Dragon Models Ltd

1/35 Panzerkampfwagen IV F1

Kit Number: DRA 6315

Reviewed by  Mike Delano, IPMS# 45465

MSRP: $50.95 Web Site: www.dragonmodelsusa.com From 1937 to 1945, the Panzer IV was produced in numbers exceeding 8500 units. Of those, The F1 variant accounted for somewhere between 462 and 487 units. The F1 was the last of the Panzer IV's to carry the short 75mm KwK 37 L/24 main gun. Dragon's new Pz.Kpfw IV F1 Smart Kit provides a wonderful representation of this variant. The kit contents are nearly identical to the Panzer IV F2 kit with the notable exception being that the F2 kit does not contain the 'L' sprue comprising of the KwK 37 L/24 main gun parts. The kit contains around 750 parts on 13 gray plastic sprues, 1 clear sprue, 1 photo etched fret containing 15 parts, and 216 individual magic track links (106 for each side). In addition, a 30cm length of wire is included for tow cables. A very nice sheet of Cartograf decals are included with markings and painting guide for 10 different units. Unit markings provided are as follows: Pz.Rgt.31, 5.Pz.Div., Russia 1942 (Turret No. 424) 3./Pz.Rgt.35, 4.Pz.Div., Russia 1945 (Turret No. 301) 4./Pz.Rgt.31, 5.Pz.Div., Eastern Front 1942 (Turret No. 421) 8./Pz.Rgt.36, 14.Pz.Div., Eastern Front 1941 (Turret No. 831) 3.Pz.Rgt.21., 20.Pz.Div., Eastern Front 1943 (Turret No. 334) 4.Pz.Rgt.5, 21.Pz.Div., Libya 1942 (Turret No. 402) 8.Pz.Rgt.8, 15.Pz.Div., Libya 1942 (Turret No. 8) Pz.Gren.Div. "Großdeutschland", Vornezh 1942 (Turret No. 2) Major Szalimov's Battalion, Leningrad Front 1942 (No. 02) Unidentified Unit, Kursk 1943 (Turret No. 3) Out of the box, the kit goes together very well. All of the sprues were clean and crisp with no flash and very little cleanup. The included magic tracks needed very little cleanup. For convenience sake, the left and right track links are slightly different shades of gray to distinguish between left and right side links. For this kit, I decided to go with the markings for turret no. 402 of Pz.Rgt.5, 21st Panzer Division. I began the kit by separating the assemblies into 5 main sections: Lower hull and suspension Upper hull and fenders Road wheels, sprockets, and idlers Turret and main gun Left and right side track runs It is important to note that the instructions call for mounting the fenders to the lower hull. I departed from this somewhat by making modifications to the firewall (part no. B24), allowing me to attach the fenders directly to the upper hull. This modification allowed me to simply drop the entire upper hull assembly over the lower hull. For the track, it is important to note that the left and right side links are molded in slightly different shades of gray with the darker gray links being for the left side track. I started by dry fitting the left side road wheel, idler, and sprocket to the lower hull assembly. I then lined up the links along a T-square in 20 link lengths. After each 20 link length, I simply applied a small drop of Tamiya Extra Thin cement. Once the entire run was complete, I let it sit for approximately 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the track is easy to handle and there is no worry about it falling apart in your hands. The entire track length was then wrapped around the wheels and left to sit over night. The same process was repeated for the right side the next night. During this process, I did not glue the ends of the track together so as to be able to remove the entire run prior to painting. The instructions call for 98 links on each side however, I found that I needed to use 101 links on each side in order to apply any amount of sag in the track.

With the completed and shaped track lengths completed, they were placed to the side and the rest of the sub assemblies primed in Tamiya Flat Black (XF-1) and left to sit over night. A base coat of 8 parts Dark Yellow (XF-60) to 2 parts Flat White (XF-2) thinned to 60/40 paint to thinner was applied to all sub assemblies. With the base coat dry, the road wheel details were painted along with all of the hand tool details. The entire unit minus the track was given a coat of Future floor polish. The appropriate decals we applied and the entire unit was given a final coat of future to seal everything in. The unit was left to sit overnight.

Once dry, an oil wash was applied to the entire unit. With the excess wash removed, mud was applied to the lower hull using a thick mixture of earth toned pastels was applied. To accomplish this, I simply scraped about a quarter of an ounce once of yellow ochre and burnt umber and mixed it with just enough Testors enamel thinner to make the mixture moist and clumpy enough to apply in clumps with a brush. The mixture looks dark going on, but dries much lighter. All of this was followed by a dusting of Mig North Africa Earth pigment. The track was given a base coat of Tamiya Red Brown followed by a light application of Vallejo Oxid Paste for texture. This was followed by a dabbing of Tamiya Flat Black thinned at around 40/60 thinner to paint. Once dry, the entire run was dry brushed with Tamiya Metallic Grey. With each track run dry, the drive sprockets, return rollers, and idler wheels were attached to the lower hull. Each track run was looped onto the lower hull and the road wheels attached starting with the road wheels next to the idler and drive sprocket first. The track ends were then attached with a small amount of CA glue. It is a tricky process, but I have found this technique to very work well on Panzer III's and IV's as well as American armor (I have found it not to work so well on armor without return rollers). The detail of the kit was wonderful and assembly was straightforward with almost no extra cleanup needed. Again, the only modifications made were to the firewall in an effort to include the fenders with the upper hull assembly as opposed to attachment directly to the lower hull. Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this kit quite a bit- so much so that upon completion, I immediately picked up the Panzer IV F2 kit to start as my next project. Many thanks to Dragon and IPMS for allowing me the opportunity to review this kit!

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