably not a good idea all around.
Someone on this site posted this picture when the discussion came up about the insides of hatches being white, I think it was stikpusher.
Looks like the inside of that turret hatch is white. I can’t recall ever seeing that before in all my years of modeling armor and looking at tanks.
I have several photos of early panzers with white hatch interiors, but an Ausf J Panzer IV with white hatches is definitely a no-no.
There is some debate as to whether this was an exclusively African theater phenomenon or not. Pre-war images of Panzer Is show grey hatch interiors, yet the image you posted is definatively winter in Russia. I have other images of white hatches outside of Africa as well.
…And then there is the mystery of the white side-wall tires…and the spares. Open hatch is also white.
Wow those are great pictures paska . Very clear; didn’t think that many were out there. Great reference for anyone wanting to paint the inside of the hatches ( of those specific models of tanks anyway). Especially when going to a model show where people need see proof I guess.
Exactly why I save images like these, I love going to a show and the judges have no idea what my model is. 
Yes that’s exactly what I was referring to 
The box art suggests all sorts of things that could go wrong with the tank driving off the railcar, up to and including the driver breaking his fool neck slamming it against the edge of the hatch opening when the tank pitches around when the balance changes. Hopefully, all we’re seeing is the driver rotating the tank to put the frontal armor in line with incoming fire, not preparing to drive away.