Bandai 1/15 Panzer IV Project
The 1/15th scale Panzer IV
Ausf F2 by Bandai has been around since 1971. It is
alleged that Bandai purchased the original circa 1964 molds through the
bankruptcy of Imai Kagaku Co. Ltd., a Japanese based hobby company. Bandai has re-issued the kit due
to the renewed interest in big scale tanks by Tamiya. Bandai has chosen to
reissue the 1971 kit without the operating turret gearbox, main gun elevation
gearbox and electric drive motors for the tracks. Bandai still includes the
left and right drive gearboxes.
The instruction booklet is written
in Japanese and is the only item updated in the kit… deleting all
reference to the original design operating turret and main gun. The box art is
also changed.
The kit builds into a “stand way off and squint”
scale model. In researching the actual Panzer IV series, I theorize that
the measurements may have come from a Panzer IV Ausf E hull to which an F2
turret had been mated. I have read that European museums were
noted for tank-bashing various wrecked vehicles to create a presentable
(though inaccurate) display. It is
plausible that research personnel used such a “composite” vehicle to
reproduce. Whoever really originated this kit did not do their
homework. Compounding the hull/turret mismatch with production short cuts
and “artistic license” and the kit is a poor representation.
In its defense the kit does provide an
excellent jumping off point for the scratch-detailing enthusiast. Having said that, once you open the box your
work is really cut out for you. Many existing parts cannot be modified
satisfactorily and much of the detail is just plain missing.
What follows is my interpretation of the F2. The next pages
can take a very long time to download. Be patient. Your computer is NOT frozen.
Feel free to copy any photos you'd like to keep.
Panzer Project
Construction Photos…
Bandai Panzer Nears
Completion…
