This update set from Orange Hobby provides a replacement set of late all steel upper return rollers for the Panzer IV series of vehicles.
The set consists of 56 parts in turned brass for the return roller halves and mounting posts as well as the very small hull bracket securing bolts plus an etched fret with 60 parts for the roller disc details.
The only clean-up needed is a small pin to be filed off the base of the mounting posts and the usual attachment burs on the etched parts; these need extreme care to file off the very small parts.
The set includes 8 steel return rollers and mountings which allow you to use on any four or three station return roller configuration depending on the model they are used on. The diameter of the rollers matches perfectly to available Panzer IV plans such as those in the relevant Panzer Tracts books.
Assembly of the return rollers is quite straightforward with the inner and outer roller halves fitting together very precisely with a dab of thin cyanoacrylate (super glue) to hold together. The set includes etched parts for the horseshoe shaped hub securing clip and the two small ridges around the outer rim of the roller disks. These also fit neatly into place without any problems and a small dab of thin cyanoacrylate will hold these securely.
If you wanted a quick and easy update the metal rollers could be added directly to the kit roller mounting posts by drilling a small hole for the pin on the central roller stub axle. You would need to ensure these are correctly aligned with the track guide horns and road wheels.
The set also includes replacement mounting posts and hull mounting plates with separate attachment bolts if you want to go the whole nine yards and this is worth the extra effort to fully utilize the sets full potential.
The mounting brackets have a round recess into which the mounting posts sits for precise location and I found it easiest to solder the posts to the brackets while they are still attached to the etched fret, this ensures the brackets don’t go anywhere during soldering. You only need a very small amount of solder to secure the join and the best method is to ‘pre-tin the bracket recess and base of the post by adding a small coating of solder. The post is then held firmly in place with tweezers or similar while applying the heated soldering iron to secure the post joins.
to the fret for easier handling, note the pin on the post to be filed off beforehand.
To add the mountings to the kit you first need to cut away the target kit mounting brackets and posts after marking with a soft pencil the location to make adding back the metal mounting plates easier.
Just a quick point to note is the rearmost roller is not level with the first three (or two) on the Panzer IV hull but is located slightly lower so watch this when replacing the mountings.
After cutting away the kit mounting brackets just glue the assembled mounting plate and post into position with cyanoacrylate and while holding the post securely with your fingers drill the four small corner holes through the hull sides using the bracket holes as guides for the brass securing bolts. You need to hold the bracket/post while drilling as the drilling action can "crack" the glue join as cyanoacrylate is very intollerant of sideways forces.
The bolts can then be inserted into the holes and secured with a dab of cyanoacrylate added from inside the hull so as not to mar the outside appearance with excess glue. Take care with the bolts as they are very small and slippery suckers and you don’t get any spares so don’t feed the carpet monster.
When adding the return roller the axle stub pin just fits into the hole in the end of the mounting post and you can again secure this with a dab of thin cyanoacrylate. You would also need to ensure these are correctly aligned with the track guide horns and road wheel centreline.
Steel return rollers fitted to the Trumpeter Bergepanzer IV kit
This Panzer IV steel return roller update is superbly done with the small etched parts adding additional detail. The set can be used on any applicable Panzer IV series vehicle either with the four or three return roller configuration.
Assembly is fairly straightforward but previous experience working with etched and metal parts as well as soldering will be an advantage.
While there is a bit of work required to add the assembled rollers to the target kit if you use the full mountings supplied the resulting level of detail is certainly worth the effort.Highly recommended.
See the Panzer IV Subjects page for reviews of other related reviews.
Thanks
to 
for the review set.