COBI Company of Heroes 3 Panzer IV Ausf. G.Tank

Pretty cool and despite being smaller size fairly sturdy.

Got this for my son who is ten. He had a great time building it. Should be experienced brick builder. Very solid and whole thing well made, much better than similar knock-off brand kits. Expensive, but then Lego's are just as bad.

This is my first product from COBI's Company of Heroes 3 series of 1:35-scale vehicles, and the first new COBI set I've built since their 1:28-scale StuG III Ausf. D back in 2020. Overall, I can say that this is a solid build and quite an accurate representation of the pre-1943 Panzer IV Ausf. G (since Germany stopped painting their armored vehicles in Dunkelgrau/dark gray after February 1943).COBI's new 1:35 line has been controversial amongst COBI fans who are accustomed to their larger 1:28-scale vehicles. Understandably, these smaller models have fewer details and play features than their larger predecessors, and unfortunately tend to cost as much as or more than the 1:28 vehicles due to licensing costs with Relic Entertainment (the developer of Company of Heroes 3). This Panzer IV G is no exception, as its "official" retail price should be around 50 euros, and I have seen it listed on Amazon for almost $70 USD! I was fortunate enough to grab it on discount for a much more palatable $45 USD.In any case, the set has 610 pieces, so for the $50-range it is a fair price-per-part ratio. Many of the pieces are small or even tiny, which may prove to be a challenge for inexperienced builders to handle. Speaking of challenge, the build was overall straightforward enough, and the instructions were very clear (as usual for COBI), but I had some major difficulty in attaching the rubber tires to the road wheels. This was because I was unprepared for the rigidity of the molded rubber, which made stretching them over the wheels nigh-impossible until I figured out that one can "soften" the tires first by squeezing and flexing them a few times prior to mounting them onto the wheels. Definitely keep that in mind to avoid some sore fingertips!Aside from the tire issue, all of the pieces are of excellent COBI quality and fit, and the prints are all crisp and durable. I encountered many new elements I had not seen before as well, mainly different SNOT ("Studs Not On Top") pieces for building the internal structures. This Panzer IV G surprised me with its relative complexity and heavy use of SNOT segments for such a blocky design, but the build process still went smoothly without any confusion.The finished build is an excellent model for both display and light play. The printed parts (turret Balkenkreuz, side hatches, transmission/brake panels, and engine deck/interior) as well as detail parts such as the 75mm KwK 40 L/43 muzzle brake all look great. The model is fairly robust as well, with perhaps the gun barrel and radio antenna requiring some attention during play.In terms of play features, the Panzer IV G's tracks can roll somewhat on smooth surfaces, but of course work best on rougher textures such as wooden tabletops or cloth surfaces. Aside from that, the hull machine gun can pivot up and down, the side radio antenna can be raised/lowered, the turret can rotate 360 degrees, the 75mm main cannon can elevate/depress, and the turret commander's cupola can open its "clamshell"-style hatches. Though, the hatches can only open by 90 degrees each (unlike the real-life vehicle's 180 degrees), so it is a bit awkward to fit the included commander figure in there. The figure itself also looks nice; well-scaled with precise prints for his uniform. He does have difficulty holding his binoculars tightly though.The engine deck is a separate module that can be removed to showcase the brickbuilt engine detail, which is a nice touch. However, the engine deck is mounted a bit too securely by two studs, and a lack of convenient "tabs" or other parts to lift it by make it difficult to remove without displacing some of the stowage details on the tank's rear.In summary, I'll list the pros/cons of the model below:PROS:-Accurate, detailed model for display-Surprisingly clever building techniques in some areas-Nicely brickbuilt interior engine detail-Solid/sturdy enough build for light playCONS:-Smaller 1:35 scale means fewer opening hatches and details-Company of Heroes 3 licensing = higher price for smaller and simpler model compared to 1:28 lineup-Tires difficult (painful!) to attach without flexing them first-Engine deck difficult to remove to observe aforementioned interior-Commander figure has loose grip on binocularsOverall, this was an enjoyable build and I am glad to have a solid, playable 1:35 model of a 1942 Ausf. G version of my favorite tank ever, the Panzer IV. Most of the cons are minor issues, but the potentially very high price tag for the size/features of the model keeps this tank from being a must-buy, unless one is able to find it on discount or at least closer to its MSRP of ~50 euros.

This was a great gift for my grandsonHe was very happy with it.He loves the coby sets