Hasegawa 1/72
Accessories: PE Eduard, tools, interior and engine sets from Extratech

I built this Pz. Kpfw IV Ausf. F1 as a contest model. I started with detailed study of the available manuals and materials. Then I spent my time with making holes to the hull and turret, because I wanted to open everything possible. I wouldn’t be angry at Hasegawa if they make the plastic a little bit softer. I destroyed few scalpels and sometimes my fingers bleeded. I glued the hull together (although a little of it remained) and started to work on interior and engine area. I used both sets from Extratech. Both of them contain everything they have to and they fit perfectly. I don’t want to bless them too much, because it sounds strange from their author. The big problem of 1/72 kits is that the manufacturers use plastic thicker than it should be in scale. Castings and PE from Extratech are high quality and fitted very well. I added the seats in turret interior, the cutoff of the KwK L24 gun with the bag for the empty shells, as well as the other details (crew equipment such as gas masks and field flasks stolen from the Extratech soldiers set). After I closed the hull, I made new mudguards and added the pioneer tools and accessories from Eduard set. I changed the original undercarriage, I used the tracks and the driving wheels from Revell kit, the rest of the wheels is from Hasegawa’s Ostwind. After gluing all the hatches I sprayed the model with Agama tank gray and then shaded and finished it with oils. The model is in marking of 14th panzer division, Russian front. All the work took about 100 hours, as the biggest promlem seems to me the cutting of the turret and hull.