Panzer IV

I bought this to build with my son during quarantine thinking the larger 1/32 scale and less detail would make for a quick build after we read the other reviews. We had usually built Tamiya 1/35 scale but had built the Revell Patton as well. The fitting of the upper hull and the turret armor did not fit well and we ultimately did not place it. The gun barrel also required some redesign as it was crooked. Overall, it came out ok, but lots of frustration with the setbacks. For the same price, I will stick with Tamiya in the future.

I and my grandson built this tank pretty much at the kitchen table in two days. He helped on a few parts but I had to assist quite a bit. It has many small parts that require a bit of experience to handle. But it builds up nice and he liked the action figures and the optional battle damaged side plate piece. The tracks are tricky to install which seems usual for tanks but super glue did the trick. We used only a basic paint scheme but with some airbrush work you could make it really standout.

This kit is one of several 1/32 tanks available from Monogram back in the day the copy right on this kit is 1970 so it's old school. It has some good points but the bad points are bad. the wheels roll and the suspension works. The down side is the tracks are too short they crush the rear idler wheels so i extended the track length by using staples to lengthen the tracks by 5-6 mm. This solved that hassle. the next hassle was the shirts in theory these should go together well but the fact is they are severely warped and will take a lot of bending to get the skirts to work on the sides. The turret skirts don't really want to go together either but with trial and error you will get it to go together but there will be gaps. The upper hull doesn't fit well either but will fit eventually. The decals come in shiny new or weathered complete with scratches nice touch. the main gun elevates but not much. the turret fits well. The kit has a lot of extra tools and fuel cans plus 2 soldiers to run your tank. This tank is not easy like it's predecessors were so don't give this kit to a newbie it will be a nightmare for them. one little hassle was there was no antenna but there is a hole for one so I had to make one. So for me this kit was a let down but the sherman and lee in this series are nice.