Quick & Dirty Builds Vol. I – Italeri 1/35 Panzer IV F.1, F.2, G
Hey, as a modeler I’m like anyone else and enjoy building the latest and greatest kits from cutting edge manufacturers. But with the price of plastic super high these days it pays to take a look at the oldies-but-goodies, like the veteran Italeri 1/35 Panzer IV. These kits are 50 years old now and have been reissued many times, including by Testors as a yellow-label kit, but darn if they don’t build up as a decent mid-range Panzer IV. Here’s an image of the original kit boxtop, from way back in 1974.
These kits offer great value-for-money and on that basis are hard to beat, especially for Afrika Korps enthusiasts who want a buildable, affordable Panzer IV F.1 or F.2. I recently finished one as a DAK F.1 circa 1942, straight OOB with the original stiff vinyl tracks, and it sure looks like what it’s supposed to be. Italeri even re-released this old warhorse with upgraded molds about 10 years ago, a real sweetheart of a kit with photoetch, link-and-length tracks and other improvements, which if you find one second-hand on eBay, is a great deal and will build into a nice replica.
Now I realize Panzer experten have a long list of inaccuracies they quibble about with this kit, and much prefer more recent superkits with a thousand parts and price tag to match, but for sheer modeling enjoyment and a chance to improve your modeling skills, the Italeri kit is hard to beat. If you have one of these kits in your stash, it’s well worth building- the Sahara beckons!
