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Sturmegeschutz IV (40180) FINISHED


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The box says Matchbox, so it's in. Bought at the Shuttleworth Model Show last Sunday, it's time it got built.

 

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No diorama base included but hard plastic track lengths instead. Side armour in one piece with moulded on support rails is a nice extra so is a pair of side armour rails without the plates for a different look. 

 

Work started yesterday and things are flying together. 

 

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I've removed one side armour plate and added a short length from one of the support rails, just to give a slightly different look to the build. The plates have had a bit of a crushing here and there and the edges are thinned right down as well.

 

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Today saw the thing get primed with hi build auto primer. It photographs a very vivid yellow for some reason. It's a bit calmer in real life.

 

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And while I was making new bases for my other current AFV builds, I made one for this kit as well. I'm going for an Autumn look with it.

 

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The Stug will need a fair bit of paint modification to blend in here,  at the moment it looks like it's escaped from Chernobyl, but paintwork begins tomorrow.

 

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I've been down to the shed this morning, more to see if I still have one really as the wind here at the moment is a bit fierce. All's good though, so I did a bit on the Stug.

Oil paints seemed like a good idea so I dug them out and got mixing. Yellow ochre and black was mixed to an olive shade and scrubbed over all the parts. That toned down the atomic yellow quite a bit. Then it was go with the flow time as the burnt sienna and mixed dark green were added in a random fashion in blocks and rectangles. A wide brush stippled the colours to a sort of soft edge. After an hour or so I very lightly dragged the dry wide brush vertically through the layers to give a fine streaking.

 

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Sat on its autumn leaves base, it's calmed down a fair way over the primer coat. It still needs dulling down and a few washes here and there. It's had the gun and side armour propped up for the picture.

 

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There is still quite a way to go here but the paint needs to be dry before proceeding so this build will go quiet for a while. A shame really as I'm well in the AFV groove here. 

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An evening sat on a radiator dried things off enough to get a thin coat of acrylic clear onto the Stug this morning. A couple of old Airfix transfer sheets provided some crosses and numbers. Old Airfix sheets are a bit hit and miss.  A few cracked up and were unusable but I got there in the end. I also draged a cocktail stick horizontaly across the lower portion of the side armour, to represent a bit of wear. Another coat of acrylic later will seal the transfers in,then more weathering until completion.

 

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I've knocked back the brightness of the finish a bit by scrubbing in a bit of dark earth. It's calmed things down a lot. The rubber wheels also had a start made on painting them. 

The bushes on the base also got a bit of a trim as they seemed a bit overpowering when I returned to the shed today.

 

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I'll leave things alone for today. Tomorrow I'll run a wash or two into the grills etc. The tracks will hopefully get fitted as well and that will be the Stug finished.

 

I also tried out a bit of base swapping with the one I made for the Priest build. I like either way. With the Stug on the green base the colours seem to stand out a bit and show off the model. Ditto the Priest on the Autumn base. Putting them back on the intended bases and the camouflage schemes work as intended. 

 

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I'll leave the vehicles unfixed I think. That way I can swap around for a different look now and then.

 

 

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Just amazing Tony, I honestly have now idea how you sustain your modelling energy, clearly it's 1000 times greater than mine This German AFV is coming up extremely well and apologies for just stumbling on it now. 

Cheers.. Dave 

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  • 1 month later...

The long neglected Stug is finished!

 

There wasn't too much to do really, I just stalled at the line.

The tracks were a bit of a nightmare for me. First time with separate links and they fought me all the way. Life would have been a lot easier had I built up the wheels and tracks before adding the body. Lesson learned.

 

I've gone a bit too far with the weathering and paint layering really. The colours are a bit vivid as well, but I quite like the almost cartoon look. Not to worry, it turned out well enough to keep me happy.

 

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Gallery shots in a bit.

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A lovely result Tony.  Congratulations!

In the Gallery you mention an Airfix Mag conversion.  I did one too, but in my case the Pz.IV chassis was from a RiKo kit (with solid moulded wheels and tracks), as the conversion pre-dated the Airfix Pz.IV kit.

 

Cheers

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On 2/19/2022 at 9:41 PM, TonyW said:

Memories of converting an Airfix StugIII and PzIV into one, using an article in either Airfix Magazine or possibly Almarks Modelworld back in my schooldays, came back as it went together.

 

 

10 hours ago, CliffB said:

In the Gallery you mention an Airfix Mag conversion.  I did one too, but in my case the Pz.IV chassis was from a RiKo kit (with solid moulded wheels and tracks), as the conversion pre-dated the Airfix Pz.IV kit.

 

 

 

Airfix Magazine January 1972

StuG IV : new thoughts on an old conversion by S. J. Gander

pp 250-251

 

Airfix Magazine Guide 3

Military Modelling

Gerald Scarborough

1974

Sturmgeschutz IV (L/48)

pp 60-62

 

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50 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Airfix Magazine Guide 3

Military Modelling

Gerald Scarborough

1974

Sturmgeschutz IV (L/48)

pp 60-62

 

 

Blimey, I remember having a go at that. 

 

Nice result on your Stug Tony. 

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  • TonyW changed the title to Sturmegeschutz IV (40180) FINISHED

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