MR Models

1/35 - Panzer IV Syrian Army For the Tamiya Panzer IV

Stock Number: 35174

Reviewed By  Mark Aldrich, IPMS# 39295

MSRP: $26.82 Website: www.mrmodellbau.com/ Ordering directly from an overseas manufacturer is getting to be a more bearable experience for me. This is my third time ordering direct from an overseas manufacturer and it went as smoothly as the rest. The only bad side of this experience was the fact that the company sent this to my home address as opposed to the "ship to" address I filled out on the order form. I usually have overseas shipments sent to my place of employment as they have to be signed for. My local (not really) Post Office is such a pain to have to go to and retrieve packages. At work, there is always someone there to sign for it in the event I am not there. MR Models makes a huge selection of armor conversions, accessories, diorama items, and full kits in all the current scales. I have always wanted to get the Syrian Panzer IV conversion set. They also make two Israeli vehicle conversions; one is for the M-60 and another for an M-113. I will be getting the M-113 next. Their website is easy to navigate and is well set up. Syria acquired their Panzer IIIs and IVs from various sources. Russia, France, and Spain have all been said to have supplied Syria with these vehicles. The condition of, painting of, and accessories and/or conversions done to these vehicles before arrival have all been subject to interpretation. Also, the alterations done by the Syrians after they received them are subject. Finding accurate pictures of Syrian Panzer IV's is next to impossible. Most of us have seen the Latrun pieces and they are a great help. Period photographs are almost non-existent. There are several showing a Panzer IV overlooking the Golan Heights, I have a blurry Stug III on parade, and a rusty Stug III and IV on the Golan's being removed from their fighting positions. For whatever reasons, there are few "period" Syrian armored vehicle photographs available for review. This kit is a simple conversion. It consists of two half page instruction sheets (German and English), fourteen resin stubs, and eight pieces of metal. The metal parts make up the Dshk 12.7mm machine gun. The instructions vaguely state that not all Syrian Panzers had all the items included. One neat item listed was that at least one Panzer IV had the rear storage bin lid removed and was filled with the spare ammo cans for the Dshk and that at least one had the lid welded shut and they mounted the Dshk cans on top of that (that makes no sense to me).

This is a neat simple conversion set to make another oddball armored fighting vehicle. Those of you that are into modeling the Middle East Wars should not hesitate to get this set. I want to thank MR Models for making the product, my wonderful wife for supporting my hobby and craziness, and IPMS/USA for a place to post this review. Have fun; build a Syrian army vehicle!