Panzer IV, Then & Now

My love affair with the Panzer IV started when I was a pre-teen. Shocking I know, but it was all above board I assure you. Back then, early 70's Monogram was our go to model company. I say "our" meaning myself and my older brother. Dad was often away delivering supermarket refrigeration units for a local trucking company.
My brother was old enough to have his own truck and money, and if I washed the truck on Saturday he'd buy me a kit. Weekend trips to the hobby store, stopping off at McDonalds on e way home, magical stuff. I built Axis stuff, my brother built Allied. Monogram kits were readily available and affordable. Getting a Tamiya kit was a treat. At first Monogram offered little in the way of Axis vehicles. I remember lots of US stuff, Half-Tracks in assorted varieties, the 6x6 Cargo Truck, the Patton M-48, oh, can't forget the Weasel and the Jeep with 37mm gun. Good times for the Allies. (Shout out to Peerless-Max here as well)

Then there was the Panzer IV tank. That's what they called it, no Kampfwagen or Ausf this or that. I loved it. It looked so cool, ready for anything. The crew members were casual and confident. They were winners. Ignorant of their abhorrent Nazi ideology I thought the Germans were cool. They didn't seem so bad on shows like Rat Patrol and Combat.

Anyway, I must have built between 8-10 Monogram Panzer IV's. I'm reaching was back so I can't be more accurate than that. Sadly none of them survived. I had access to zippo lighters, BB guns and fireworks. I built kits to play with them. I remember modifying some of them with metal axles on the drive sprockets and idlers so they could be pushed along. This was crucial because those orange tracks were always so tight they would pull the idlers and sometimes the sprockets off.

Then Monogram gave us a brief golden age for Axis, make that German, vehicles. Mimicking history, the venerable Panzer IV Tank hull was put to multiple uses. Now I had the StuG IV, Brummbar, Ostwind, Wirbelwind, and Panzerjager IV. Am I missing any? How about the 8 Wheel Armored Car, that one was an instant favorite. The Allies got some new toys as well, Grant, Lee and several varieties of Sherman including the eye catching Screaming Mimi. Those were some wonderful days of modeling and being a happy kid.

By the time I was 12 I started looking at models less as playthings and more as static collector items. Access to newer and better kits had a lot to do with that. Enter the Tamiya/Italeri era of my modeling journey. One instance in particular stands out, actually two but only one has a story behind it. The summer of my 12th year would be spent recuperating from some surgery I had on my leg. With admirable foresight, my mom took me to at least one hobby store (we had multiple excellent choices then) to "stock up" on kits to keep me busy. That was the year Tamiya released their Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. H. They had me at H. Actually they had me with the box art. To this day I treasure Tamiya box art.

I'll always reserve a special place in my heart for the old Monogram Panzer IV Tank. That being said the Tamiya kit was transitional. This was something to be taken seriously. The instructions not only told you how to build the model but gave you a brief history lesson of the tank as well. Again, no disrespect to the Panzer IV Tank, this new Tamiya kit instantly usurped the number 1 spot. Unlike my mass production of Monogram Mk IV's the Tamiya kit was the only one I built as a kid. I've built several more since then, one as recent as 2024.

Another Tamiya release that really hit home with me was the Panzer IV Ausf. D kit. By then I was developing more of an interest in early war tanks so that dove tailed nicely with my fondness for the Mk. IV. Something I need to rectify, I never finished the figures that came with that kit. I built three of them in total, with another one in the stash waiting on a future "Nostalgia" build.

Another transitional kit for me was the Italeri release with options to build the Ausf. F1, F2 or G (In reality a n F or G). Later they released an Ausf. H. These kits surpassed the Tamiya Ausf. H kit in many respects. It had finer detail throughout and better vinyl tracks. I ended up building four or five of those in various marks.

The modern era (for me) brought some wonderful new options for building Panzer IV tanks. I started to really appreciate the likes of Dragon's Smart Kits, even though I struggle with photo etch. They keep it to a minimum and offer non P.E. options in some cases. I ended up acquiring and building a number of these in various marks. All in all I have something like 30 Panzer IV model kits, all but two are 1/35. The other two are 1/32 (The old Monogram) and 1/16, a Trumpeter kit with interior. If you add in the vehicles built on the Panzer IV hull that number would easily double, maybe even triple if including Panzer IV modified hulls like for the Hummel and Nashorn. I don't think I'd have it any other way.

50 additional images. Click to enlarge.