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 2 3 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 4 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 5 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 6 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 7