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Brückenlegepanzer IVb on Panzer IV Ausf. D |
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built by Werner Kampfhofer (1:35) |
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Towards the end of April 1940 a total of 20 bridge laying tanks IVb were
available. They were based on Pz. Kw. IV Ausf. C ( 6 units ) and Pz.Kw.
IV Ausf. D ( 14 units ). The bridge was 9 meters long. A lot of 4 tanks
each was assigned to the 3rd bridge laying platoon of armored sapper companies
in 1., 2., 3., 5. and 10. Panzer Division. The employment in Belgium and
France was against the expectations.
Thus it has been decided on 3. June 1940 to cease the project and to have
the remaining 16 vehicles rebuild into tanks. Nevertheless another batch
of 4 Brückenlegepanzer IVc, with a 10 meters bridge, was built. They
were employed within the 3. Panzer Division, during operation "Barbarossa"
in June 1941. |
 Construction
I built the On-Track Models kit on commission. The challenge was to allow
the vehicle to be displayed either in transport or deployed mode, a feature
which has not been provided by OTM, as they offer only an either or version.
But I will come to this later. For many modelers this is their oneiric kit,
at least my euphoria about it has vanished during construction. The parts
are made of brittle and smelly resin, the swarf had a negative impact on
my skin and nasal mucosa. The sprue bushes are rather heavy and there is
pretty much "flesh" to be removed also.
The parts used for the tank seem to be borrowed from Modelkasten and Tamiya's
Panzer IV Ausf. H/J and even Ausf. D. In the later case these are e.g. the
rear idlers, but the wrong ones, with the large hubs for the battery operated
version have been chosen. Also the tools cannot hide a certain relationship
to Tamiya's Panzer IV tool set. By the way, no photo etched parts are supplied!
The casting of the bridge assembly is rather poor and requires a lot of
deburring, some pieces were torn. The hard resin is not supporting the needful
corrections.
If the kit would have been for my collection, I would have rebuilt many
parts from sheet styrene. The enclosed Friul-Model tracks are not suitable
as they represent a 40cm version, whilst a 36cm version is required. I could
have exchanged the tracks, as I had some in my stock, but was too envious
to do it. This was the wrong decision, as it was not only necessary to fit
the drive sprockets, I also had to reduce the drive housing as otherwise
the tracks would have overlapped the fenders. |
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Apart from some fitting problems the construction of the
running gear went smoothly, although I did not refer to the cartoon like
instructions very often. Some fuzzy drawings and color prints of a finished
model, that's not enough for a kit of this price range! Lacking additional
information, I could only refer to Panzer Tracts 14, the assembly of the
bridge, the support arm and the boom turned into a little nightmare. To
keep the supporting stand moveable all hinges had to be drilled out, partly
rebuilt and fed with a wire. For the frame which is stored under the bridge
during traveling position, I had to add two rails which serve as guide and
support.
I am not sure if this is in any relation to the real thing. Any hints are
more than welcome! Due to bad molding I had to rebuild large areas of the
boom. The boom has been brought into position with wire ropes, which were
moved via cardan shaft driven guide rollers. As further benefit the bridge
could be prised, but how this exactly worked, I have no clue at all! As
I did not have the intention to implement such a drivetrain, which on the
other hand would control the right tension of the wire ropes, it was time
to sit back and think.
Making a few hinges moveable, displaying the bridge in either permeated
or extended position is no problem, but to carry along the rig accordingly
is a different cup of tea. I found the solution in the drawers of my mother
in law, a piece of white rubber band, normally used by tailors. With this
band it is possible to simulate the appropriate rigging with just a few
grips. |
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Painting
While there is less doubt about the basic color, Panzergrau, painting the
bridge, in particular the crossbeams which built up the contact surface,
is a little mystery. What are they made of? Wood? Metal? Were they painted
at all? One solution I can give straightaway: the instructions do not loose
a word on it. So I assumed that the bars are made of iron and have been
painted in the vehicle color. I used Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya acrylics. Chipped
paint was accomplished by using Valleyo Air light grey. There are a lot
of dots to be applied..I used several oils and MIG powders for weathering.
The decals are from several Verlinden dry-transfer sets.
Conclusion
I rather built another Mörser Karl from CMK than this beast! |
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meet the modeler |
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Werner Kampfhofer |
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Hi, I am Werner Kampfhofer, born 1963-03-05
in Vienna. I live there with my wife, my son and currently 3 dogs. My modelling career started at the age of nine and a plane
from airfix. What began sporadically, turned into manic over
the years (that's at least the opinion of my wife).
My main focus are AFV in 1/35, without a historical limit and
I have no objections against kits from other branches. I always
try to get out the best of me and thus modelling is not fun
for me anymore, it is work, but a work I enjoy. |
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Email:  tankbuster@chello.at |
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Web: www.wk1963.at |
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This page: GALLERY:Brückenlegepanzer IVb on
Panzer IV Ausf. D (1:35), built by Werner Kampfhofer
was last modified on: Aug 01, 2004
The URL of the page is: http://www.rlm.at/cont/gal15_e.htm
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