Well all "good" builders should, I'm starting new projects while in the middle of others. This time I've decided to do a duel build.

I'll be attempting the AFV Club M18 Hellcat and Dragon's StuG IV Early. I'll be doing all of these bone stock with no AM accessories except on the StuG as I have a set of Tamiya shells for it.

This will be the first time I attempt a German subject so you'll have to stay with me. I'll be leaving along the way. Painting will be an interesting experience. But before I've even started I run into a dilemma... Which one to start first???



I'll be gathering some pictures of StuG IV's so I can try to find a paint scheme that I like that isn't too complicated. I've never attempted any kind of German paint scheme before except in 1/144. Which I think didn't turn out too bad. I'd like to go with an ambush scheme but all things considered I think I'll find something a bit easier for me.

As a side note, I won't be able to do this very quickly. I don't have much time on hands for now as I'm dealing with work and school. Updates will be sparse if intermittent.

2 Nice kits indeed! Have fun! I like the Dragon Stug IV's ..they contain nice guns, breech etc. Good for interior work.I did a Stug III G with interior..well..I did 3 actually...I may tackle a IV interior soon.

Unfortunately I'll be building it all closed up. I will leave the commander's hatch free so I can stick one in when I find one... Or gunners... Whichever one is armed with the machine gun...

Ok, first update! I've chosen to work the StuG first as I've never finished a German vehicle before (got close on a Tasca Luchs but then left it where the dog could chew it... Only damaged the fender though). I'm hoping to have more luck on this one.

So after a total cumulative work time of about 3 hours, I've gotten this far:







I have to get more used to taking "in-progress" pictures as I go along instead of just end-of the work day pictures.

And no work on the Hellcat has been started. Thinking of possibly trying to get an AFV Club Jackson turret and putting that on the Hellcat. Always wanted a Super Hellcat and it's a bit difficult to get the Academy kit.

Well that's all the progress and my ramblings for tonight. Till tomorrow... Bye Buckaroo's!

Ok, bit more progress. Finished the fenders and attached them. Also glued the engine deck on.





The upper structure isn't glued on, only dry fitted for looks. More to come soon!

Hi Michael. Nice effort and nice build so far. I've got the Stug IV waiting somewhere in the cellar but I built the Hellcat years ago. More or less when it was released. Out of the box it was a quick and easy build specially considering that back then I wasn't as skilled as today ( not that I improved that much though).
As for the Stug, If I'm not wrong all Stug IV came with zimmerit and since you don't mention it I don't know if you forgot about it. Forgive me if you had it in mind but I felt Ihad to say it. If so were you planning on making it yourself or buying some aftrrmarket goodies?
I'll be watching
Cheers

I've seen some pictures ofof StuG IVs without imm. I wanted to put some on but I ended up deciding not to. The decal options for the kit also don't show any zimmerit.

Ok, another update with a couple days of progress. So far I've mostly finished the hull and superstructure components and I started working on the tracks. Still have a little bit to go before I start the Schurtzen. And even then I'll just be dry mounting it to get the alignment right.

he's building one of the 31 refurbished Panzer IV chassis ones that had battle damage & no zim.
Dragon make's another Stug IV early w/zim...i'd get that instead of using aftermarket zim or doing my own. My opinion.

Alright.... Another small update.

Finished the majority of building. I was able to replace most of what I lost (pretty much all of 2 or 3 pieces) and now I've gotten to the Schurtzen (correct me if the spelling is wrong). Finished all the panels of one side and later I'll start the next.

The open hatch (gunners hatch?) will be filled with a figure if I can get my hands on one. I'm thinking using the gunner figure from Dragon's halftrack crew set.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can improve or add details, please feel free to provide your input. I can't get better without help and criticism so say your thoughts.

So without further ado, it's picture time!




And the skirts aren't attached permanently. They're still removable. I also just need to glue the skirts to each other, which is another reason why I have the skirts on the tank currently - to line them all up for gluing.

Any tips? Here are 4 panels from the Schurtzen that I attempted to put "bullet holes" through. How do you think they look? Convincing enough? When I get around to that step, how do you think would be the best way to weather them?

Well after taking a short hiatus from this dual build, working on an M4A1 that I needed to finish, I finally got back in it. With the StuG mostly done and only needing paint I got started on the M18 Hellcat by AFV Club.



The only AM stuff I'll be using for now is an Orange Hobby Spring antenna set. I will also need a muzzle break as the kit one broke when I was trying to attach it to the kit barrel.

