Stef N. Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 8 hours ago, Maddoxx77 said: I would have to order them from Germany. Total cost would be around €44 I'll keep them in mind for a future build. They're undoubtedly a luxury, a very nicely manufactured one at that, but not necessary for some of the newer kits like RFM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 27 minutes ago, Stef N. said: They're undoubtedly a luxury, a very nicely manufactured one at that, but not necessary for some of the newer kits like RFM. I haven't started with the assembly of the tracks. But i noticed the links are very clean, no flash what so ever. The main advantage of these Trex tracks would be no cleaning and no glue. Soon i'll start with the RFM tracks. I'll let you know about my struggles 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 Righty, this old Dragon kit is turning me into a rivet counter but has been a learning curve with a large amount of etched brass and even venturing into a bit of scratchbuilding. Being a WW2 German vehicle it also wasn't a straightforward build of a variant, as after research, viewing photos and making the odd mistake it turns out there was an early, middle and late version A. It all depended on what variant PzIII the vehicle was based, an F, late F or G. This got a bit confusing at times but the photos I was studying suggested this was a late A so it will be thus. I raided the spares box for some tools, the Dragon ones were mostly rubbish, and a bit of scrap brass for some "in the field" modifications. A Voyager smoke discharger unit was built which was mostly great. The lid itself was badly designed and wouldn't fit at all so that has now been lost due to "battle damage". Cheers all and have a good Sunday.👍 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Wow! That looks amazing! Great stuff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 Cheers Maddoxx. Now comes the fun part. My airbrush hasn't been used for ages so it will be nice to dust it off and get some colour on the Stug.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 13 hours ago, Stef N. said: Cheers Maddoxx. Now comes the fun part. My airbrush hasn't been used for ages so it will be nice to dust it off and get some colour on the Stug.👍 What color scheme are you going for? German panzer grey? I think the A version only came in that color scheme from the factory line or did they also used the dunkelgelb for this early StuG versions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 4 hours ago, Maddoxx77 said: What color scheme are you going for? German panzer grey? I think the A version only came in that color scheme from the factory line or did they also used the dunkelgelb for this early StuG versions? Yeah it will be Panzer grey but I will indulge in a bit of muddy weathering to liven it up a bit. The very early A had that weird brown and grey camouflage but it looks a bit ugly. I need to find out what variant was first used in Africa. A desert yellow one would break up the monotonous grey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 8 minutes ago, Stef N. said: Yeah it will be Panzer grey but I will indulge in a bit of muddy weathering to liven it up a bit. The very early A had that weird brown and grey camouflage but it looks a bit ugly. I need to find out what variant was first used in Africa. A desert yellow one would break up the monotonous grey. As far as i know the A version was produced in small numbers, around 30. They were all used during operation Fall Gelb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 I found this online about number of StuG III deployed in Africa: The first was Sonderverband 288 with a platoon of three StuG III in its 5th Company[anti-tank]. In addition to the StuG IIIs the platoon also had 1 SdKfz 250/6. The unit was raised on 1 July 1941 at Potsdam and was originally designed to operate in Iraq but instead was directly assigned to Panzerarmee Akfrika where it served as a regular motorized infantry regiment. On 31 October 1942 288 was redesignated as Panzergrenadier-Regiment Afrika and completely reorganized. The StuG IIIs used by 288 were a tropical modified Ausf. C/D. The second unit to be sent to North Africa equipped with StuG IIIs was the 1st batterie of StuG Brigade 242. StuG Brigade 242 was formed on 1 November 1942 at Jüterbog in the village of Zinna and it was intended to deploy the brigade to North Africa to support Rommel who had been requesting an assault unit to lead his infantry in attack. However at the end of October 1942 the 2nd and 3rd batteries were diverted to the southeast to Hungary and then on to Russia. However the 1st batterie was sent to fight in North Africa. It was attached to the 10. Panzer-Division as the 13. Batterie to Panzer-Artillery-Regiment 90 of the 10. Panzer-Division. It was under the command of Hauptmann Ernst Benz and it was equipped with six StuG III Ausf F/8s. Transported via rail through the Brenner Pass to Naples in Italy where they were then transferred to Siebel ferries for sea transport across to Sicily. Then marching overland to the west of Sicily they arrived at Trapani where they were losaded abord ships for transport to Tunis. During this sea transport from Sicily to North Africa the ships were attacked by allied aircraft and two of the six StuG IIIs anda SdKfz 9 and SdAnh116 trailer were lost to the sea. the battery was officially renamed to StuG Battery 90 on 30 April 1943. They also supported Fallschirm-Brigade Ramcke and then Fallschirm-Regiment Barenthin while fighting to the end in Tunisia. On 11 May 1943 the remnants of the batterie