Dragon Pzkpfw IV Ausf. G LAH 1943 (2008)

[Bill Plunk]

Build log for Dragon kit #6363 Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf G LAH Division, Kharkov 1943 as an OOB project.



There are some "easter eggs" in this and other IV Smart Kits (F1 and F2) that DML doesn't mention in their instructions but are on the sprues:

1) when adding the hatches for the driver and RO you see Dragon has molded on the padlock locking point but they don't mention you should add the other half of this to the hull ..these are parts number A57.

2)Dragon has added some half wing nuts (A58)on their sprues but don't tell you add one to each of the panels (E21 and E22) to hold them down on the fenders.

3) When building up the barrel in step 14 or 15 ..On part B40 there is a little square in the front corner ...you should drill a small hole in the middle of that square and add part B47.

Another little quirk on the instructions is it says to make the tow ropes 150 mm long but thats including the end loops as well. If you measure the 150mm as being the cable length only, when you try to add them to their hooks they don't fit.

[Bill Plunk]

I actually started work on this one last week while watching the NFL playoffs due to the fact that the first step deals with the many road-wheels that are common to the Pz IV family. This step calls for the assembly of the sprockets, idlers, road wheels, and return rollers. You do need to be sure that you use the correct parts and not include A6 by accident since that's the earlier style of sprocket face. All of the 36 road wheels (32 for the suspension, 4 for the spares) require their mold seam to be removed and this is why it was perfectly suited for working on while watching TV...it's a slow, tedious, repetitive process, but one that I wanted to get out of the way early. The return rollers also had a small seam to clean up and when you assemble them together, care is needed due to the small mating surface to insure they are even top and bottom. This step also asks you to construct 4 lifting eyes but these aren't used until much later in the instructions, so I skipped that for later.

Once done, I set them off to the side in a plastic drawer from my spares bin to avoid any going "missing". This is something I do as a matter of course with all "loose" parts that are assembled or partially assembled but left off the vehicle until after painting.





Step 2 moves on to the lower hull. There are two sub-assemblies to this step, the first deals with the rear plate. An option is presented to use either the early style plate, E26, or the later style plate with the round coolant access hatch, E27. I opted for E27 and installed the square access hatch E29 before attaching to E13 and creating the full plate.



The second sub-assembly deals with the nose plate. An option is presented here as well to go with the standard 50mm nose plate or add an extra 30mm welded plate. To add the extra 30mm plate, 4 holes need to be opened up to accommodate it. All but 1 of the vehicles, Red 215 LAH 1943, are shown in the finishing guide with the extra plate installed, so install it depending on your choice. I went ahead and added it before installing the towing pintles to have room to work with to insure all the surfaces mated well since it has molded on weld beads included.

The towing pintles are a complex 5 part assembly for each side and after some study, decided the best way was to fit the pintles, A31, into the eyes first then use some liquid glue to secure them to the base.



The rear plate was then installed along with the base extension plate, E11. The tendency at this point might be to think that Dragon made an error and there's a large gap between the molded on idler mount braces and the rear plate, but this gap should be there as it will be filled in with parts E31 and E32 in Step 4.



The nose plate was then installed along with the front halves of the final drive mounts on either side to complete the step.



Step 3 is a busy step dealing with adding more details to the lower hull sides. A sub-assembly is called for to create each of the armored final drive housings and the instructions can be a little confusing here if not careful. The arrangement of A9, A10, and A8 depends on which side you're dealing with and the arrow from the sub-assembly points to the right side when it should point to the left.

The suspension mounts were installed, 4 to a side. Be careful when removing them from the sprues not get them mixed up as there are 4 per sprue, but 2 are for the left (A38) and 2 for the right (A39). The two-part bump-stops were also assembled and installed, 5 per side, and the two armored circular ports on the left side installed.



Step 4 deals with the details for the rear hull plate. A sub-assembly step for constructing the muffler is provided. The muffler has 7 parts for itself plus 2 more for the holders/mounts to the hull. 2 of those parts consist of the feed pipes from the engine deck and, while a nice detail, are totally hidden from view once the semi-circular trays are mounted. These 2 pipes play a critical role though in that they are integral to mounting to the hull plate and need to be perfectly straight to avoid complications, so I test fit them multiple times while the glue set to be sure. The slight mold seam was sanded down with a sanding twig. Installation of the muffler is a tight fit, almost a snap fit, and very little glue was required to secure it in place.

