Winter Jagdpanzer IV Diorama (2 Viewers)

[tmanthegreat]

I got the new First Legion Jagdpanzer IV yesterday. They did an excellent job with the paint and weathering this time around and the schurzen are a very nice enhancement. They actually printed numbers on the inside of the panels (e.g. R1, R2, R3, R4) so one can get them in the right order on the model. That said, the manufacturer still installed the spare tracks upside down! It’s not like there aren’t any easy references for how the tracks should correctly be placed… But otherwise the vehicle looks pretty nice. I’ve got mine displayed with some FL Late Wsr Germans in a small vignette.

 

[FirstLegion]

Love to see this model "out in the wild" as it were. The spare tracks can just be taken out and flipped, i don't think they're glued really. Will have to admonish them for this.....

 

[tmanthegreat]

Love to see this model "out in the wild" as it were. The spare tracks can just be taken out and flipped, i don't think they're glued really. Will have to admonish them for this.....

Thanks and always glad to share some product pics!

Unfortunately the tracks and rack are all one piece and that piece is attached/glued in place with a couple pegs to the front glacis. I’ll have to get in there with an exacto knife or micro saw to see if I can carefully cut the pegs and flip the part around.

The same upside down spare tracks issue was present on the original BB069 Jagdpanzer IV and is also present in the promo pics of the upcoming NOR101 model. Interestingly, the promo pics of this LWG035 Jagdpanzer IV model showed the spare tracks in the correct position… That makes me wonder if mine is a fluke and if other models have the tracks oriented correctly?

 

[FirstLegion]

Revisiting this again - you know, we're quite proud of this model. It's an incredibly difficult model to produce/paint and i think we did it about as well as it can be done. Yes, i know some folks were disappointed with BB069, but this isn't that. These photos show you exactly what you will receive and really i think it's the best tank we've made in a few years i think in terms of overall complexity. Sure, the NOR099 M10 is really cool, but that's simple by comparison....... Love the dio.

 

[FirstLegion]

Thanks and always glad to share some product pics!

Unfortunately the tracks and rack are all one piece and that piece is attached/glued in place with a couple pegs to the front glacis. I’ll have to get in there with an exacto knife or micro saw to see if I can carefully cut the pegs and flip the part around. The same upside down spare tracks issue was present on the original BB069 Jagdpanzer IV and is also present in the promo pics of the upcoming NOR101 model. Interestingly, the promo pics of this LWG035 Jagdpanzer IV model showed the spare tracks in the correct position…

I wonder if mine is a fluke and if other models have the tracks in the correct position?

I've heard one other customer contact us about this issue and we told him to just reverse it which he was able to do without any issue.... But it's good to know as i will be inspection NOR101 in a week or so and i will be sure that the tracks on the front are a) not glued and b) correct.

Matt

 

[FirstLegion]

Thanks and always glad to share some product pics!

Unfortunately the tracks and rack are all one piece and that piece is attached/glued in place with a couple pegs to the front glacis. I’ll have to get in there with an exacto knife or micro saw to see if I can carefully cut the pegs and flip the part around.

The same upside down spare tracks issue was present on the original BB069 Jagdpanzer IV and is also present in the promo pics of the upcoming NOR101 model. Interestingly, the promo pics of this LWG035 Jagdpanzer IV model showed the spare tracks in the correct position… That makes me wonder if mine is a fluke and if other models have the tracks oriented correctly?

Just to clarify - they are not one piece. Yes, the rack is assembled to the tank, the tracks are not.

 

[tmanthegreat]

Just to clarify - they are not one piece. Yes, the rack is assembled to the tank, the tracks are not.

Thanks! I’ll have to give that a try when I get home. I’m hoping the fix is as easy as you’re saying… Glad to hear you’ll inspect and correct the upcoming NOR101 Jagdpanzers as well. I’ve got one of those on order as well.

And just to reiterate, apart from the spare tracks issue, the painting and weathering are magnificent on the LWG035 model and the separate schurzen parts really enhance the look of the model as well.

 

[FirstLegion]

Thanks! I’ll have to give that a try when I get home. I’m hoping the fix is as easy as you’re saying… Glad to hear you’ll inspect and correct the upcoming NOR101 Jagdpanzers as well. I’ve got one of those on order as well.

And just to reiterate, apart from the spare tracks issue, the painting and weathering are magnificent on the LWG035 model and the separate schurzen parts really enhance the look of the model as well.

Thanks, really appreciate the kind words. Now that I''m constantly back in China and seeing everything in person again before release, you can expect this quality moving forward on everything we make. During the China closing of COVID, it was just impossible and the reality is that factories want to be done now and images are no way to inspect things......

 

[tmanthegreat]

...

Still getting the hang of reposting here, but I was able to correct the tracks on the Jagdpanzer IV. It was a process though…



First, the spare tracks and rack are all one piece, as I suspected. They are not two separate parts like the spare tracks on First Legion’s Panzer III L model. The tracks/rack piece is made of metal and attaches to the front glacis of the vehicle with two pegs inserted into holes in the hull. To remove the tracks/rack piece, I’d recommend using an exacto knife or possibly a small flathead screwdriver to gently push and pry the part off.



