Hobbyboss Sturmpanzer IV Early Version. 1:35

[Shar2]

Sturmpanzer IV Early Version
HobbyBoss 1:35

History
The Sturmpanzer (also known as Sturmpanzer 43 or Sd.Kfz. 166) was a German armoured infantry support gun based on the Panzer IV chassis used in the Second World War. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and was deployed in the Warsaw Uprising. It was known by the nickname Brummbär (German: "Grouch") by Allied intelligence, a name which was not used by the Germans. Just over 300 vehicles were built and they were assigned to four independent battalions.

The Sturmpanzer was a development of the Panzer IV tank designed to provide a vehicle offering direct infantry fire support, especially in urban areas. It used a Panzer IV chassis with the upper hull and turret replaced by a new casemate-style armoured superstructure housing a new gun, the 15 centimetres (5.9 in) Sturmhaubitze (StuH) 43 L/12 developed by Skoda. It fired the same shells as the 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Thirty-eight rounds, with separate propellant cartridges, could be carried. It used the Sfl.Zf. 1a sight. The combined weight of the shell and cartridge (38 kilograms (84 lb) for an HE shell and 8 kilograms (18 lb) for a propellant cartridge) made the work of the loader arduous, especially if the gun was elevated to a high angle.

A MG 34 machine gun was carried that could be fastened to the open gunner's hatch, much like the arrangement on the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G. Early vehicles carried a MP 40 sub-machine gun inside, which could be fired through firing ports in the side of the superstructure. The driver's station projected forward from the casemate's sloped frontal armour plate and used the Tiger I's Fahrersehklappe 80 driver's sight. The fighting compartment was (badly) ventilated by natural convection, exiting out the rear of the superstructure through two armoured covers. Side skirts were fitted on all vehicles.

Early vehicles were too heavy for the chassis, which led to frequent breakdowns of the suspension and transmission. Efforts were made to ameliorate this from the second series onwards, with some success.
In October 1943 it was decided that the StuH 43 gun needed to be redesigned to reduce its weight. A new version, some 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) lighter than the StuH 43, was built as the StuH 43/1. Some of the weight was saved by reducing the armour on the gun mount itself. This gun was used from the third production series onwards. Zimmerit coating was applied to all vehicles until September 1944.

The Model
Depicting a Sturmpanzer IV Early version, mid-production, this is yet another reboxing of a Tristar kit, and like the others reviewed recently it has exactly the same layout box top as the original, with just the Hobbyboss title replacing the old Tristar label. The colourful boxart shows an artists impression of the vehicle travelling on a road in Italy. Inside there are eighteen sprues and one separate part in sandy yellow styrene, one of clear styrene, two sprues of the rubber like DS equivalent, five sheets of etched brass, a the small decal sheet. Hobbyboss are proving to be pretty consistent with their moulding, in that the parts are all beautifully moulded, with only the slighjtest signs of flash, but no other imperfections other than a fair few moulding pips which will add to the cleaning up of parts. From what I can gather, the Tristar kit was renowned for its accuracy, and since Hobbyboss haven’t done anything to the sprues it can be said of this kit as well.

Construction begins with the assembly of the road wheels, of two distinct types. Each of wheel sets are made up in pairs and consist of inner and outer wheels, each with the rubber tyres and glued together with a poly style cap. The leaf spring suspension for each set of wheels is made up from three parts, whilst the mounting unit on which the axles are attached are each made from four parts. The front two suspension sets are fitted with bent leaf springs, showing the weight of the vehicle, and showing the levels of accuracy that Tristar went to. Each of the eight suspension units are then fitted with the wheel assemblies The sprockets are made up from inner and outer hubs and fitted to the gearbox cover via a shaft piece that is slid through the rear of the cover. The idlers are also made from inner and outer hubs and fitted with a separate axle part.

The lower hull is then fitted with the rear bulkhead, which in turn is detailed with the two, three piece exhausts, two, three piece idler wheel mounts, a horizontal plate, starter handle, and the four piece towing hitch. At the front end of the lower hull the two sections of lower glacis plates are fitted. On the underside, two lengths of what look like suspension parts are glued into position, whilst on the sides the five, three piece bump stops and four, three piece return rollers are attached. The engine bulkhead is fitted inside the lower hull along with the fighting compartment floor, whilst at the front the two, four piece towing eyes are attached. All the wheel assemblies are now fitted to their respective positions and the six piece front upper glacis plate, plus the two five piece track guards are glued into position.

The engine decking is built up from separate plates, to form a box structure, into which the intake guides are fitted and the whole section covered over with the two hatches and their grilles. The deck is further detailed with the fitting of some pioneer tools, grab handles, hinges and a two piece box. The rear mudguards are then attached, along with the rear light clusters and reflectors, and the nine piece exhaust assembly fitted to the rear bulkhead.

The gun is really well detailed with fifteen parts making up the gun, breech block and controls. The three piece shell cradle is then fitted, whilst the six parts that make up the control system of the gun for elevation and azimuth are attached to the left hand trunnion mount+. The gun assembly is then mounted to the small turntable via two trunnion mounts, and the large ball slid over the barrel. The gun assembly is mounted onto a five piece mounting structure, which has a two piece radio set mounted to the right arm. The gunners seat and hand wheel are then attached, along with the four piece sight.

The inside of the fighting compartment is fully detailed inside and out, with parts and accessories on every panel. The large loading hatches on the roof are able to be posed either open or closed, as are the smaller rear hatch and the commanders hatch, which also has the option of having the binocular periscope to be fitted. The frontal armour is fitted with the drivers vision block, which includes all the interior details. The inside of the front plate is also detailed with the fitting of two MP-40 sub-machine guns and four gas mask cases. With all the interior details added, the four sides and roof of the fighting compartment can be assembled. Before adding this to the hull though, there are two large racks for the shells to be assembled and fitted to the hull floor, along with a storage chest and a rack of shell bases and the main gun assembly. With the hull complete, the tracks can be assembled and fitted. The model then fitted with which are the four spare pairs of wheels are attached to the rear bulkhead along with their associated racks. The jack plate, jack, headlights and Schürzen support frames are also attached at this point, as is the large stowage box. A length of spare track is fitted to the upper glacis plate and attached using the etched clamps. The Schürzen plates are each made up form separate plates, onto which the support cradles are attached before being fitted to the support frames on the vehicle. These plates had a habit of being ripped off, so depending on how you are going to display your model you may wish to leave some of them off, and/or bent.

Decals
The small decal sheet contains markings for three vehicles, they are well printed, in register and nicely opaque. They are fairly glossy and there is a fair amount of carrier film between the main numbers, but it feels quite thin so shouldn’t cause to much of a problem when applied over a gloss coat. All three vehicles served with Sturmpanzer IV Abt 216, in Italy in 1944, with the only difference being the variation of green camouflage over the sand yellow painted overall.

Conclusion
This is another superb kit and a great choice for a Hobbyboss re-box. The interior detail is definitely the icing on the cake and with the large hatches open it will be able to be seen. Some of the PE parts are very small or awkward, or both, so may not be the best kit if you are nervous of using PE, but if you persevere the results will be worth it. Very highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of