The rear idler mounts were also constructed as a sub-assembly and then installed along with parts E31/32 to close the gaps mentioned previously. The crank-start port and cover were also installed along with the auxiliary turret motor muffler which has two choices, one with the exhaust pointing up (B28) or down (E17), and I chose the one pointing down. Last but not least, the rear towing pintle was assembled and installed. You've got three choices here and I chose the heavy-duty option of parts H23/H26/H13/H27.

[Bill Plunk]

Picking up from yesterday, work continued on with Step 5. This step deals with the construction of the glacis plate and, while the instructions don't tell you this, you actually need to choose the correct glacis plate depending on whether or not you will fit the added 30mm plates to the hull front and driver's areas. If you do, then you need to use part E19 as called for in the instructions, if you don't then you need to use part E15. I used E19 and also opted for the spare track run that installs here, so the 5 holes on the underside were opened up with a pin vise to allow for that to be installed later.



Step 6 deals with the installation of the suspension bogies and these are not designed to be workable. The suspension elements are one-piece with a separate end cap that traps the element in place. This step also directs for the installation of the idler mounts but I left those off to allow for positioning when the tracks are fitted. This step also directs the installation of the glacis plate to the hull.





Step 7 deals with the fenders and tracks installation. I will install the tracks later so my focus was on the fenders. The hull tub has 3 nubs on each side that need to be removed, something the instructions don't indicate, but is obvious when you try to fit the fenders that they have to go. The instructions also indicate that you should attach the front and rear mud-flaps before installing the fenders to the hull, but I found the attachment points for the rear flaps to be too delicate and left them off until after the fenders were installed. The fenders fit very snugly against the hull and the mating surface, except in the middle, is very narrow. I used some liquid glue along those surfaces to help insure a good tight fit along with the installation of the bulkhead part B24 to keep the fenders from bowing slightly towards the rear.





Steps 8 and 9 deal with the upper hull sides and the installation of the side vision ports for the driver and radio-operator/machine-gunner. I decided to install the full port assembly for the driver and, if you're careful, it can remain workable. I will pose this one in the open position so the full gear was installed. The instructions also tell you to open up a hole in E7 and I did this as directed but looking further in the instructions I discovered that nothing is actually mounted here...and the hole shouldn't be there, so I will have to fill that later on with some putty.



Step 10 deals with several sub-assemblies in preparation for the upper hull to be constructed. The rear engine decks get some details and the option is there to install the PE shutters under the intakes if you want to display them closed, otherwise they don't add any detail. The side intakes also contain an option of either raised bolts or recessed bolts for their mounts to the hull...it's nice to have the choice but they are so far back it's hard to see once you install them and I went with the H44/H48 raised bolt option as a flip-of-the-coin choice. The tow rope hangers are also added to the rear plate at this point and while the instructions indicate installation of the ropes at this point, I held off for two reasons: 1) to allow for easier installation of the plate and 2) the ropes will be detailed and painted separately.



This step also has the sub-assembly of the bow MG34 and the assembly of the front hull superstructure plate. Since I added the nose armor I also added the welded on plates for this area as well. The posed the driver's hood visor in the open position and installed the armored glass block, giving it a very light coat of Tamiya Clear Green on the back surface for added effect.



Step 11 is a big step, it calls for the assembly of the upper hull from all the different sub-assemblies constructed previously and then attachment to the lower hull. I started by attaching the side air intakes, then the front and rear plates, then the side plates last.



Then the upper hull was joined to the lower hull. The fit here is very good, just a little finger pressure required at the rear plate to get things settled. Some additional liquid glue and finger pressure to get the side fenders to mate up cleanly as well was all that was needed.



Step 12 deals with the side details for the left side. I assembled the Bosch light and went to install it only to discover that you need to open up 2 holes on the underside of the fender to mount these...something the instructions never indicate as necessary. Fortunately I could still reach the holes cleanly with a pin vise so it wasn't too difficult to open them up. Other details were added in the form of the fire extinguisher and the rear Notek light and reflector. The side spare-wheel bin was also installed although I found it necessary to trim off the locater pins in order to get it to sit level as the locater holes in the fender don't go all the way through and are too shallow. I also opted for the styrene intake screens instead of the PE options for convenience sake. If I'd decided to show the screens in the closed position, then the PE items would've been a better option. The pioneer tools for this side were left off for later installation after painting.



Step 13 deals with the right side details. The Bosch light was added here as well and the multi-part jack assembled and installed. The antenna trough was attached to the hull side and the antenna installed in the stored position to round out things here. As with the left side, the pioneer tools and spare track links for this side were left off for later installation after painting.



