The Sturmhaubitze 42 was a variant of the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. F or Ausf. G which replaced the 75 mm anti-tank gun with a 105 mm L/28 howitzer. The choice of gun options is provided in the Plastic Soldier StuG III kits although this is not explained in the kit instructions. My StuH 42 also carries Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste made from Mr. Surfacer 500.
Here is the Sturmgeschütz III with the added concrete armor after painting. I completed most of the assembly first and painted in the details. Painting the rubber on the bogie wheels is not difficult if you thin the paint and allow capillary action to carry the paint around the rim, filling in the rest of the color after. The simplified suspension is not as glaring as I feared but it still does not stand up to close examination.The same StuG after washes and weathering. The model was first coated with Future (Klear) to protect the paint. Decals from the spares box were then applied and a second Future coat sprayed to seal them in. Next they were washed overall with Tamiya Black with Brown added for the tracks. The loader’s machine gun shield was fixed in the stowed position, if it is shown raised the loader’s hatch must be opened as the front half props up the shield. The hatch is provided as a separate piece and can be posed open but I lacked an appropriate figure to fill the opening.A tighter shot of one of the other StuG III showing details. The radio antenna are made from 0.005” Nitenol wire set into 0.5 mm tube. The advantage of Nitenol is it is flexible and does not bend or break so any bumping of the antenna will cause no damage. The bore cleaning rod was scratched, Jerry cans are from the spares box.Here are the Plastic Soldier commander figures. I replaced their headphone supports. These guys are a little hard to paint in this scale but I’m working on that!All three of the Plastic Soldier kits posed together for a group shot. I tried to make each one a little bit different than the others. The Schürzen are in place which helps the appearance.One of the Plastic Soldier StuGs on the left compared to the Trumpeter kit on the right. The Trumpeter StuG is a more finessed display model as you would expect, but by the same token it would not stand up as well to handling for use in wargaming.
SUMMARY
I really didn’t know what to expect from the Plastic Soldier kits. They are intended for wargaming and are certainly well suited for that use. There are several concessions made to ease of assembly and strength of the finished model which makes them quite robust when put together. There is also a generous array of optional parts which facilitate construction of different variations. While these are not called out in the instructions, modelers with even the most basic of references will have no trouble determining which parts are required to make these. For their target market they will do nicely especially given that there are three to a box.
For a display model they need a bit of work but not a prohibitive amount. The biggest improvement needed is replacing the overly-thick kit Schürzen which has the added benefit of concealing the simplified running gear. These are not the best place to start on a super detailing project for a contest model, but they are not intended to be either. Having said that I may sneak one onto a contest table just to see how it will do.
In the end these are fun little kits which turned out better than I feared they might. I think they will look right at home in the case!
Modifications are shown on the Trumpeter StuG. This is the one kit of the four with detailed running gear so I will leave off the Schürzen but this particular subject vehicle still had the support rail. I fabricated this from Evergreen stock with supports made from Tequila bottle seal for strength. The kit was missing the towing padeyes on the front of the hull.The “fencing” around the engine deck was installed at the factory on many StuGs and varied in configuration, for wargamers this would make a natural holder for a six-sided dice. I also constructed the sheet metal dust shield over the mufflers under the rear hull and drilled out the exhausts on all the kits, although this is barely visible here.I like making Zimmerit! Most StuGs appeared in the Alkett “waffle pattern” Zimmerit. I can’t make that accurately, but this particular StuH 42 carried the troweled line pattern which I have made here with Mr. Surfacer 500 and a jeweler’s screwdriver. The Mr. Surfacer is very forgiving, any errors can be erased with thinner and applied again.Plastic Soldier represents the Notek driving light with a molded-on bump and ignores the travel lock for the gun. Neither is particularly difficult to construct and makes a nice improvement.I shaved off the molded-on towing cables and substituted extras from the spares box. The Trumpeter kit had no cables at all.Some StuGs had their armor supplemented by filling in recesses in the forward fighting compartment armor with concrete. My concrete is made from Perfect Plastic Putty which is easy to work for applications such as this.This StuG will have the Saukopf gun mantlet as well as the concrete armor. Visible on the hull front is the mounting bar for a length of spare track which many crews carried there to supplement the armor. Photographs show spare track was carried in several additional locations by some StuG crews. I really wish kit manufacturers would provide several extra track sections to allow these variations to be more easily modeled.This StuG has two towing cables which are already shackled to the padeyes at the rear of the hull. This was often done to facilitate a quick recovery if the vehicle was damaged in combat.This vehicle has the “winged” MG shield for the loader. Plastic Soldier provides a part for this style and the flat foldable version, but both parts are rather thick. The Trumpeter parts are very nicely done, but the kit contains only one of each so additional shields will have to be scratch built to equip all four models.I have made the Schürzen from Evergreen sheet to replace the overly-thick kit parts. These will be painted and installed separately near the end of construction.
Over the last few years there have been several 1/72 scale armor kits released which are specifically aimed at the wargame community. Plastic Soldier, Armorfast, and Italeri have all issued kits, usually multiple vehicles in the same boxing. The kits are designed to be easy and quick to assemble, sacrificing detail for speed and durability. I became curious to see just what these kits were all about and whether they could be spruced up into presentable display models.This is a sprue shot of the Plastic Soldier StuG III, you get three of these sprues in each box. Obviously a low parts count! The parts are robust compared to most display model kits, being designed to resist handling. Details such as pioneer tools are molded on. The running gear is simplified to speed assembly and prevent breakage. PS has provided some options – there are three different barrel assemblies allowing for the Saukopf mantle, the standard 7.5 cm StuK 40 gun, and the 105 mm gun of the StuH 42. The loader’s and commander’s hatches are separate pieces and there is a half-figure commander. Both types of MG shields are provided, and a set of rather thick Schürzen are also included for those modelers needing protection from Soviet anti-tank rifles.The instructions underscore the simplicity of the kits and ease of construction. No mention is made here of the additional parts included or the various vehicle configuration options they provide, so the modeler will need to consult references to get the most out of these kits.As a control I will build a display model alongside the Plastic Soldier kits, in this case the Trumpeter Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G. This will allow for direct comparison with the PS parts.Being optimized for detail the Trumpeter kit has many more parts. For 1/72 scale armor kit this is still not a high parts count, even though Trumpeter has also provided for several options. There are three different fighting compartment roof pieces, two rear hull pieces, two styles of return rollers, and several choices of guns. All hatches are molded closed and there are no crew figures. The kit has no Schürzen included, but the attachment fittings are molded into the mudguards.I completed the lower hull assemblies and filled them with BBs fixed in casting resin. It is a bit of nonsense I know, but I like the heft of extra weight. This picture does illustrate what I believe is the major liability of the Plastic Soldier kit as a display model – the running gear and tracks are over simplified and look it. Rather than trying to make improvements here I will take the easy way out and use Schürzen to hide most of this from casual view.Not so easy to conceal are the spare road wheels which were carried rather prominently on the engine deck. On the left is a Trumpeter road wheel and at the center of the photograph is the stock Plastic Soldier version. I slotted the wheel with a razor saw, trimmed off the excess rim, and drilled out the limber holes to improve the appearance. Not perfect but definitely better.A comparison of both kits from directly above shows several differences in the ways details are represented. It is also apparent that the Plastic Soldier kit is a little larger than the Trumpeter. Compared to the George Bradford drawings, the Plastic Soldier kit is slightly oversized and the Trumpeter kit is slightly undersized.
WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS (LIFE,LIBERTY,AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS) IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE A NEW GOVERNMENT― Thomas Jefferson
Inch High Guy 