I definitely will be along for the ride!  

I don't think I have that specific kit in the stash, but I have other Dragon Panzer IVs that were released around the same time with the same gargantuan amount of parts.  

Once I finished inspecting the kits for completeness, I had a hard time fitting everything back in the box!  lol!

There's almost more parts in each individual bogie unit in this kit than there are parts for the entire running gear of one of the old Tamiya IV kits.

Enjoy

No thank you. I'm getting older and need simpler kits. LOL If I'm smart, I should build all my Dragon kits now while I still have some eyesight left.

Karl

You do know that Voyager do a photo etch set as well!! I have no idea why you'd need it, unless you want full fenders, bolt on armour and many other bits.

Like a few others I have this in the stash and see it as a kit for "when I'm a better modeller".

Phil

Jean-Michel, cool; thanks for following along. There is also an upgunned PZIVD (?) with a KwK or something like that in it. It also has the same crazy parts count and sequences of assembly. I may take a look at that after this if I enjoy the challenge!

Phil H--you're right about that. Holy cow, the suspension alone took me at least four hours of sanding and assembling!

Tigerman, lol, believe it or not, that's one of the reasons that I've been saying to myself "Aye, while you're still young..." ha ha. I know what you mean!

Phil--this kit already has enough PE, thank you! If I'm not wrong, I think it actually has fender "ends" that you can bend and simulate damage with? Thanks for looking in!

Tojo---good to hear that it's "doable". Can you post a pic of yours for us to ogle? :)

tigerman

No thank you. I'm getting older and need simpler kits. LOL If I'm smart, I should build all my Dragon kits now while I still have some eyesight left.

TIGERMAN that's funny. i am 63 and got into 1/72 (One True Scale) kits last year though i still build a lot of 1/35. My eyes are weird so i have trouble using magnifiers, especially for painting so i get REALLY close. I think my detail painting is getting better as i get older; experience, patience who knows.

DOOG 1000+ pieces. my K-5 RR gun has only 1200 or so and it's a tad bigger than than your panzer.

I like the look of bolted-on armor, should be a neat build.

So, high parts count in suspension pieces? Grab a Dragon newer release Sherman with HVSS, like the M4A3/105, it'll make you glad you're doing what you have in front of you now.  

Will be following this one Karl....if the parts count weren't enough to scare me away, the thoughts of the Dragon instructions would.

However, knowing your skills and abilities, I'm looking forward to seeing your final results.

Doog,

      Does this kit carry over the option of installing individual bolts on the drive sprocket housing that was in the earlier 3in1 kits?  Talk about small parts!  I also remember that the turret hooks were multi-part assemblies.  That said, there's nothing there that is overly difficult if one studies the directions carefully beforehand and carefully plans some of the more complex build steps.  Seeing that you're already well along with the assembly of the workable drive train, the tough part is almost over...     Unless of course, you plan to assemble functional PE tool clasps... 

Don

Hello!

How can a punishment be so much FUN? I for myself enjoy building, especially in armour kits. But in your case I'm looking forward to the paint scheme - good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

That's one sweet kit. I'd love to see them downsize a kit of that magnitude for their 1/ 72 line, if that's even possible.  Good luck with the build.

the doog

Jean-Michel, cool; thanks for following along. There is also an upgunned PZIVD (?) with a KwK or something like that in it. It also has the same crazy parts count and sequences of assembly. I may take a look at that after this if I enjoy the challenge!

Phil H--you're right about that. Holy cow, the suspension alone took me at least four hours of sanding and assembling!

Tigerman, lol, believe it or not, that's one of the reasons that I've been saying to myself "Aye, while you're still young..." ha ha. I know what you mean!

Phil--this kit already has enough PE, thank you! If I'm not wrong, I think it actually has fender "ends" that you can bend and simulate damage with? Thanks for looking in!

Tojo---good to hear that it's "doable". Can you post a pic of yours for us to ogle? :)

Here it is Karl,a few mistakes on my part,but I think it came out okay.

Hey Karl I'm sure you can handle it!

Do they count all those links as parts?

You know you guys swear by Dragon, and having built some other armor like older tamiya in the past, I get it.

But I recently decided to try an armor model after a long period of ships and wing things, and bought the Dragon SU-152.

What a bad experience. The moldings are really cool, the detail is great, but i'm having a heck of a time getting the parts to fit.

All the stuff that gets stuck to the hull- the holes in the hull are way too small. I finally gave up enlarging them and have been shaving the lugs off the backs of the parts and just gluing them over the holes.

