There can be few worse dilemmas t han

having only t went y minut es t o look around

a well st ocked model shop filled wit h all
manner of rare delight s. This was t he
sit uat ion t hat I found myself in during a
unscheduled visit t o t he Azimut shop in
Paris during a family holiday. During my
panicky at t empt s t o examine everyt hing in
t he shop I came across t he Coree Panzer
IV Ausf A. Immediat ely I felt t he need t o
own one and alt hough I couldn t open t he
box I could t ell from t he phot os on t he box
t hat it was good. In t he end I dit hered and l
didn t buy it and of course inst ant ly
regret t ed my decision. I didn t repeat my
mist ake and t he next t ime I saw one I
snapped it up.
Coree give you a full resin kit and include
an et ched brass fret as well. Assembly
was fairly st raight forward and I began wit h
t he lower hull and running gear. The road
wheels are exquisit e, but I had problems
wit h t he idlers as t hey were bot h badly
misshapen, and one was so badly
damaged as t o need a new sect ion of rim
added t o repair it . This was a difficult
procedure and I was forced t o hide my
repair as best I could by posit ioning t he
affect ed area up under t he t racks.
I decided not t o use t he resin t racks
supplied but t o replace t hem wit h a set of
Model Kast en working t racks. Assembling
t hese proved t o be more t ime consuming
t han cleaning up t he resin ones, and t hey
OFFENSI VE
PANZERI V ausf A
Cor ee 1: 35t h scal e
By Davi d Par k er
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proved t o be ext remely delicat e and liable
t o break which was somet hing of a
problem during paint ing.
Moving t o t he upper hull t he qualit y of t he
mast er and t he cast ings is very
apparent , but I encount ered
some problems wit h t he fit of t he
front glacis plat e and t he upper
hull. I had t o fiddle around and
add spacers t o get a sucessful fit .
The only ot her problem I had was
t he fit of t he t rackguards, which
were not long enough. I replaced
t hem wit h a set of Aber t rack
guards (t he newer versions) which I
was slight ly wary of, but in fact ,
t hey fell t oget her and are well
wort h t he effort . They add a level of
det ail and finesse t o t he finished
model which is most impressive.
The hull is supplied wit h open front
hat ches, but I chose t o close one t o
show t he well execut ed det ail on
bot h sides of t he hat ches wich is
excellent . The kit supplies excellent
t ool st owage and t here was very lit t le need
t o enhance or improve part s. The brass
fret supplies all t he lat ches and wing nut s
t hat are required. One improvement t hat i
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OFFENSI VE
A very rare pict ure of an Ausf A in combat ,
presumably during t he French campaign. Whit e t urret
numbers and a horizont al rhomboid are visible on t he
side of t he t urret . Also highly visible are t he whit e
recognit ion panels paint ed on t he rear of t he Sdkfz
251 s in t he background. Unusually, all t he crew wear
grey sidecaps.
(Phot o: Akira Takiguchi)
made was t o rebuild t he pivot ing machine
gun mount on t he hull side because t he kit
part was flimsy and dist ort ed. I built a new
one from plast ic rod and added new
cat ches from spare brass fret , and det ailed
t he folding st ep next t o it in t he same way.
The t urret is superb, wit h subt ly represent ed
weld seams, crisp hat ches wit h det ailed
int eriors. The only t ricky part s are t he vision
port s on t he cupola which are made from a
brass st rip which must be wrapped around
t he resin cupola. As you might expect , t he
t wo ends do not join exact ly, so obt aining a
good joint required careful t rimming of t he
brass and care in aligning t he vision port s
wit h t he front of t he t urret . The joint area
was t hen carefully filled before sanding t o
avoid t he t ell t ale line along t he joint .
I added new grab rails t o t he t urret roof and
a handle ont o t he cupola hat ch mechanism.
My only ot her addit ions were some et ched
chains for t he t owing point s at t he front and
rear.
I paint ed t he model using enamels wit h a
base coat of panzer grey light ened wit h
some No.72. and t he running gear and
t racks were given a good dust ing of pure
No.72. Once t his had dried t horoughly I
paint ed on all t he markings having mut ed all
t he colours by mixing in some Humbrol
No.72 t o t hem. An oil wash was t hen
applied t o pick out all t he det ails and once
again t he model was lef t t o dry. I applied
some very delicat e dry- brushing in a pale
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Ab o ve Det ail of t he smashed fencing under t he t racks of t he t ank
Ab o ve Close up of t he det ailed Machine gun mount and st ep arrangement
Ab o ve The t urret hat ch in det ail Bel o w view of t he engine deck and spare t racks
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grey, but t his was ext remely minimal. Af t er
t he ot her fixt ures and t ools had been
picked out , I applied several delicat e
applicat ions of past els t o t he model,
working t he dust y colours int o all t he
corners and around t he raised det ails.
Darker past el t ones were used t o add
shadows and wat er st aining down vert ical
surfaces. On t he t racks and part s of t he
running gear t he past els were mixed wit h
acrylic solvent and paint ed on t o give a
t hick t ext ural finish. The same met hod was
used t o finish t he exhaust mufflers, wit h
black past el dust ed on t o creat e t he soot
st ains.
The figures are a mixt ure, wit h t he infant ry
coming from t he Dragon Advance t o
St alingrad set , whilst t he crew are a
mixt ure of different body part s whoes
exact origin is now a myst ery. The
commander has a new sculpt ed
out st ret ched arm and all t he figures have
had t heir heads replaced wit h Hornet
it ems. All t he figures were finished in
enamels.
The groundwork was kept deliberat ely
simple, wit h t he t ank having driven t hrough
a fence, conveying a sense of invasion.
The fencing it self was made from model
shipbuilding t imber and sect ions were
assembled and paint ed before being
broken and added t o t he base. I especially
want ed t o show t he difference bet ween
t he old weat hered wood and t he fresher
wood t hat is visible once t he t imber is
broken. It t ook some t ime t o arrange t he
composit ion and t o get t he vehicle t o sit
convincingly int o t he ground and run down
t he slope. Hanging basket liner was used
t o make t he grass and it was t rimmed t o
recreat e t he pat h of t he vehicle t hrough
t he grass. The whole base was airbrushed
and edged t o complet e t he scene.
OFFENSI VE
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