German Sturmgeschutz IV Tank

Purchased here on line. Like every Tamiya kit, goes together like all kits should. I enjoyed the build, the painting (Tamiya acrylics) and the weathering (Vellejo). Very little sanding was needed. This is a good kit and can recommend it even to a beginner (considering I am but a half step or so above that). But even more, it was fun.

This was the first model I built and the model that started it all. The parts fit very snugly. There are small parts, so having a pair of tweezers would be ideal. The model looks good with or without paint. I painted mine with Panzer Schwartzgrau (gray) and it looks great. The tracks are rubber and the sprockets, idler wheel, and road wheels roll with the tracks.

Decided to start building after 30 years away (long cold winters up north here). I dove into this as my first kit back in and quickly remembered why I loved Tamiya back in the 1980's. Great kit to get back into the swing of things (building this plus Tamiya's M4 w 155/mm until airbrush is paid off currently). I did decide to cut the side plates apart the other night after I had already attached the brackets, but w Tamiya's attention to detail the molding lines cleared all the small hangers so it was easy enough to accomplish. I can see myself building it several times for different schemes and maybe grabbing some aftermarket parts for the next one and scratch building the side plates from scrap for a more realistic thickness.