I've finished the lower hull and much of the upper.





I'm not assembling the lower and upper hulls together yet until I paint the interior.

Frankly, the most difficult part I ran into was most definitely assembling the suspension. But it does look pretty good and quite a few of the parts are quite small.






So, here's all the assemblies so far all together:



And just for giggles, here's the M4A1 I was working on.

First, all masked up. Undercoat is PollyS Earth. Need to pick more up actually.




Now is the kit all painted up. Top coat is Vallejo Olive Drab.





All that's left is gloss, decals and weathering.

I don't think you can do the Stug in ambush as that camo was used in late '44 and the kit is an early version from '43.

You'd have to have zimmerit on it to also do ambush -- but I'm not 100% on that.

I'm not worried about ambush schemes as I'm probably just going to do a plain scheme. I'm also not putting Zimmerit on it because everything is already together. I might attempt some form of camouflage on a Tristar Marder III that I recently got.

Well, I haven't updated the build in a week, but there has been quite some progress. I've put the StuG back in the box and on the shelf for now since I'm not working on it.

Now it's time for the update.

I said I wasn't going to use any AM extras except for an antenna and, well, I lied... I recently got in a Value Gear M4 Sherman sandbag set and stowage set. Well it was delayed so the man who runs Value Gear threw in a few extras. A universal bags/tarps set and a universal boxes set. I used a few which will be shown in later pictures. I also am using a couple Tamiya bags and tarps.

So this is the whole package so far. Everything I hope to add eventually minus the barrel. I will also be including a few more rations and a rolled up magazine. There will be a couple more paper things as well.



This next two show the Value Gear stowage. I tried to used some thin twisted copper wire to make like a rope to attach the rear most bag on the turret. Unfortunately it didn't work. Any suggestions for this? Or do you think it's not needed? It also shows the Orange Hobby Spring antenna. Unfortunately it leans a bit..





So these next two pictures show the Tamiya pack and tarp I used. I extended the straps with small strisp of folded masking tape. Does this look good to you? I can still change it if there's a better solution.





And this picture shows the Bronco .50 M2 I used to replace the kit AFV Club .50 which I view as being a bit subpar. The Bronco gun is... Well... Incredible... I think it looks much better now.



Now I'm wondering what I can do to mount the pack to the brush guard. I found a picture online and would like to emulate it. I tried to use some cut strips of masking tape super glued to the back of the pack which I closed with some sheet styrene. I then tried to wrap the tape around the bars of the guard while it was still attached to the tank. But it didn't work and I took the guard off to try it again. Does anyone have any better solution? I'd love to try something else but I have no other ideas.



I don't plan on adding anymore stowage so far. I don't really know what else I could do with it as well. In fact I kinda like it the way it is. So, that's it for this update. What do you think? Any opinions? I would've thought there'd be a bit more comments than there are currently, honestly...

Have you tried using copy paper strips? The paper can be easily formed into a realistic hanging strap appearance, when painted, it has a texture to it as well. ... And then, there's always the old tried and true lead-foil method.

Great looking build Michael!

—mike

Small little update. No pictures.

I got the bag attached using printer paper. Thanks for the advice. Although it did prove to be a bit finicky and unfortunately the guard broke in two again. That was, of course, after I had glued the straps down. Thank you Mr. Murphy and your law! But after some fuss and fiddling I was able to get the two halves glued together again and I got the assembly onto the model.

But now that that's settled, one of the stowage baskets keeps coming off... What a fun build I have!

Now, it is, essentially all ready for paint. Just need to wash it. After that, I'll be using Mr. Base White 1000 as a primer and also as the base for the interior. Now for thinning to spray through my airbrush, any idea as to the ratio I should I thin it to? I have never used it before except to brush paint and that was spotty at best. Also, how well does Mr. Base White bite into metal? Will it hold or just rub off with light handling?

What happened with this build?

I put the StuG on hold and the Hellcat has been primed and mostly painted green. I made a pretty bad error in judgement and glued the Hellcat turret halves together before painting the interior. Still need to paint the hull interior white or some shade thereof. Also, because I was using Mr. BASE White instead of Mr. Surfacer, the paint didn't go down quite optimally and I had to apply more coats than I really wanted to.

Have you ever tried dental floss for straps?? I think it should work fine for your packs and maybe tied down stowage.

I know you mentioned you were thinking of painting the Stug in ambush, but based on the version of this vehicle you have I don't think it would have received that scheme; think it would be in a standard yellow-green-red/brown.