surrendered to the British at Kap Bon Peninsula.. First the captured men were interned in a British POW camp at Medjez el Bab. Then some of the batteries personnel were used by the French as forced labor. At the end of July 1943 the survivors were transported to the US and to a POW camp in Texas. In February 1946 the survivors were released and in transit to Germany they were detained in Le Havre,France and uised by the French as laborers in the lead mines in the Pyrenees until released for good at the end of December 1948 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 https://agtom.eu/en/content/25-pojazdy-niemieckie-z-ii-ws And here is some info on german camo used during ww2. They started using dunkelgelb as a basecolor in 1942. Before that they used panzergrey. I hope this helps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 Cheers for that.👍 It looks like the earliest non-grey will be the D variant of 288. (There is a nice looking kit by Dragon of this if I can find it.) B and C have some good, colourful insignia so that will help, and then after that I can get into dunkelgelb and different camouflage techniques. In the top of this you can see the grey/brown camouflage. It is too early for what I have now made but it is an interesting scheme. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 The grey/brown camo scheme is very interesting Stef....I can see myself adding one of those to my collection 🙂👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 7 minutes ago, Andy J said: The grey/brown camo scheme is very interesting Stef....I can see myself adding one of those to my collection 🙂👍 Hello mate, it's an odd colouring. At the moment I not overly enthusiastic about it but it maybe more interesting in the flesh. I may have to buy another A.😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 10 minutes ago, Andy J said: The grey/brown camo scheme is very interesting Stef....I can see myself adding one of those to my collection 🙂👍 This was often done in the field.....with mud. Later in the war they started using paint but most of the time camo patterns were applied in the field by the crew themselfs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 56 minutes ago, Stef N. said: Cheers for that.👍 It looks like the earliest non-grey will be the D variant of 288. (There is a nice looking kit by Dragon of this if I can find it.) B and C have some good, colourful insignia so that will help, and then after that I can get into dunkelgelb and different camouflage techniques. In the top of this you can see the grey/brown camouflage. It is too early for what I have now made but it is an interesting scheme. Great decals btw. Looking to pick some up myself for my G and future builds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 25 minutes ago, Maddoxx77 said: Great decals btw. Looking to pick some up myself for my G and future builds. Star are good. Not expensive and a good range of types to choose from.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo1966 Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 I thought the Grey/Brown was the standard scheme at the begining of the War or maybe i dreamt that? 🤔 George 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 23 minutes ago, Geo1966 said: I thought the Grey/Brown was the standard scheme at the begining of the War or maybe i dreamt that? 🤔 George "At the start of the conflict, Germans used very simple patterns of camouflage. All vehicles were painted in gray Panzergrau color (RAL 7021). With experience gained on battlefields across the Europe, it became clear that additional camouflage would be necessary. At first, tank crews used... mud, to “paint irregular spots on the armor. Then, additional brown and green paints were used." 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 9 hours ago, Geo1966 said: I thought the Grey/Brown was the standard scheme at the begining of the War or maybe i dreamt that? 🤔 George Definitely seen it done on Pz 1, 2 and very early threes. I don't think it lasted that long into the war and my A would be too late for it. I will be doing the LAH one in Ukraine, or a very near version of it. (D on the decal sheet.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 It's looking really good Stef, Like It a lot. I love the shape of this tank, I need to get one... Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 Cheers Ed. Not the greatest kit to start with but I am enjoying it nonetheless. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share Posted July 3, 2022 Dust off the thread and put up some photos of the A in its black primer coat. Photos are a bit dark but you should get the gist. I tried a way of painting tracks that was successful. Wrap 'em around a tube.👍😀 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo1966 Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Stef N. said: I tried a way of painting tracks that was successful. What a good idea. I guess it helps to get paint between the links. George Edited July 4, 2022 by Geo1966 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 11 hours ago, Stef N. said: Dust off the thread and put up some photos of the A in its black primer coat. Photos are a bit dark but you should get the gist. I tried a way of painting tracks that was successful. Wrap 'em around a tube.👍😀 Smart thinking! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig of the Week Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 Cracking idea to wrap the tracks round something cylindrical ! 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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