Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2
21st Panzer Division

This is my take on the most feared German tank of the North African campaign, Panzer IV 'Special'. It was the first attempt to mount KwK 40 L/43 anti-tank gun to the tank, and although it was Panzer III that was intended to fight other tanks on the battlefield, Panzer IV was selected to be equipped with KwK 40 L/43 due to the bigger diameter of the turret ring. It was mounted on Panzer IV Ausf. F, and to distinguish it from the short-barreled version of Ausf. F that was equipped with 7.5 cm KwK L/24, this one was called F2. It was soon renamed to Ausf. G, but it will remain F2 for a few more months, to avoid already existing contracts with factories for Panzer IV F production. So basically, Ausf. F2 and Ausf. G is the same tank. There is no clear distinction between them, although at least among the modelers' community, an earlier version of Ausf. G, with a ball-shaped muzzle break and the presence of observation visors on the sides of the turret, is considered to be an Ausf F2.

Panzer IV 'Special' first appeared in North Africa in May 1942, when 9 tanks were delivered to Deutsche Afrika Korps. Their first action was Operation Venezia, which was the prelude to the Battle of Gazala. These tanks were rushed into battle straight from the docks, thus most of them appear without any unit markings on photographs. Until July 1942, there were only 2 'Specials' left. A few more deliveries took place before October, so there were 30 of them present at the Second Battle of El Alamein. This model should represent F2, one of those tanks that fought at El Alamein. This one belonged to the 21st Panzer Division, tank number 215, although, it is visible on the photos that it was renumbered and its previous number was 411. I was not able to find out why it was renumbered. The tank was abandoned during the battle and captured by the British. I didn't find out what happened with its crew.

The Border Model kit number BT-004 is absolutely fantastic! One of my favorite builds so far. Easy to build and yet, the details are great. Perfect balance IMO. I've seen some complaints on the Internet that the kit is more suited for Ausf. G and that is true, although the changes required to make it F2 are really not a big deal, basically rearranging tools on the fenders and removing a few features. Also, some changes were needed in order to accurately represent this particular vehicle, such as adding jerrycan holders, additional toolbox, etc. but really nothing major. The only issue I had with the kit are the tracks. They are link-and-length tracks, and one section of the tracks that run down from the idler wheels has no sag at all. Pitty because the rest of the tracks looks great.

It seems that this tank was painted in RAL 8020. There are no signs of a disruptive pattern though. I painted it with an MRP version of 8020. It looks quite convincing to me, although it lost some of its purple tones once I applied dust pigments over it, making it look more like a Light Stone.

Stowage is mostly Value Gear, except sandbags which I molded using Miluput. Additional toolbox attached to the left side and spare wheel holders are scratch-built.