BRA Panzer IV Project Build

    The German Panzer IV is one of the more popular armored vehicle projects to work on.  It was considered the workhorse of the German panzergruppen and can be found in a number of appealing variants.   It is for this reason why the Battle Ready Armor kit provides a suitable platform on which to build.  The decision to begin this particular project was based on the need to create more room in the workshop whereby the flat sheet metal packs take up much needed space.  We will only complete the assembly of the upper, lower hulls along with the turret and other select components.  These can be done relatively quickly and there are a number of projects in front of this one which require our attention first.  These first steps mirror procedures taken on a other BRA kits as well.

This page was last updated: January 7, 2012

    As with other BRA kits, the sheet metal is shipped in flat sheets which must be thoroughly cleaned and primered before assembly.  The sheet metal can be secured using either .125 rivets, conventional screws or a combination of both depending on whether or not you wish for the rivets to be seen or not.   With this kit, we had a not so unique problem with oxidation ie. rust.  Lots of it so much of our prep work involved treating the steel prior to painting.

       We also decided to reinforce the lower and upper hulls by using a MIG welder.  Having never done this before this proved to be somewhat of an experiment but the results were good and not too ambitious for the first time.  You have to be careful not to use too much heat or you will burn through the steel sheet.  We used spot welds along some of the seams and welded along the mounting tabs inside.

    In these first few shots, the larger hull and turret components were stripped down to bare metal using an angle grinder and wire brush attachment.  The lower hull was badly rusted so we followed with two coats of a phosphoric acid compound which neutralizes the rust and converts any residual oxidation to an inert solid.  An interesting benefit to the rust problem is that it actually provides a terrific weathering effect to the body panels.  More on this later.

     We cleaned all of the sheet metal pieces and applied three coats of red oxide primer.  Here we have the turret ready to be tightened up and prepped for the installation of the mantlet, gun mount and other turret features.  We will seal all of the seams with epoxy prior to final assembly and paint.

 

    Here is a shot of the finished upper hull.

    Pictured left is the lower hull after it has been folded and secured with rivets.  You really need to be careful in folding the internal supports which transition into the side hull.  The pictures in the instruction manual do not show enough detail to make sense but the internal supports should protrude outward from the base of the hull and not inward.  An obvious clue that you have reversed the proper order is when the front and rear hull plates to not align correctly.

    We have left the lower hull unpainted in order that we might apply welds along the internal seams for added support.  Not only will this strengthen the hull but it will help fill in some of the seams.

    The turret for the Panzer IV is a fairly straightforward assembly although there are very few attachment points for securing each panel.  This is probably due to the fact that there are a number of panels at various angles on the turret whereby using rivets or screws for each would negatively affect the overall appearance of this component. Securing the turret to the base plate provides some needed support but we are going to spot weld a number of key points on the inside of the turret to make this a more solid piece.

    While the turret comes as one piece of steel there is a panel m the rear that has to be added separately.  This is where the bustle box will be located and in fact will cover most of this particular area anyway.  We bent the panel to the contour of the turret and secured it with two rivets.  It actually came out better than anticipated.  All of the seams will be filled with either welds or epoxy filler.

    We should note that we are considering converting this kit to an Ostwind which would render any work the original Panzer IV turret as moot.

    Our next feature to assemble is the bustle box which is secured to the rear of the turret.  This component comes in 3 or 4 pieces along with mounting brackets.  We liked the fact that the box cover or lid is cut perfectly from the main panel which eleminates any issues with fitment.  The directions recomment drilling holes for any hinges BEFORE you begin folding the sheet metal.  This is a really good idea and we opted to follow their advice.  But first we needed some hinges.

    Using .250 inch brass strip and tubing, we soldered a set of hinges using a design from a Panzer VI Ausf J. 

    We started bending the bustle box into shape but you dont want to secure it with fasteners just yet.  After trial fitting this component to the rear of the turret we were concerned to find that the contour of the bustle box was not even close to that of the turret.  We checked the instructions as well as the steps we took in the assembly of each item and concluded that it must be a design issue.

    We decided that by using a countour gauge we could fabricate a more accurate piece bonded to the top of the bustle box to fill in the gap.  The mounting brackets in the kit are not accurate as well so now might be a good time to consider changes to these too.  More work than we had planned but too important to overlook.

Lower and Upper Hull, Turret Assembly

     Here on the left is the upper hull after it has been primed, and ready for shaping.  The directions are very straightforward for this part of the assembly but we did encounter one or two bumps along the way.

    First, the left side of the rear upper hull had not been laser cut which made it impossible to fold accurately.  We scribed a line with a cutting wheel on the Dremel and folded the panel in good shape. 

    The two support braces provided in the kit did not match the pictures in the assembly manual.  It did not take long to locate these two items and secure them into place.  Once riveted to the upper hull they do provide plenty of support.