Are ther any early PzKpfw IV kits out there? By early I mean A, B or C.
The earliest I could find was Tamiya’s D. Maybe it exists in resin, but I haven’t seen one
i checked greatmodels and found zilch.
sorry.
i will keep an eye out.
How much were the early Pz.IVs actually used operationally?
I know there were some Cs in the Polish campaign, but I’m not sure about later.
Maybe the Tamiya Pz.IVD could be converted to an earlier type - the hull and turret modifications would be fairly straightforward, the main problem is the tracks, which were a different pattern on the C and earlier models.
I found the tracks for the IV, A-D at Greatmodels:
Friulmodel
fratl02
1/35 fratl02 Tracks 36cm Pzkpfw III Ausf. A-G/Pzkpfw IV Ausf. A-D
Category: Armor Accessories 1/35
There was a conversion for the Tamiya Ausf D to make it into an earlier version. I do not know if it made the A, B, C or if it made more than one. I think MB Models did it, but I am probably mistaken regarding the manufacturer.
Some after market products were made to backdate Tamiya’s Ausf D, but as the quality of that kit has been well surpassed, the resin items have not been continued.
If you are looking to backdate one, there is not a substantial amount of work required to scratch build the required parts, although a little skill will be required in some areas. For a reasonably priced ‘one stop’ reference Squadron Signal’s "PzKpfw IV in action’ lists out the main visual changes and has diagrams of the turret fittings , mantlet changes, and forward vision port plates that need to be altered. Of course further references would flesh out more of these changes.