COBI Panzer IV Ausf.G Set 2546

COBI's Panzer IV Ausf. G is a 1:35 model built from 559 blocks, 21.5 cm long. The turret rotates, the barrel and wheels move, the tracks work and the service flaps tilt open over the engine. Two Afrika Korps figures are included — a commander with a P08 Parabellum and rubber goggles, and a driver with binoculars — along with a crowbar, a hammer, wire and a chest that mount on the tank or go to the figures. A nameplate completes the set.

This is the version where the Panzer IV became dangerous

Until 1942 the Panzer IV was a support tank. It carried a short, stubby 7.5 cm gun designed to lob high-explosive at bunkers and gun positions, and against armour it was close to useless — the Panzer III was supposed to do that job.

Then the T-34 and the KV-1 appeared, and the Panzer III turned out to have a turret ring too small to take anything bigger. The Panzer IV's was not.

The Ausf. G is where the long 7.5 cm KwK 40 went in — a proper high-velocity anti-tank gun, with the muzzle brake that makes the later Panzer IV instantly recognisable. The change turned a vehicle built for a secondary role into Germany's standard battle tank for the rest of the war, and it is the reason more Panzer IVs were built than any other German tank.

It is also a good illustration of why turret rings matter more than armour in tank design. The Panzer III was the better tank in 1940 and was finished by 1943, because there was nowhere to put a bigger gun.

In the COBI range

Set 2592 is the Panzer IV Ausf. G at the larger 1:28 scale with a removable engine, 2714 the 1:48 version and 3097 the 1:72 Ausf. J. Set 2576 is the Sturmgeschütz IV on the same hull.

Specifications

Pieces: 559 · Figures: 2 with accessories · Scale: 1:35
Model dimensions: 21.5 × 10.5 × 9.5 cm (8.5 × 4.1 × 3.7 in)