By gently working the tracks/rack part, it will eventually come off. There may be some scratches and dings left from where the part was glued to the hull. No worries as these dings will mostly be covered up again.





I found it difficult to reinsert the part with the pegs still on. It can be done, just might require some trimming and filing. I decided just cut the pegs off with some sprue trimmers.

I then aligned the part where I wanted it with the rack sitting just below the fenders and glued it on using CA glue.



Although the tracks are now oriented correctly, they sit a low compared to the historical vehicle (and the tracks weren’t too long mounted to the front of the Jagdpanzer IV L/48 anyways as the vehicle was too front heavy).



Nevertheless, the tracks/rack part’s position does now match what one sees in First Legion’s promo pic



I hope Matt at First Legion is able to inspect and correct the upside down spare tracks on the new NOR101 Jagdpanzer IVs before they are released for sale!

 

[joesgis]

Still getting the hang of reposting here, but I was able to correct the tracks on the Jagdpanzer IV. It was a process though…

View attachment 339521

First, the spare tracks and rack are all one piece, as I suspected. They are not two separate parts like the spare tracks on First Legion’s Panzer III L model. The tracks/rack piece is made of metal and attaches to the front glacis of the vehicle with two pegs inserted into holes in the hull. To remove the tracks/rack piece, I’d recommend using an exacto knife or possibly a small flathead screwdriver to gently push and pry the part off.

View attachment 339522

By gently working the tracks/rack part, it will eventually come off. There may be some scratches and dings left from where the part was glued to the hull. No worries as these dings will mostly be covered up again.

View attachment 339523

View attachment 339524

I found it difficult to reinsert the part with the pegs still on. It can be done, just might require some trimming and filing. I decided just cut the pegs off with some sprue trimmers.

I then aligned the part where I wanted it with the rack sitting just below the fenders and glued it on using CA glue.

View attachment 339526

Although the tracks are now oriented correctly, they sit a low compared to the historical vehicle (and the tracks weren’t too long mounted to the front of the Jagdpanzer IV L/48 anyways as the vehicle was too front heavy).

View attachment 339527

Nevertheless, the tracks/rack part’s position does now match what one sees in First Legion’s promo pic

View attachment 339528

I hope Matt at First Legion is able to inspect and correct the upside down spare tracks on the new NOR101 Jagdpanzer IVs before they are released for sale!

Thank you for the pictures of the modifications you had to make. Unfortunately, I'm not willing to attempt that and will have to pass on this model. I'm glad I saw your update because I was just minutes away from pulling the trigger with George. It's odd to me that this obvious error keeps repeating. Stranger still is FL's reply to you yesterday that the spare track and rack are not one piece when clearly they are one piece. It's really disappointing because this is a particulalry fantatsic model.

 

[tmanthegreat]

Thank you for the pictures of the modifications you had to make. Unfortunately, I'm not willing to attempt that and will have to pass on this model. I'm glad I saw your update because I was just minutes away from pulling the trigger with George. It's odd to me that this obvious error keeps repeating. Stranger still is FL's reply to you yesterday that the spare track and rack are not one piece when clearly they are one piece. It's really disappointing because this is a particulalry fantatsic model.

joesigs, I also thought FL’s response yesterday was interesting as I’d already determined by that point that the tracks/rack were one piece, not two separate parts. The spare tracks on their recent Panzer III are separate pieces; not the Jagdpanzer. I find it interesting that the tracks were correctly oriented in the promo pic for this Jagdpanzer, but did not come that way on the model I received. It makes me wonder whether some models from the same production batch have the tracks correctly oriented while some do not. The error is ultimately a careless one on the part of the factory as they’re just installing the part upside down when it could be simply placed in the correct orientation and still attached securely to the model. I’m hopeful Matt/First Legion do in fact check the upcoming Normandy Jagdpanzer and get the issue fixed before its release.

 

[Panzer ace]

Great pics, I like the sense of “cold” you created.

 

[joesgis]

joesigs, I also thought FL’s response yesterday was interesting as I’d already determined by that point that the tracks/rack were one piece, not two separate parts. The spare tracks on their recent Panzer III are separate pieces; not the Jagdpanzer. I find it interesting that the tracks were correctly oriented in the promo pic for this Jagdpanzer, but did not come that way on the model I received. It makes me wonder whether some models from the same production batch have the tracks correctly oriented while some do not. The error is ultimately a careless one on the part of the factory as they’re just installing the part upside down when it could be simply placed in the correct orientation and still attached securely to the model. I’m hopeful Matt/First Legion do in fact check the upcoming Normandy Jagdpanzer and get the issue fixed before its release.

Yes, we are left wondering if this is batch wide or if maybe some models have the correct orientation, especially since the configuration is correct in the promo pic.