Jump to content

StuG III Ausf.B - both of them


Recommended Posts

Hello, 

 

My next thread will be StuG III Ausf.B. I have chosen Tamiya kit for this one and since I have few leftovers from Dragon's Panzer III family kits I've built before, I use them wherever I can. I have few Aber upgrade sets also to use and aftermarket decals, as I'm going to one of the StuG Abt. 185 vehicles.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


I'm not very happy with the Tamiya kit, but there are not many options when building Ausf.B. Bolts are rounded and need to be replaced, weld seams are often missing and need to be reproduced, fit is loose and need a lot of filler. But main problem with this kit is that upper hull, when removing the molded fenders, appears to be 1mm wider than lower hull. I really don't know what to do with that yet. Here is the front driver's plate compared to hull:

 

spacer.png

 


But Aber's etched sets seems to be awesome and offers a lot of fun. Here's the assembled ammo storage cabinet. And yep, the lid is movable:

 

spacer.png

 


Tracks are from MasterClub this time and oh are they awesome. Compared to Friuls, these need very little cleaning and go together with little resin pins.

 

spacer.png

 


Til' next time,
Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats a nice set of upgrades there Kristjan.........I'll keep up with this one. If you think Masterclub are a nice track.....you should certainly try the R-Model tracks with custom track pins.......for the best there is at present.

 

Nice look project so far.......great job......:yes:

 

Redcoat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, Redcoat. I have Takom's Panther D wainting next and I surely consider R-Model tracks with this model.

 

 

Somehow, using hot water and brute force, I managed to bend the upper hull narrow enough to fit between the metal angles. And after gluing the altered drivers front plate on, it stayed to its new shape. So, the main problem solved, I cannot see any other major obstacles to deal with with this model.

 

I completed both track runs also. The vehicle sits bit high and not so forward-leaning compared to Dragon's Ausf.G, but Ausf.B was 4 tons lighter than Ausf.G so that makes a sense, I guess. I like the Dragon's look more, though.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

 


Kristjan
 

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all.

 

Unfortunately this project will be on hold for a while now.

 

After assembling the fenders and gluing them on to the model, they seem to be a bit too wide. The fit of the Tamiya is poor and few of the details like front tow hooks seem to be at the wrong angle. None of these problems would be overwhelming by themselves, but all these together makes me to consider that it would be reasonable to wait the Dragon's new 6919 Ausf.B to be available (hopefully in september or october) and continue with the new kit. I could use the tracks already assembled, the aftermarket barrel and decals I already have, ABER's interior and exterior sets that I have too and would only need to buy new fenders. 

 

It's not a big loss really, since I have worked with this kit only for a ten days. It has been somewhat a learning experience however and working with Dragon will be so much more easier and relaxing than dealing with what I have now.

 

This is how the StuG looks at the moment.

I know it doesn't look too bad on the picture, but I'm really tired of dealing with every little detail that doesn't seem right on the model or is oversimplified or both.

 

spacer.png

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Hi

 

So, meanwhile I got the new Dragon kit and can now go on with the subject. After some thinking about the matter I decided I'm going to continue with Tamiya as well and I'm going to build these side by side simultaneously. Where there is some detail of Tamiya I'm not happy with, I can now simply clone it from Dragon and replace it and vice versa of course, but I guess it would be most unlikely that Tamiya kit has something superior than Dragon.

 

So far I 've assembled the chassis of my new StuG, and have started with fenders. I have also cloned the front tow hooks to Tamiya that allowed me to finish the front ends of Tamiya fenders. 

Dragon will get Voyager Model fenders, which are a bit simplyfied compared to Aber, but it will be hardly noticeable once on the model. Overall the Dragon will get bit more attention detailwise, but Tamiya will hopefully build into a decent model too.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all!

 

So by now the stuGs are more or less on the same level by progress. I've added the fenders to the Dragon one. Dragon received some addition to inner bulkhead as well. At the same time I've added the sidewalls to Tamiya and it was a fest of filling and sanding.

