Robin where did you get the low speed drill?
Joe
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Gun length increased from L43 to L48 (L is length in calibres).The change took place during Spring of 1943(Ausf.G).The rationale behind is- longer barrel means higher projectile velocity means improved penetration ability.
HTH,
Cheers,
Angel
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i use aleenes tacky glue. sets daster and is tackier than elmers and is also water based so fxcess can be wiped away and if you mess up you can remove and start over. it can be found at hobby lobby and michaels here.
Joe
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Thanks. Maybe I should reformulate my question. Why did Bulgaria receive both ? Were these refurbished from older stock or didvthe come like this from the factory ?
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Nearly fihishing the raw build of the 1/350 Mikromir UKR Zaporhozhia Submarine. Its a preaty rough shortrun, so Im already looking forward to some Tamiya R&R afterwards.
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NP, Jacob!
Spring of 1943 was a transition time in Pz.IV production- new Ausf. to be produced(the H), new longer gun, Schuerzen implementation, new final drive, thicker frontal armour(welded, bolted and finally-late Summer 1943 cast). Some changes required other changes(Schuerzen made side visors obsolete) and for the Pz.IV assemblers there was also the never ending story of finding the right local suppliers.
Bulgaria received its 88 Pz.IV’s between May 1943 and January 1944.
The tanks were brand new and came off from the assembly lines of Krupp,VOMAG and Ni-Werke between March and December 1943.
Short barelled(L43) were all tanks from the first delivery batch (3+12 Ausf.G’s, the bulk from March 1943 Krupps production).They had the L43 because that was the standard Pz.IV gun for that time of production.
With the second and all the subseqent deliveries the Pz.IV’s came with L48 guns, as this(IIRC since mid-April 1943) was the new standard.
HTH,
Cheers,
Angel
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Thank you Marco, it’s very flattering to be mentioned along with that group of modelers on Armorama and Mig. Very very kind of you.
Blasted the paint for the Pz III J & Pz IV F with that trusted fire hose of an airbrush, the single action external mix Paasche H. So I know that folks who build, practice, use quality tools & materials and accept constructive suggestions can definitely reach and exceed my skill level.
Happy & fun model building to all!
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Thanks very much for the reply. I was not avare that there were so many delivered. Nice work on the collection so far !
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Just the truth.
I think you are right, it’s very important to use good tools and material. The most people try first with cheap things and loose the fun because of problems they would’nt have, if they would get good stuff from the beginning. I made the ecperience too
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Photo etch - when you spend three hours building a hinge that even other modelers will never notice…
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Interior decorating continued…
Vallejo Black Primer (73.602)… pre-shading
Vallejo Interior Grey Green (71.305)
—mike 
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Got the final touches to the construction part of my Dragon leFH18/40/2 for the “Best Tank that never was” Group Build.
A fair bit of scratchbuilt parts all missing, or wrong, in the kit.
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After wrapping up my Comrade General Lee build earlier this week, I decided to do a quick repair project on an old build. I built this Tamiya Chieftain Mk.5 in spring of '84 at Ft Polk, and it has been damaged over the years, getting the right side bustle rack, left side smoke grenade launcher, TC IR spot land and machine gun broken off. Some parts I found and saved ( part of the rack, part of the TC MG, smoke grenade launcher) and some parts ( TC IR spot lamp & mount) were lost who knows where and when…
So scratched up what was missing off the rack, and rebuilt the rest
and after letting that dry, I glued it in place… along with a replacement spot lamp that was close enough from my spares bin and I used a modified part that looked close enough for the mounting yoke… I also made up a new barrel from brass tubing for the TC MG.
Lastly I glued the left side smoke grenade launcher back in in place, and once dry, all the replacement items were painted. Since I was never happy with the tank that I used on the main gun thermal wrap blanket, I also repainted that area and painted the padding inside the open turret hatches…
lastly I replaced the old broken off stretched sprue antennas with some made from music wire
Now it should be good to go for the next 40 years 
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I wish my nothing had that view.
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