Next up will be the turret.

[Bill Plunk]

Picking up where I left off last week, work turned to the main gun and turret. Step 14 calls for the construction of the recoil sleeve and mantle and the choice is given to have the sleeve either with the bolts on top or on the side...I chose the top due to the fact that the weld seam molded on the sleeve base was more complete at the top vs. the bottom.

Step 15 adds the one-piece barrel, the recoil cylinders, the muzzle brake, and the rear half of the gun mount. It's important to insure that you passe the barrel through the recoil sleeve first before attaching the muzzle brake, otherwise the barrel won't fit properly. The muzzle brake is a three-part assembly and just required a tiny bit of sanding to eliminate the join seam. The brake attaches directly to the end of the barrel via a "D" shaped pin to help insure the brake's properly aligned with the barrel. A word of caution here, if you want the gun to remain movable, DO NOT glue parts B11 and B12 as directed, they fit tightly on the pins of B34 and if left unglued, the gun can elevate. The instructions don't indicate this, only the standard black arrows are present for their attachment.



Step 16 continues the work on the gun mount with the turret face plate and breech details added. The turret face plate is correctly labeled B3 on the call-out box but reverts to D7 in the main step diagram...but there's no D7 part provided, it's just a transcription error. In the call-out box, the gunner's view port and armored glass block are installed and it's possible to position this in either the open or closed position but, again, the instructions don't indicate this. Fitting A24, the port hinge, through the space provided is a tight fit and you have to be careful to avoid damaging the part but it is possible to do. The clear part got a very light coat of Tamiya Clear Green for the armored glass before I installed the cover.



The breech assembly is straight-forward with a choice presented of two different types of breech block. The guard rails were also installed without any real issue but the absence of a spent shell basket is telling. The gun assembly was first attached to the turret face plate, then the breech added, followed by the guard rails. The hinge parts I mentioned above were very carefully glued to the face plate to secure them and still leave the gun movable.



Step 17 deals with several sub-assemblies in preparation for assembling the turret. The first deals with the top half of the turret, two holes are opened up to allow for the installation of the signal port later on. The fume extractor fan is also installed in this step, but it needs to be integrated with parts B26 and B27 in Step 18, so I cheated a bit and installed all three together at the same time. The detail on the fan is really impressive...even has fan blades on the external surface although of course this is totally invisible once the outer covers are in place...but it is there. The rear turret lifting eyes and pistol port covers were also installed. It is possible to install the port covers in the open position if desired, the slots for the ports are there and go all the way through the turret.



Next up was the assembly of the rear turret bin. The 2-piece top was installed in the closed position although it could be posed open if desired, the top part of the bin includes details on the inner surface.



Also getting attention was the turret bottom half. This has many large half-moon posts that need to be removed and sanded down and the commander's seat and frame are also installed. I toyed with the idea, briefly, of having the commander's hatch open but ultimately decided against it. The seat is very nicely detailed but the attachment points for the seat to the frame are very delicate. I found it best to attach the frame to the turret half first, then mount the seat.



Last but not least, the commander's cupola. I closed the hatches but left all the view ports open. The fit of the view-ports into their cupola mounts needs to be precise to allow the cupola top to fit properly and since there are 5 of them, it's a delicate assembly at first until the glue sets up. I masked each clear glass block with blue-tack to protect it during painting.



The big Step 18 was next, this step essentially builds the turret and adds its final details. It's not possible to join the top and bottom due to the size of the gun breech parts, so the first thing I did was attach the turret face plate to the turret top to insure a solid join. This was followed by the turret bottom, then the cupola, then the rear stowage box. After all that was complete, the side hatches were installed. The little call-out box is confusing as it has the parts actually reversed...the G30/G29 doors belong on the right side while the G27/G28 doors belong on the left. The arrow on the call-out box points to the right side and is the source of confusion. In addition, the side hinge mounts for the doors are meant to attach directly to the doors themselves and then into the turret side, so you have to be sure these are aligned properly for the hatches to fit correctly. Since I've decided to build Red 205, the forward lifting eyes were installed in place of the smoke grenade launchers.



And the final, final Step 19 fits the turret to the hull. The fit here is a little loose, so the turret depends on gravity alone to hold it in place. I will be painting these separate to avoid problems with handling and keep the turret off to the side until every-thing's done to avoid problems.

