Revell 03333 PzKpfw IV Ausf. H (1:35)

Germany between WWI and WWII began rearming at an alarming rate in secret then in plain view, building reserves to enable them to attack and subdue the majority of Europe, including a large chunk of Easten Europe and the Soviet Union.  During the annexation of the Eastern parts of Europe and France, the Panzer I and II were adequate for the task, bolstered by the heavier Panzer III and the Panzer IV, the latter going on to partake in the remainder of WWII thanks to successive upgrades to the armour and armament.  By the time the Ausf.H reached the field, the armour had more than doubled all around, and with the use of a longer 75mm KwK 40 L/48 main gun, it was a capable tank.  It saw battle in all the major European theatres, and although it was intended to be replaced by the newer Panther, which was Germany’s answer to the dreaded Russian T-34, the fact that the Panther couldn’t be manufactured in sufficient quantities led to the continued use of the Panzer IV until the end of the conflict.  The Ausf.J superseded it with some minor changes, plus the lack of Zimmerit paste that was used to defeat magnetic mines applied by Soviet troops, a danger that had previously been exaggerated by top brass.

The Kit

This is a reboxing of a fairly old Academy kit of the type, but for its age (it’s a child of the 80s) it looks to be one of their better kits, and while it isn’t cutting edge, the main giveaway that it is of an older vintage is the space for an electric motor and batteries in the hull, that some of the ejector-pin marks are a little rougher and there are a few small sink marks here and there, such as in the back of the included commander figure.  The kit arrives in an end-opening box, and inside are five sprues and two hull parts in a sand-coloured styrene, a sprue of black additional track links, two sand-coloured sprues of flexible poly-caps, two lengths of black flexible tracks, decal sheet and instruction booklet.