In all its wars, Germany excelled at maneuver warfare. However, it wasn’t until the invention of the reliable, quick, and extremely powerful Panzer IV that the German Panzer Corps really waged a blitzkrieg. Upgrades to the armor and armament of the Panzer IV took the tank from an infantry support role and made it a powerful weapon for confronting nearly any enemy. In the end, simple numbers defeated superior design. The number of Shermans and T-34s produced was ten times that of Panzer IVs.
Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8800 produced between 1936 and 1945. The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to partners such as Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia, which were to see combat in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV’s armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany’s pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed up the manufacturing process.
- Skill Level: 2
- Scale: 1/32
- Length: 8-5/8″
- Width: 3-7/8″
- Height: 3-1/8″
- Parts: 197
- Two crew members
- Molded in Olive Drab and Black Vinyl
- Optional armor skirts and turret ring
- Separate hatch covers
- Waterslide decals
- Kit # 85-7861
- MSRP: $23.99
Another month, another new release from Revell. Actually, this time under the Monogram label. The rerelease of the 1/32 PANZER IV TANK kit # 85-7861. It has been available already for a few weeks at fine hobby shops and on-line model kit sellers. As seen in the pictures provided below, there is flash on some parts to deal with. The parts are molded in Olive Green and the tracks don’t look that bad considering their age and newer offerings. The side skirts on this kit are on the thick side for those advanced model builders.
Everything looks a bit out of proportion, well, they are plus add the fact that this is a 1/32 scale model instead of the standard 1/35 for armor kits. While this is understandable not the ultimate Panzer IV model kit -see the stamp date on the pictures below-, it is absolutely a good *affordable* starting point for young modelers.
Not exactly a low parts count model kit either but if you consider at the market this kit is aimed to, it has a considerable lower parts count than a Dragon, DML, Trumpeter, Tamiya, and others. I read plenty of negative feedback every time one of these old kits are announced and released. Most complainers are missing the point.
I do spend time around 2 well-stocked local hobby shops and there is always an early teens modeler with his/her parent looking for a tank or aircraft subject at an affordable price. With a price tag of just $23.99 (USD) they can’t definitely go wrong with these offerings, Let’s not forget that most if not all of us started back in the day with very basic kits like this one. Recommended!
Thanks for the review. The Monogram IV and Sturg IV by Monogram were a couple of my early tank models in 4th grade. They hold a very special nostalgia part in my collection. I love the Tamiya, Dragon and super kits of today, but then, it was these Monogram kits that we kids talked about on the school bus. To a kid in 1970, it was a model, but simple and strong enough that it was also a toy. I still have that 1st Panzer IV, plus at least a dozen more and all the Monogram Armor Series. That 1st Sturg?- its armor couldn’t protect it from the piercing velocity of a BB gun!