[Bill Plunk]

Today's efforts focused on painting and before I go into that, I need to preface that sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing...I looked up the time frame for the Battle of Kharkov since I was looking to do the LAH red 205 vehicle and noted that it was Feb.-March 1943...and knowing that the order for Dunkelgelb didn't go into effect until Feb. 1943, I deduced that the base-coat should be Panzer Gray under the white-wash. It was only after I painted it that I learned that the LAH Pz IVs were brand-new and are documented as having the Dunkelgelb base-coat under their whitewash. It's ironic in that I intended to do this originally due to the portrayal of the box-art but switched at the last moment due to my spot research. This meant that I had to switch to Plan B and live with a finished model that will not be 100% accurate as a result. More on Plan B in a moment.

First up of course was the Panzer Gray base coat. It serves a dual purpose of being both a primer and pre-shade coat since the white wash will be applied over it.



This was followed by several very light coats of Light Gray to slowly build up the white wash finish. The finish deliberately allows the Panzer Gray to show through to varying degrees over the hull and is by no means finished. This is just the foundation for later work to build on.



It was also at this point that I realized the crew grab handle was missing from the left side...looking back over the instructions, I noticed that it magically appears on the vehicle in Step 12 but doesn't have a parts call-out or indicator for its installation. It is in fact part B22 and was duly installed.



Now came the implementation of Plan B...the finishing guide includes markings for a Panzer Gray vehicle, white 332, at Kharkov in 1943...but since I had finished this in a white wash, having white vehicle numbers wouldn't mean much, so I went back and used a 15 mm x 8 mm template (after measuring the dimensions of the decal on the sheet) cut from sheet styrene to put the Panzer Gray back on the turret sides, the turret bin rear, and then sprayed circular spots on the hull front and rear for the Totenkopf emblem. The sharp lines of the squares were softened freehand, the over-spray will get worked back into the overall finish later on. Granted this vehicle sports the smoke grenade launchers but this, to my mind, was mitigated by the Panzer Gray finish. It's a compromise and saves me from having to strip and repaint...which would've erased an entire day's worth of effort in the process.





Then, to round out the day's activities, the road wheels and return rollers were installed on both sides.



Due to the white wash finish, the process of weathering and detailing will be shifted around a bit from the "normal" process to allow access to the surfaces before too much stuff gets in the way.

[Bill Plunk]

Work continued with the focus on the whitewash up first. Since there are a lot of equipment items to install, I decided to work on the whitewash foundation first. Using the air-brushed Light Gray as a foundation, I dry-brushed straight Panzer Gray using a 0 round sable brush over all the surfaces. I started at the front of the vehicle and worked my way back along the hull and fenders with the turret being done last. Once satisfied, I did the same thing with the Light Gray but in lighter passes to blend it all back together and correct some of the excesses here and there.



Next attention turned to the details and the pioneer tools. The fenders are crowded for the most part and exact placement is crucial. The left fender came first, with the various metal surfaces on the tools painted with Testor's Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal followed by dry-brushed steel. The wood handles on the cleaning rods were painted with my own mix of "wood" color followed by a light brushing of artist pastel Burnt Umber. Going off reference photos, I also dry-brushed Light Gray over the spare road-wheels and installed them. The same thing was done to the main road wheels but lighter and the undersides of the lower hull were given a very heavy dry-brushing of Panzer Gray to show wear.



The right side fender got similar attention as the left. I realized that I'd incorrectly installed the jack in earlier steps so had to gently remove it and reposition it in the correct orientation for the shovel to install properly. I also discovered that part H3 doesn't fit under the fender brace H5 without a lot of force, I was able to get it in but it's much easier if you install H3 before H5 (something I didn't realize back in Step 13 when I left the tools off).



The rear hull also got some attention with the exhausts base-coated in the same Metalizer Gunmetal and then given a wash of Rust followed by dry-brushed Burnt Umber. The rear Notek lenses were done with Tamiya Clear Green and the fender reflector with Tamiya Clear Red.



The spare track runs were added both to the glacis and the hull front. The glacis run is a combination of standard links from the Magic tracks and special links with mount pins and, most importantly, the track pins molded in for the first and last links. I took 4 links from the Lefthand bag for this run. Installing the holders for this run is a little tricky due to their very small size and small attachment surface and proved an exercise in patience. The track runs were base-coated with the Metalizer Gunmetal and then given successive washes of Rust and Burnt Umber with additional Burnt Umber dry-brushed as well to tone down some spots here and there.

