1/35 Riesen-Panzer IV

[mz3]

I don't know what it is, but I'mma build it!



I found it just randomly searching on eBay. It's from Kampf Reisen Mars 1941/1945. Obviously heavily WW2 influenced. I'll dig into it more as I build.

[Tojo72]

Well,I don't recognize the Panzer IV variant,but it should be fun.

[mz3]

Kind of interesting story, if it's accurate. I found a little bit about it, it was translated from Japanese, so it may not be 100% accurate.

In the late 2030's humans make it to mars. They find one of these buried in the dirt. Apparently there was a huge battle on mars in the late 1930's early 40's. Around the same time a secret, abandoned nazi base is found in Antarctica where these were made. Japan ended up with most of them and somehow got them to Mars where they fought "something".

That's where the translation stopped and apparently the story stops as well.

[mz3]

Built...






Pretty easy build. There are some fit issues, nothing bad. I left some smaller parts off for.painting. Took about an hour and a half to build. Some of the joints are polycap on polycap, so the will probably be issues later. I like it though. Something a little different.

[dupes]

I don't know what it is either...but I like it!

[handiabled]

I've run across these kits but not seen one built. Looks like a lot of articulating parts? Interested to see how you paint this

[deafpanzer]

Way too cool! Now I want to buy one too…

[keavdog]

Interesting story! I want to hear the rest - Japanese in Nazi machinery fighting something on Mars?!?! Sign me up.
Looks like it should be a pretty fun piece to paint

[kyledehart5]

What a unique and super fun build subject. That’s too cool.

[mz3]

It is an interesting story, I wish I could find more about it.

There is a lot of articulation, some of it is a little too much. I'll take pics later explaining.

Pics...








I'm adding some completely unnecessary welds to it, just because. It's evergreen rod, I haven't shaped it yet. I'll probably use a soldering iron to make some more on edges and what not. Might as well put the armor building skills to use for this one.




Here's the ankle. It's 2 polly caps, ball and joint. It doesn't move at all. You have to glue them in the foot and leg otherwise they fall out trying to adjust them. I may modify this, not sure. I don't want this to turn into a long project.

[Real G]

MZ3,

Try turning the ball joint around and set the large end into the foot. It might help increase mobility.

[mz3]

The ball cap in the foot has a much larger stem on it than the cup section. It's a very poorly designed joint. The caps are stuck together, I can't remove them. I don't want to press to hard and break the cup. I think I'll just leave it for now and hipe it stretches out.

[Real G]

May 2, 2024 7:30:21 GMT -5 mz3 said:

The ball cap in the foot has a much larger stem on it than the cup section. It's a very poorly designed joint. The caps are stuck together, I can't remove them. I don't want to press to hard and break the cup. I think I'll just leave it for now and hipe it stretches out.

Aw bunkies.  

[moramartht]

I'm adding some completely unnecessary welds to it, just because.

That thing is just begging for the full steampunk treatment.  Lots of rivets rather than welds. A new head a bit like one off a Lego Minifig wearing a Bowler (Derby) Hat.  Lots of Brass, Copper and oily Steel.  Paint job based on either a Traction Engine or WW1 style with black-outlined colour patches. And a chimney...

Cheers,

M

[mz3]

Pics...















Textured with mr surfacer 500. I added some torch cuts here and there with the soldering iron when I was doing the welding.





The soldering work doesn't look that good in the pics. Keep in mind that this kit is only 5 inches tall. I went a little heavy handed with it, trying to get it to stand out a little more.

[mz3]

I got the ankle polycaps apart without breaking them. I tried to use CA to attach them and they pulled right out after letting it dry. So I'm trying mr cement deluxe. It leaves a layer of resin to attach parts. If this doesn't work, I will dig into my leftovers and just scratch some ankles together.

[mz3]

Pink panzer...



Mr surfacer 1500 pink. I'm trying something a little different. My models have been getting really dark lately. I just want to see what happens with pink.

[kyledehart5]

Cool! I love pink under red or yellow but I've never tried it under anything else.

[406 Silverado]

This is a pretty neat and unique subject and you're putting some good efforts into it mz. Looking forward to seeing more bro.

[mz3]

Preshading...



Flat black tamiya.

I'm trying to come up with some kind of mars camo scheme for this. I want to do something different with this one.

[Real G]

WOW, for such a small model it looks MUCH bigger!  I look forward to seeing the Mars paint job.

[mz3]

Alright, first paint step, tamiya orange...





I'm kinda making this up as I go, so hopefully it turns out ok. I looked at a ton of color photos of the surface of mars and the colors are all over the place. From yellows to reds to rusts to greys and black to browns. So I'm just going to paint and see what happens.

