Mirage 1/72 Panzer IV Ausf.D Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Panzer Kampfwagen IV Ausf.D was differed from its predecessor, the Ausf.C, by having improved air filters and better engine cooling vents, all designed for desert warfare.

Forty Panzer IV Ausf.D/E tanks were sent to North Africa with Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to with the Afrika Korps.

The Panzer IV Ausf.D had a crew of five and was armed with the KwK 36 75mm L/24 howitzer main gun and a pair of 7.82mm machine guns. Its 285 horsepower Maybach engine could propel the tank to speeds up to 42 kph, and had an unrefueled range on roads of 210 km.

Mirage continues to turn out some beautifully detailed kits. This latest represents the Panzer IV Ausf.D as used by the Germans against the British and American forces in North Afrika as part of the famous "Afrika Korps".

The kit is impressively detailed for a 1/72 kit, with the parts provided on six trees. Molded in light gray styrene, the kit definitely is packed with detail.

The suspension is every bit as detailed as its 1/35 scale counterparts. Don't let the scale fool you. Where the larger kits have one-piece upper and lower hulls, Mirage builds up their kits by facets, which makes for a little more complex build, but a great deal more control over the results too.

Photo-etched parts are provided for the fenders and stowage brackets.

Markings are provided for five examples, one from the 8th Panzer Regiment and four from the 5th Panzer Regiment, all in service in Libya, 1941.

While the color tables used in the kit reference Humbrol or Vallejo paint lines, the colors won't be a problem matching to your favorite enamel or acrylic paint line. Even easier if your favorite happens to be Humbrol or Vallejo!

This is a nice-looking kit that builds into one of Rommel's Panzers. This model will look great as part of a desert vignette. Recommended!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!