The Aber fenders were not the walk in the park neither - as you may guess, the Pz III fenders are quite complicated and so are these on the model level. Most difficult stage would be to get them on the correct height and at first I got them wrong. So after some serious consideration I had to cut the middle section loose and fix them a bit higher. 

 

I'll add some photos of them together now. As you can see, Tamiya's idler wheel is considerably smaller than Dragon's one. Don't know, which is right but Dragon chassis seems to be more accurate. Fender pattern is also denser on Tamiya one because of different manufacturers - on Dragon I used Voyager fenders and on Tamiya, Aber ones. And this time Voyager seems to be more accurate than Aber.

 

I really don't know yet what to do with these two. One option I've considered is to make these as they've been on the same unit - more or less equal in every way. Other option is to give the other another unit and thus different markings and stowage. The third option would be to make these two as different as possible - that would mean another track to Tamiya to use Dragon's 8-hole sprocket and make it feel as different as possible by means of stowage and markings. Suggestions are most welcome

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png


spacer.png

 

 

Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Meanwhile I've painted both hull interiors. I used AK RC RAL1001 Elfenbein for the main color and long-gone Humbrol 115 for the floor. Elfenbein really doesn't look that yellow to the eye than on these photos. 

I used Dragon plastic ammo-boxes on Tamiya and for Dragon I had Aber PE boxes to where I added a few shells as well. On to the rear ammo box I added some stick grenades by Orange hobby, which I had left over from another project long time ago.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


I started with the main guns as well. For the Tamiya I combined its original Aluminium barrel tip with a leftover aluminium barrel from Dragon Pz.IV kit. All this wasn't really necessary, but I wanted it to try out just for a bit of fun. Then I added the breech from the same Pz.IV kit and matched the whole thing with Tamiya plastic.


Dragon StuG received an Aber metal barrel. This one is really meant for some Sd.Kfz.251 kit and needed some shaving and cutting as well. 

 

All in all I've got two nice StuK 37 guns now.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


And when trying these on the chassis, both StuG's start to look a little meaner.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

 


Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thank you, guys.

 

I continue with an upper part of the interior.

For starters the gun sights - Tamiya has it wrong and Dragon hasn't any at all. It took a while to figure out the sight they used on these early StuG's, but once found out that it probably was the Rbl.F. 32, it took only an half a day to fabricate two of them following photos googled out from the net.

 

spacer.png

 


Gun cradle needed some attention too. Dragon has later long barrel gun cradle that isn't correct one to these early StuGs. But it's nothing that few bits of styrene can't help. I also cloned some sight details from Tamiya and somehow put the thing together.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


The hatches on both had some detailing added. I tried to drill out all the hatches to make them movable - on Dragon it went alright, but Tamiya hinges were a bit too small and not well molded out for this purpose. Dragon had the smaller hatches above the sight shut closed, so these too had to be cut out and to be replaced with homemade styrene ones. On Tamiya I just glued these hatches shut and didn't bother more.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


For the driver's viewport I found some vision blocks out of my spares box. Both are from random Dragon kits and needed some polishing. The one that goes to the Tamiya needed some cutting as well to make it fit.

 

spacer.png

 


Then few other details here and there. 

 

spacer.png 

 

spacer.png

 


Dragon had pretty decent radio in its box. It even had more than one, so I got one for Tamiya as well. Both radios received some detailing and the one that goes to the Dragon had few additional details from Aber set. The speaker box is provided by Aber as well and the headphones are from K59 set which I found in my stash. 

 

spacer.png


 

MP's had the holes drilled in the barrels even though they aren't to be visible. Using tin foil I made straps for all of them. Dragon Had two sets of periscopes in the set so again, one goes to Tamiya and the other to Dragon.

 

spacer.png

 


And here ar all the details layd out and ready to some paint.

 

spacer.png

 

 

 

Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks, mates!

 

Painting the upper hull interior has taken a bit longer because of may details involved.
I'm still working with the Dragon, but Tamiya is finished interior-wise and the upper hull has been permanently glued on.

 

So here are some pics.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 


Dragon will follow in a few days.

 

 


Kristjan

Edited by vaoinas
Changed image URLs
  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...