Gaso.Line of France have a fine reputation for producing a wide range of 1/48 resin kits. It's not surprising that they would translate this expertise into making very interesting resin conversions for the new lines of 1/48th scale styrene kits from Tamiya.
This is the conversion of the Jagdpanzer IV L/70 (A) intended to be mated with the Tamiya Panzer IV ausf J kit (32518). The subject was the pairing of the highly effective Kw.K.42 75mm cannon in a fixed armored superstructure of the Panzer IV ausf J. A total of 278 Jagdpanzer IV L/70 with the Uebergangsaufbau (transitional superstructure) were produced between August 1944 and March 1945 in the Nibelungenwerk factory in Austria. The term “Zweischen Lösung” is supposedly only a postwar descriptive term but not seen in any original wartime documents (Jentz).
I found the overall usability of the base Tamiya kit to be very high. I encountered no fit problems whatsoever with the Panzer IV ausf J pieces save for the nose plate (B23) which was about .7mm too short. The kit has link and length tracks and all the parts were well detailed save for the OVM clamps. Ejector pin marks needed to be addressed in only a few of the tools.
The Gaso.Line kit includes a full upper replacement hull, aluminum barrel, various fittings and hatches, nine replacement roadwheels and two lengths of brass rod.
The castings are very well done with only a total of three small bubbles in the entire set. Gaso.Line's commitment to a fine product is indicated by the inclusion of many spares of the smaller and more fragile parts such the hull lifting lugs at the upper corners of the fighting compartment, extra schurzen mounts and periscope guards. Good job, Gaso.Line!
The notched lifting hooks on the fighting compartment roof again show that the kit makers’ skill and pride in their product. The superstructure outline matches the drawings in the Jentz’ "Panzer Tracts" book.
Areas that needed correction include the incorrect superstructure glacis armor joints and weldseams, the odd diamond-shaped glacis MG armored port, the positioning of some of the schurzen mounts, and the shape of the Topfblende gun mantlet. The gun also sits too high and needs to be lowered.
Curiously, Gaso.Line has included a rarely seen feature on the fighting compartment roof: the Vorsatz-P, a close-in defense weapon hard point where an MP44 could be fired from within the AFV. Referring to a research posting by Craig Ellis on the ML Axis DG, I've concluded that the Vorsatz-P was used only on late production vehicles and in a different location. I chose to remove this item on my model and the port in the loader’s hatch.
In my build, I replaced the resin engine deck with parts from cut from the donor Tamiya Pz IV kit due to the fragile nature of the casting. It is built to match photos of an abandoned Jagdpanzer IV L/70 (A) found near the village of Koberice in April 1945, in the present day eastern Czech Republic. It was lost during the battles of the “Ostrava Operation”, the Wehrmacht’s effort to resist the Soviet Army’s advance into Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia near war’s end. Obviously, it's still unpainted. I'll update this page with colors of my model once I get it finished and weathered.
Useful references include:
1. "Panzer Tracts #9: Jagdpanzer" by Jentz and Doyle
2. "Panzers in Saumur #3" by Dai Nihon Kiaga Publishing
3. Missing-Lynx DG research thread:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1094818501/
This sample was graciously provided by Winston Vermilyea of the US online vendor, Wings N Treads (
http://www.wingsntreads.com). I am also grateful to modeler Milan Vins who provided me with documentation about the “Ostrava” Jagdpanzer IV L/70.
Threaded Mode