[tcoat]

It has been about 70 years since the end of the Apollo missions. After an excessively long gap, humanity has landed on the new frontier of Mars, where they learn a startling fact. The old humanoid machine discovered by the explorers turned out to be a weapon called the "Riesen Panzer," which was built during World War II.
The fact that humans had already reached the surface of Mars about 100 years ago was an incredible accomplishment in itself, but what surprised people even more was the fact that these weapons had been used to fight someone on Mars. A large amount of documentary films brought back to Earth along with the samples of humanoid heavy machinery contained records of a huge war that the world had never even imagined was being waged on Mars. As a result of examining the samples, even now, 100 years later, there is no substitute for these humanoid weapons in terms of completeness and function, and even the drive system itself is still unknown. In other words, it was an unknown piece of technology. On the other hand, the parts that were brought back were clearly made with the technology of the time, and the whole thing was very unbalanced. This meant that this humanoid machine had been developed by forcibly incorporating a system that was extremely far from the technological level of the time.
The manufacturers that developed this humanoid machine, Rosic and Bill's & Elfield, were dissolved at the end of World War II, and technical information about them had been lost for a long time. However, this "discovery" on Mars led to the unearthing of materials related to humanoid heavy machinery around the world, and in 2037, the Bills & Elfield factory was discovered underground in Antarctica. In 2037, the Bills & Elfield factory was discovered underground in Antarctica. In 2037, the Bill's & Elfield factory was discovered underground in Antarctica. This gradually revealed technical information about humanoid weapons that had been lost for a long time.
However, it is also true that much of the information was lost because it was nearly a century ago and during the war. What were humans fighting against far away on Mars in the first place? And has the battle already ended? Or is it still going on somewhere else? Even such basic questions remain unanswered. However, I would like to leave this report as an interim report of the technical information that has been revealed so far, and also as a foundation for further research that will be expanded by the recovery of more samples through future Mars exploration.


The Panzer Ⅳ humanoid heavy machine (Riesen Panzer Ⅳ)

Made in Germany. Designed by Rosic.Manufactured by Bills & Elfield Co.
The Wehrmacht decided to develop the IV, a more advanced version of the III, after it received high praise from Japan for the humanoid machine it had exported the previous year.
The Wehrmacht decided to develop the IV, which was a further development of the III. However, the company that received the request, Rosic, was more than a little frustrated that the II, which they had taken over the design of from Heinkel, was not adopted. If one battalion's worth of heavy machines could be deployed in the reportedly difficult battle for Moscow, the war situation could be reversed in no time. At least that was what the engineers who were developing this revolutionary new weapon believed. In fact, some of their own people had begun to lose their lives in the region.
While the Wehrmacht was reluctant to adopt the system because of its relationship with the Führer (the Wehrmacht at that time was completely controlled by Hitler and his SS, and could not openly evaluate and adopt the humanoid heavy machinery project of Heinkel, which originally had a feud with the Führer), Rosic was able to develop a seemingly simple but effective resistance system that was delayed. In fact, the design of the No. IV was so simple that it could not be adopted. In fact, the design of the IV was almost complete by the spring of 1941. Engineers who were not satisfied with the results of No. III, which had been built "in time" at the request of the Japanese side, continued to design No. IV as a form of half-autonomous development. The prototype of the No. IV humanoid heavy machine that was completed in this way showed an excellent finish that could be said to be a milestone in the development of a series of humanoid heavy machines.
In place of the submersible engine built into the No. III, the No. IV had a spare gasoline engine and a powerful generator. This was the same drive system used in the later Porsche Tigers, and it was also a countermeasure to the fact that the operation time of No. III was short, less than 30 minutes. In addition, the new design of the legs, which had been given up due to time constraints last time, had been perfectly finished for this IV. As a result of incorporating small and powerful motors into each joint, it was possible to trace the posture envisioned by the pilot without any difficulty.
The initial lot of twelve of the completed IV humanoid machines were sent to the 7th Independent Unit, a new weapons testing unit led by Brigadier General Schneider, in order to meet the eyes of the Führer and the SS. However, as of May 1945, the unit was equipped with only six of the IV humanoids, and there are no records of the remaining six. However, as of May 1945, the unit was equipped with only six units of the IV humanoid heavy machine, and no records of the remaining six units have so far been found anywhere.

kampfriesenmars19411945.mystrikingly.com/

[406 Silverado]

Preshading and first paint applications look good so far mz. I do get a good bit of entertainment in watching these builds of yours come together and will continue to look forward in seeing what's next on this particular build.

[mz3]

May 28, 2024 10:45:01 GMT -5 tcoat said:

It has been about 70 years since the end of the Apollo......six units have so far been found anywhere.

kampfriesenmars19411945.mystrikingly.com/

That's the exact, and only, page I found with info on the story.

[tcoat]

May 28, 2024 16:46:33 GMT -5 mz3 said:

May 28, 2024 10:45:01 GMT -5 tcoat said:

It has been about 70 years since the end of the Apollo......six units have so far been found anywhere.

kampfriesenmars19411945.mystrikingly.com/

That's the exact, and only, page I found with info on the story.

Ya. Loads of kits out there but no real explanation beyond "Germany made them and we found them". The little bits of back story there is all appear to be partially written fan fiction. They are cool in a different kind of way. Someplace between German tanks and Mecha bots.

[mz3]

So much tape...












Not like a lot of tape, just so many small pieces of tape. I think there's like 150 pieces I cut out.

On top of the orange I sprayed reb brown xf64 and on top of that was yellow brown xf92. I might go over all the yellow brown with a lighter color to fade it.

[handiabled]

That paintwork must have taken just a few minutes to accomplish. Wow is this looking great!

[kyledehart5]

That’s some seriously intricate paint work. Love how that is looking.

[mz3]

So, I've been really busy at work the past couple of weeks and I had a way too short vacation(4 days) to see my sister in alaska. But things are calming down a bit, so back to work.









I sprayed a layer of clear orange on all the pieces. All that did was darken the parts a bit. Sprayed gloss on for decals. More update in a bit.