The front hull run is 9 links which I took from the Righthand bag just to be sure I had sufficient links and to provide some variety vs. the top run. This run is tricky to install because of the added thickness of the additional armor plate, the tolerance between the clamp bar and the hull is narrower. As a result, the fit is extremely tight no glue was needed to secure this one in place. It's worth noting that the instructions diagram in Step 11 show the guide horns under the clamp bar for some reason instead of above the bar where it should be...later on in Step 19 and in the Finishing Guide diagrams the tracks in their proper orientation though. I had to double check my references just to be sure and it was a head-scratcher for a moment.



All that's left to do now is assemble and install the tracks and then the markings and weathering will follow.

[Bill Plunk]

Today's efforts focused solely on the tracks. Each of the "Magic" links needed attention in the form of removing a small nub on each guide horn and making sure the two ejector marks on either side of the guide horn were removed. I did this for both full bags of links, right and left, to make the assembly process as smooth as possible. My method for indy links is a little unorthodox in that I engage in a "speed" build with them, a race against the clock due to the setting time of the glue. To construct a track side, I assemble the full run (in this case 100 links per side) into one long track using Testor's black bottle glue. This glue has a longer set time and allows for roughly 1 hour of work time before it starts to set up and the run become too stiff to work. Once the run is constructed, it's quickly painted with Metalizer Gunmetal, dry-brushed with Steel, given a wash of Rust followed by a wash of Burnt Umber, and then installed along with the sprockets and idlers (and their mount arms left off from previous steps). I use toothpicks in connection with the fenders to hold the links down onto the return rollers and produce the desired sag.



This process is then repeated on the right side, with a run of 20 links constructed first to hold the installed left side level until the full run can be installed on the right side.



Then, because it was Super Bowl Sunday, I let it set for 4 hours while I watched the game and then came back and removed the toothpicks.





Next up will be the sealing coat of Future followed by the decals and final weathering. Almost to the finish line.

[Bill Plunk]

A lot of progress made actually yesterday and today but I held off posting the updates as the majority of the work was done today. First in line was a coat of Future applied overall to the vehicle and allowed to set for a couple of hours before the decal markings were applied. The markings are fairly straightforward, just a set of turret numbers and the Totenkopf emblem on the front and rear. The Totenkopf was an interesting arrangement, it's actually 3 parts with the white background as one decal, followed by the eyes/nose of the skull, and then the jaw line as the final piece. These were all applied and given a dose of Walther's Solvaset to insure they snugged down tight to the surface. Then a second coat of Future was applied and left to set again, this time overnight since it was a Friday.



Starting out this morning, I began the weathering process by applying a pin wash of Raw Umber to all the different detail surfaces. The wash is a mix of about 90/10 Thinner/Raw Umber enamels and the brush is a 3/0 sable brush.



The beauty of the Future sealing coats is that the underlying coat is thoroughly protected and the wash I applied can now be adjusted and worked into the finish or removed as needed. To do this, I use the same 3/0 brush as before but use a spare mixing bottle with clean thinner to coax the excess wash into places where I want it to go or remove it entirely.



For example, in the photo below, you'll see on the left side the forward portion of the hull has had the wash adjusted while on the right side the rear engine deck hasn't yet received its attention. By working carefully and wiping the brush on a paper towel frequently to avoid paint build-up, the wash can be fine-tuned to very tight tolerances and any tide-markes removed or blended in.



Going over the whole vehicle, I spent about 3 hours adjusting the wash until I was satisfied with the results on both the hull and turret.



The entire vehicle was then given a coat of Testor's Lusterless Flat in the rattlecan and allowed to thoroughly dry before moving on to the next step of weathering the suspension and running gear. I opted for a mix of Russian Dark Earth and Dark Mud Mig Pigments and added them together at a roughly 50-50 ratio into a prescription bottle lid and mixed them together as a dry-powder first.



Then I added ordinary tap water to produce a wet mixture and applied it with a 0 round sable brush and allowed it to air-dry.



The best way to describe the next step in the process is "addition by subtraction" meaning that the desired effect is achieved by carefully removing the pigments from the areas where they were too heavy or I didn't want them to be. To do this, I go over the surface first with a set of stiff bristled brushes, while wearing a dust mask to avoid inhaling the fine pigment powder, and then follow-up with moistened q-tips to further remove or blend the pigments.



Once that's done, then I carefully dry-brush some Steel on the track faces on the front and rear for their wear.



And that's where it stands...I'll let it sit overnight and then check to see if any adjustments need to be made and then it's off to the photo-booth for the final completion shots.

[Bill Plunk]

Work wrapped on this one, all done!

[Bill Plunk]

This build has been published in the FineScale Modeler May 2010 issue on pp 50-53.