Hi guys, sorry to resurrect an old GB, I know it's been done for quite a while but I thought you'd like to see my entry finally come together.
I was building Tamiya's Pz. IV D as a tribute to one of Tony Greenland's classic models. I got hung up in scratch building the jerry can rack, and I cannot tell you the mental hurdle it was to get that stupid bit of plastic and steel strip done. If it had fallen apart, the project would have been over until I could fabricate a new one, and I still might build a new one at a later date if I can source some very fine strip brass, but for now I'll run with what I've managed to assemble, especially as the rack will be mostly obscured by the stowage in it.
Here's how I did it -- laying the rack as built way back down on some paper with ruled guides, and laying a strip of plastic into place with minute drops of CA:
For what it's worth, it worked well enough to pass for a field lash-up (though I'm sure the German mechanics were more precise than this!). Next I mounted it to the hull, using a support strip hidden under the rack platform:
There are a couple of cosmetic support strips to add, but structurally she'll hold herself up as-is. Finally I got her into primer, the desert camo being a lot lighter than the original kit plastic. I tried AK's grey primer but I think I'll need a bit of tuition or practice in using AK products, and instead used Tamiya XF-19 Sky Gray, a close match for US Neutral Gray:
Primed, she has a distinctly Dragon-ish look...
Next up, experimental mixing to work up a decent RAL 8020 match, and on with the colour...
Cheers, sorry to be so late!
Mike/TB379