Airfix StuG IV Sd.Kfz.167 Early (A1377) 1:35

[Mike]

StuG IV Sd.Kfz.167 Early (A1377)

1:35 Airfix

 

 

After the success of the StuG.III that was based on the Panzer III, the StuG.IV was built on the Panzer IV chassis and similarly had its turret removed, was refitted with a casemate and a high velocity gun that had a limited amount of traverse within the superstructure.  To aim at a target, the vehicle’s driver had to roughly align the weapon using the tracks, fine-tuning targeting with the gun mount’s 15° of traverse to either side.  This marked it out as being ideal as a tank destroyer that lay in wait for its victims as an ambush predator, aided by the comparatively low silhouette of the turretless design.  Although the concept was originally intended to provide support for infantry, the tank destroyer role suited it better, and it became a formidable opponent particularly in the battles following D-Day, when it would lay in wait for the advancing Allies and take out the relatively poorly armoured Shermans and Stuarts of American design, and the under-armed Cromwells and Churchills of British origin.  It was so effective in its job that upgraded variants fought all the way to the end of WWII, and spawned the Jagdpanther and Jagdtiger in the Axis ranks at the very end of WWII, and even gained adherents on the Allied side, with the A39 Tortoise being developed as an over-powered example that was also capable of taking down armoured bunkers with a powerful gun behind a prodigious armoured casemate.  Thankfully, that never saw active service due to the end of the war.

 

 

The Kit

This is a reboxing with new decals of an Academy kit, with whom Airfix have a collaborative agreement, that broadens Airfix’s relatively new 1:35 range of armour kits.  It arrives in a standard top-opening red-themed box, and inside are eight sprues in sand-coloured styrene, a decal sheet and instruction booklet printed on glossy paper in the cross-over style of their Academy partners.  Detail is good, and although there is no Photo-Etch (PE) in the box, attempts have been made to give the modeller realistically thin schürzen panels by tapering the edges, and other such detail enhancements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with drilling out a small army of holes in the exterior panels, as shown in the first diagram, closely followed by putting them together starting with the lower hull from floor, sides, rear bulkhead and two internal supports that plug into circular turrets in the receiving parts.  The lower glacis is covered front and sides with detail panels, as is the lower half of the rear bulkhead, which houses the idler-wheel axle armour, with another spare part that is subtly different in detail, and is left on the sprues for this boxing.  The glacis plate is laid over the front of the hull while the final drive housings are applied to the sides, as are the suspension bogies with their pivots, and finally the road wheels that are built up in pairs, as are the return rollers, the idler wheels and the drive sprockets, which have an added hub cap in the centre.  The tracks are of the rubber-band style, but are well-detailed and link together at the ends with super glue (CA), and here hiding the joint behind the skirts or on the lower run would pay dividends.  Inside the hull a gun support ‘bench’ is laid on C-shaped rails in the sidewalls, ready for the gun base at a later stage.

 

The upper hull is assembled from the rear engine deck section, which has the centre section of the fenders and front mud guards fitted, and here the instructions are a little garbled, making up the rear engine deck in between later stages that are initially confusing.  The engine deck has the cooling vanes and rear fender sections glued to it before the fenders are made up, with spacers fixed to the fender sections beneath the vanes.  A small section of the engine deck is separate from the rest, and should be added during this stage so that it matches up with the casemate later.  Behind the deck a pair of triangular inserts are fitted to the rear fenders, followed by a section of armour that joins the deck to the bulkhead, under which are two horizontal strakes, idler axle stubs and tensioners.  A trio of spare track links are glued to the rear of the vehicle on pins, and a pair of towing eyes are made into a cable by adding a 90mm length of braided cable/cord from your own supplies, then formed into a figure of eight and lashed around the two L-brackets on the back of the engine deck.  Below these are two brackets that support the exhaust, which is made from a cylindrical centre section of two halves, bracketed by a long and short end cap, and finally the exhaust stub, which has a hollow tip.  Further below the exhaust is the strong central towing bracket complete with pin and shackle.  Before the upper hull is started, the gun support is installed over the cross-brace with a thick pin inserted into the hole on which it can pivot, while a number of brackets and pioneer tools are dotted around the fenders along with the headlight and fire extinguisher on the left fender.

 

The casemate is a large part, moulded as intact as possible using a sliding mould that is sited at the end of one sprue, and this is glued over the lower hull, ready for the gun.  Although this isn’t an interior kit, the basics of the breech are included, built from two halves, and inserted into the Saukopf mantlet armour along with additional parts that should allow it to elevate, then the assembly is glued to the base inside the hull, which if you have been judicious with the glue, will also permit the gun to traverse.  The casemate is closed over by adding the roof, which first receives hatches, a detailed cupola for the commander, and an MG34 machine gun that passes through a protective shield on top of the roof.  The front of the casemate has a box-like driver’s enclosure detailed with hatch, vision block covers and grab handle, then it too is glued to the casemate, adding more pioneer tools, armoured vents on the glacis, jack and its block, and front towing shackles at the same time.  Space is always at a premium on armoured vehicles, and spare parts are essential during battle conditions, where a mine or low shot from the enemy could render your vehicle inoperable, but otherwise healthy.  A three-part stowage rack for two pairs of road wheels are fixed to the left side of the casemate, plus two lengths of spare track on the upper and lower glacis, which also act as additional armour in the hope of deflecting incoming rounds.  After adding vents and aerial bases to the back of the casemate, the sides of the mantlet are fleshed out with armoured panels, and the brackets that hold the side skirt panels are installed on three A-frame stand-offs, but the sheets themselves aren’t indicated in the instructions, but are present on the sprues, with thinned edges to add a little realism.  The backs of the panels do have some ejector-pin marks however, but most of them are raised, with only a few recessed and in need of filler to make them disappear.  The final job is to insert the single-part barrel into the Saukopf, build up the muzzle from three parts, then insert that into the keyed end of the barrel.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal options included on the sheet, both with a dunkelgelb (dark yellow) base coat, and green overpainted camouflage of different styles, even though they are in the same unit at the same time.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division, Eastern Front, Autumn 1944
• 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division, Eastern Front, Autumn 1944

 

 

 

Decals appear to have been printed in Korea by Academy’s usual partners, and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

The StuG IV was a successful type, and this kit of it hits many of the right notes that will appeal to a great many modellers.  It will also benefit from Airfix’s excellent distribution network, and should sell well based on that, and the fact that it’s a well-detailed kit.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of