Tamiya Models Pzkfw IV Ausf D Model Kit

Many of you know that I am not a plastic kit modeller. I previously painted and assembled solid resin kits of anime figurines. I stopped doing this a while ago. Over the last 4 years I started to cast my figures in bronze. So now I am a bronze caster and I do my modelling in metal.

Previously, I cast a set of 1:35 scale Girls und Panzer anime figures that sat on a partial turret of a Panzer tank. See here.

Now I want to cast in bronze a complete 1:35 scale German Panzer tank for my bronze cast 1:35 scale Girls und Panzer figures. I will be casting the Tamiya plastic model kit that was originally released in 1975.

I thought you might like to see how I do this? And see whether I am successful? This should take a few months or more to complete.

Putting together a thin walled plastic model so that I can cast the parts in bronze will be a bit of a challenge. Thin walled parts will be difficult to replicate in wax, and this is the first step of the process. The moulds will have to be filled under pressure and properly gated if I am to succeed.

The tank is also too big for my casting equipment. The main body will have to be cut in half and cast in pieces and then soldered back together. This could also be another interesting challenge.

On the other hand, it certainly fits my sense of geek to have a fully bronze cast tank for my Girls und Panzer to ride upon! I suspect that the complete tank will most likely weigh close to a kilogram when complete.

My 1:35 scale Girls und Panzer should be just fine. The kit comes with a few figures and the pictures show that my cast figures are just the right size.

The main tank chassis looks like it will fit into my mould box so I should be able to put this in wax prior to casting. On the other hand, the top of the tank is a bit bigger and I may have to adapt my jigs for this part.

Sorry, but the tank won’t be operational. It would be super cool if I was to motorize the model, but then I would need to fit it with automatic cameras and microprocessors to successfully track down the cat. I would also have to calculate firing trajectories to properly motivate the animal. This would be sort of senseless. I think I will leave that for my second casting of the tank.