Ok so this is the Tamiya Jagdpanzer IV. The old one. *sigh*. Well, the year is 1976 and Tamiya is churning out 1/35 armor kits at a very high rate. Since the Jagdpanzer IV is based on the Panzer IV Tamiya decided to have a go and release this kit since they already had the tooling from earlier kits. The trouble was at this point it wasn't clear whether these kits were models toys or scale models. As a result, this kit has some issues. When I say that keep in mind that, for most of these at least, unless you are a serious student of German armor of the second world war you likely will not notice these. But here are a select few:
1. Motorization holes. The lower hull was engineered to take a small battery powered motor and gearbox plus the batteries to make it run. To correct this you will need some plastic sheet, and some putty. That will correct those.
2. Rubber band tracks. These are pretty standard in older kits, while they aren't as realistic as the individual link type tracks they are MUCH quicker and easier to work with. If you plan on building any number of older kits with these tracks invest in a can of duplicolor bumper paint. It is a flexible paint intended for bumpers and trim on cars that is black and dries to a matte sheen. Once painted with this as a primer you can paint and weather them as you like.
3. Return rollers. The lower hull has mounting points for four return rollers per side which would represent an early production vehicle. If you want to build a later variant you will need to remove these mounting points and reposition them, and source new steel roadwheels for the
front. (or you could use the kit supplied ones and figure that ANY German arms factory in 1944/1945 would use any parts on hand to get something out the door that would kill Russian tanks).
So what is right about this kit. You always hear what is bad awful and terrible about it how about the good schtuff:
1. It looks just like every Jagdpanzer IV I have seen in pictures and films. I highly doubt it would be mistaken for a 1969 El Camino or the HMS Bounty.
2. It fits together right just like most Tamiya kits do. Not a load of drama getting things together.
3.It will reward any TLC you give it! You can build this in a weekend or go absolutely all out on it. On top of that...
4. It's $20
Yes, Tamiya has a new Jagdpanzer kit out and yes, I am certain it is a better kit (I have not seen it.... yet :)). That new kit is...between TWO and THREE TIMES the cost of this one. the question is then, is it three times better?
I don't think so for most people.
So If you are considering scale AFV modeling you can't really go wrong with this kit. Give it a try!
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Get it May 15 - 20
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Reviews with images
Wonderful Tamiya quality!
The kit was a fun one to assemble and since it was a late war design it was perfect for more experimental painting like I have done here!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2015
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
The kit was a fun one to assemble and since it was a late war design it was perfect for more experimental painting like I have done here!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Angelo
Super modello per iniziare alla "grande"
Reviewed in Italy on October 7, 2021
Angelo
Reviewed in Italy on October 7, 2021
Qualità tamiya ottima come sempre! altamente consigliato.
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hejmanowski slavomir
La souplesse d'utilisation
Reviewed in France on July 10, 2019