Panzer IV Ausf. F2

Manufacturer: Hasegawa withPhotoetched tracks by PART

by Augusto Versiani

Few times I had so many problemswhen assembling a model as with this one. However, the truth isthat they were caused by factors that had nothing to do with thequality of model kit itself.

I started assembling the tracks,replacing the originals with PART. The article that deals withassembling this nice photoetch can be found elsewherein this site .

The work was resumed only somemonths after that, which is not normal for my way of working.When I resumed the job, I couldn’t take my eyes off thehorrible sprockets that come with the kit. The size and the shapeof the teeth had nothing to do with the real thing. I decided tosubstitute them by using the ones from the ESCI Hummel. To dothis I had to open the PART tracks that were already installed.It was a bad decision, since the wheels of the ESCI model areworse than the originals included on the kit. Definitely the bestsolution would be using the sprockets from Revell Pz IV. However,as this was not available, I decided to reinstall the originalsprockets from Hasegawa, with reworked teeth, in order to improveits appearance.

When mounting the stowage bin atthe back of the turret, I noticed that the fit was poor due alittle lump on it. I removed this "obstacle" and sandedit until getting what I imagined to be a perfect and flawlessfit. After this, while taking a glance at some pages in order tosearch for references, I found out, to my dismay, that thestowage bin had a space from the turret as represented on theoriginal kit. I removed the bin and remade the lump that alreadyexisted in the original turret with a small part of plastic . Theremaining assembly occurred without problems. I made only somesmall alterations by adding the hooks in the turret made withplastic and scraps from my spare box, some details in the bin andthe handles over the main access doors using steel wire.

My idea was to represent a tankused by the Africa Korps with a good dose of weathering in thepainting. During my first attempt, after I painted I used apencil to apply the peeled effect manually. However, I found thatI exaggerated it and the final result was not good. Once I hadalready applied oils, pastel chalks and varnish, I decided thatthe only way was to redo it from the beginning and applied asecond layer of paint overall. Then I decided to try to apply the"salt technique".

To represent the apparent metal,I used the pencil again, scratching out the parts where it issupposed to appear as peeled ones. However, at this point I madea mistake. After using the pencil, I should have sealed thegraphite with a coat of varnish. Instead, I applied directly thewater and the salt on it. After that dried, I began to remove thesalt. The graphite mixed with the water had formed a kind of mudand the more I stroke the brush to remove the salt, the more Iended up with mud spread all over the kit, destroying thefinishing. At this point I almost quit the kit. However, Iremembered that the PART tracks were already installed, and thiswas the drive that made me to go ahead.

There were two layers of paint onthe kit, among other finishing materials. Then I decided that theonly way was to remove all the paint and to start again. HappilyI use only acrylic paints and applying alcohol carefully withcotton was possible to remove most of the paint.

In spite of all care, some smallparts had broken, including one of the small hooks that I couldnot find anymore. I applied a new layer of paint.

After it dried, this time Iapplied the chipped effect with 4B of 0,5 mm pencil, drawing eachpeeled section individually. The result seemed reasonable.

Before applying the decals, Iapplied a small layer of future that prevented silvering andstill helped them to conform to the irregular surfaces. Themarkings came from T.L. decals. Their line has fine decals, butthe swastikas, even the smallest ones, as the ones found on theAfrica Korps palm trees, are split, certainly a imposition bysome legislation. But the fact is that it was impossible to me tomount the miniature swastikas. To disguise this defect, I appliedpastel chalks on all the symbols aging them, turning what wouldbe a flaw into a natural weathering.

The exhaust pipe was painted withblack pastel chalk as base and some brown tones over untilgetting the desired effect. All over the kit was applied a washwith brown shade oils and matte varnish.

Conclusion: In spite all of thedescribed problems, the Hasegawa kit is easy to assemble andoffers a good representation of the original vehicle. The biggestflaws are the tracks and the sprockets that definitely needreplacement. Recommended for every one.

Tanks to Ricardo Haddad for helping mewith the English text and to Stephen Brezinski, AlanCaylor and Lawrence Goh for the advice on chipped paint.