The only real surprise I see with this kit is that Italeri did not combine this tank with a Masterbox figure set, as they have on several other of their recent repops of their AFV kits such as the Sherman and Crusader. The new Masterbox figures would justify an increase in price compared to the old Italeri figures.
I can really relate to that. The Monogram Panzer IV was my 1st Armor kit. My cousin bought the Stug IV. The Brumbarr was my 2nd.
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To those who claim that Italeri did not remaster their old PzKpfw IV kits, I am looking at their boxes right now. The old vinyl tracks gave way to length and link. The old turret had a “hump” in back that was grossly wrong. The newer kits do not have these. The parts and assembly sequence are very different. Italeri produced a new kit. I do not know about this latest offering, but the “glue able” tracks indicate that these, at least, are new. In other words, this is not the old and inaccurate kit from the 80s.
Be that as it may, I also have the Dragon kits. The F1, F2, and G kit is a “Smart Kit” that has been simplified in design. Their kit of the E variant is a regular kit in their line, and the kit suffers to me from having too many parts and unclear instructions. But, to each their own.
My point is that. when built, they all resemble Panzer IVs.
Bill
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By the way, my local hobby shop cannot get Border models. Their distributor is Stevens International. They will not stock newer companies’ kits. I can try Andy’s online, but I hate to purchase anything by mail. To me, Credit Cards are evil . . .
Bill
Heck, yeah! The last few years, I found old Monogram and Revell and Tamiya models to be just as satisfied and even more fun to build than some of the super uber kits today.
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Those are fun kits. I think the Monogram Panzer for was my first armor kit, too. Either that or the Aurora Easy 8 Sherman. As far as the old Monogram armor kits go, it was a shame that they quit competing for the scale soul of the hobby, because their 1/32 vehicles fit so well with large-scale aircraft.
I just recently bought Monogram’s Brumbar, their Ostwind, and I’m trying to snare the Panzerjager IV. Plus the Lee and Grant.
Wow, sounds like I will not live long enough to build a Dragon Pzr IV.
Hi Fred,
I love this kit but yeah tons of parts. They could have cut it down a lot but as I said they are giving you lots of options for making a maintenance scene of some sort. I’m currently bogged down with the tools. You can either assemble them with their mounts already on the parts (which are used with a specific fender type with the mounting holes in the fender) or using the tools with no mounting points on them but with lots of little PE clamps etc. on a fender without holes. I chose the latter more detailed but labor intensive option.
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Richard, copy that. I love these super-detailed OOB kits but I just can’t find time to finish a 100-part shovel. I need quick-kills.
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It’s funny to me. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Italeri was considered to produce better tank models than even Tamiya. They were the first to eschew molded on details, and their fine detailing was considered state of the art. However, they are ridiculed today. Even the old Tamiya kits are met with a nostalgia not afforded to Italeri kits. But, they are fun builds, and even some of their older modern armor is considered to have never been surpassed. The Leopard I and II stand up to more recent kits from Meng and Hobby Boss. I like many of them.
Bill
Just compare Tamiya’s Leopard 1A4 to Italeri’s, or perhaps their M13/40s. All kits are of similar vintage, but the Italeri offerings sure had better detail. Probably the only area where Tamiya was superior was in the crew figures.
I agree. Their Leopards (both 1 and 2) are given decent writeups in reviews posted on www.leopardclub.ca when contrasting them with newer kits by Meng and Hobby Boss. Italeri’s M4A3E8 (Fury) is an excellent kit once produced by Dragon/DML. Tamiya’s British Crusader is actually Italeri’s old kit. Sure, there are some problems encountered by all manufacturers, but Italeri does not deserve to be as maligned as it is.
Sure, all model kits by any manufacturer have their pluses and minuses. I have been gratified by most of the responses I have received here. Thanks, guys!
Bill