Need to finish it this month for a GB but keep setting it aside.

Nothing like a Dragon kit for easying the stress of life .

Defiantly count me along for the ride, though I would deffo avoid any Voyager PE, unless you have a straight jacket handy.

Wayne, lol, and the funny thing is, this thing is what--1/10th the size? Man, they pack 'em in tight in this little model!

Russ, I remember when the one Sherman model came out about 10 years ago or so (maybe more?) and the tracks themselves had three or four pieces EACH. I was so annoyed, I put it in the stash and never loooked at it again until I sold it on eBay years later. Are they back to that nonsense again? sheesh!

Bob, thanks! I appreciate that vote of confidence after I screwed up that PZk70 so badly! Thanks for looking in.

Don, yes it does---it has some tiny PE bolts that you can choose to put on, but I won't use those, honestly. I can't possibly see the benefit in it, and I can't see how you could realistically round off those tiny brass discs without them winging out of the tweezers into the cornfield somewhere. lol

And yes, I do plan on trying those PE tool holders. Its my "punishment", ha ha.

Bish, this kit basically hits my "PE limit". :).

Here comes the update!

Ok, you had me with the goodies, options and those 4-part suspension each. I'm in

Sounds good, Sprue---welcome to the ride! :)

Here's an update...I have decided to use an R&J Products "drop-in Driver's Compartment". Heck, this tank already has a turret basket, and with all those hatches that I can keep open, it seems like a cool place to use it.

It comes without driver's levers because they were different in different marks, (R&J's contention) so I'll have to do a little detailing. But all in all it will make a nice touch.

I had to do some serious Dremel work to remove the bottom plug..but it cleaned up perfectly.

The hull needs some cleaning up--I had to remove all those projections and ribs, etc....

After all the scraping and clipping an cutting, I decided to cover the whole hull side and front-bottom in .010 styrene sheet to make it "clean".

After much trail and error, fitting and sanding, I got the correct depth and width for the piece to "drop in".

Phew! The top hull fits!

Gonna have to paint this all up and maybe I may even scratchbuild the turret floor area. I mean, I almost have a full interior at this point. Shouldn't be hard to do a little more, even just a "suggestion" of what is there? I dunno; gonna have to see how much you can actually see...I"m not one to waste time justbuilding something you'll never see...

Soldiering on!

Well good you have a quick weekender to put together.......... OH wait,  I just read the whole thread.   

This looks like a great start on a cool project 

Never hera of R&J, but that looks a nice piece. Off to a good start.

Anthony, solid build friend. The track sag looks great.

Tojo72

Here it is Karl,a few mistakes on my part,but I think it came out okay.

Bish, R&J has some really cool, affordable little pieces and some unique figure lines. Check em out!

R&J Enterprises

Thank you Karl and Eric.

That interior will really spice it up as if it needed more.

Anthony: Very nice work there!

Karl: Ohhhhhhh love that 'drop-in' driver's compartment. I have one of those kits- I think it's a H model somewhere in my stash I picked up with the idea of doing a knocked-out tank like your ghost diorama. I haven't worked up the guts to tackle it though!

Funny, I think the Panzer IV may be my favorite German tank- somehow it just seems to have more 'character' to it than the Panther and Tiger.

Thanks Karl, some nice stuff they have on there.

Gamera, if the PZ IV is your favorite tank, you're surely not without a ton of options to choose from! YOu can spend a year or more building the various offerings and different marks of this model--not to mention all the sub-genres of panzerjaeger, SPG's, etc...!

I have detailed the interior a bit more. I've added driver controls, an instrument panel, pedals, and some various rods and fittings to fill up the driver's side and front area more. I'm going to get to painting this, glue it in, and then add some more details like rivets and bolts around the side of the walls.

Karl: Looks great, gives a solid impression of how cramped and tight the interior of a tank is. Looking forward to seeing all that painted up.

And lol, the Panzer IV is my favorite German tank, my favorite tank is the Sherman and  I've built a half-dozen or so and haven't touched the fifty zillion different versions of it and the SPGs, TDs, etc, etc, etc based off it's chassis. No friggin' idea when I'll get to all those versions of the Panzer IV!  

Hi Karl - just found this thread and will be following along.  Not in my stash, but do have the earlier incantation of the 3in1  kit with all it's errors, sigh.  The Vorpanzer came out with some 40 corrections.

The suspension was designed to be workable, but I'm pretty sure I've read it's not very robust, so you are likely right to have glued it solid.  Great start, particularly the additions to the interior.

regards,

Jack