This is the Dragon StuG III F with Fruil tracks, Eduard etch, and some other bits and pieces of an Aber set.

Comments and suggestions are more than welcome - constructive feedback pro or con... let 'er rip.

Regards-
Jeff

Jeff,
Looks like a good clean build. Looking forward to seeing some color on it. I like the ostketten. Are you putting it in a dio?

Sincerely
Dave

Hi Jeff. Looking good. Its amazing how clean the build is .. its like every part come with no clean-up needed, in a sprue-free packet and magnetically fitted together!
The friul ostketten really enforces the low silhouette of this vehicle. As mentioned above, can´t with to see some paint on it!

jeff,
an absolutely beautifuly clean assembeled model, why even paint it can't wait to see the paint job.

respectfuly yours,
nick morgan

Hey Jeff!

Very tight, clean build! One of the best Stugs out there is the F.

Are you going to white wash it? Of course, right?


Jeff

Thanks for the comments guys! I really appreciate the feedback.

I don't think I am going to put this guy in a dio - yet...

I am going to go with a base yellow coat, and then whitewash it. I think the whitewash over the dunklegelb is one of the cooler paint jobs out there. I hope I can do it justice!

Best regards-
Jeff

Excellent and (as mentioned) a perfectly clean build!
Can't wait to see this finished.
Just a tip - how about removing a few of the 'duckbills' from the tracks, on either side, those things had a habit of falling off.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted!

James

Very nice looking Stug, the Ostketten really add something extra to overall look, am looking forward to seeing it painted.

Looks great! You have reason to be pleased!

I agree with the post that the osketten tracks add to the low profile of the vehicle, and that reference photos usually show some of the track extensions bent or broken off. But it's no big deal, perhaps your AFV was a recent addition to the front line unit....

BTW, A winter camo would look awesome. On the other hand, I recall a "Panzer Colors", "StuG III In Action", or similar book with a pic of a StuG F-8 ("Erika") in a three-colour mottled ambush scheme (applied with a sponge or a brush). That would be a cool option too!

A couple of questions:

Any problems with the fit/detail of parts? (ie. A lot of putty required? )

Are the kit tracks easy to assemble? Or are the Fruil tracks just more detailed?

Thanks!

Thanks again for the comments guys...

The feedback really helps - you guys help me by suggesting various things that I hadn't thought about. The broken off extensions is a perfect example. That thought never occured to me... hehehe

I think I am going to remove some of the extensions from each run of tracks - that really would look cooler...

The fit of the kit is really pretty good. Not as good as the newer Tamiya or Dragon kits, but overall - not much putty required. I did have some issues with the Eduard etch set fitting correctly at times. You will notice the filler on the back plate the smoke disharger is bolted to. The Eduard mounting brackets were too wide - I had to extend the plate they are mounted on a bit (the white strip at the bottom).

The kit tracks are fine. I never use the kit tracks for any kit though. I use the Fruils for every kit I build because I like the finish I can get on the metal tracks using "Blacken-It". It is a metal etching solution. All I have to do is soak each run of tracks for about 5 minutes to get a really awesome looking run of tracks - no painting at all required. The following pictures are Fruils finished in that fashion. Not a single drop of paint on these track runs. They were installed on the model after I was done painting.

Regards-
Jeff

Don't go wild breaking the extensions of the tracks. They are a one part cast, unlike the Sherman track extensions.

Pedant corner...
These are not Ostketten, but Winterketten. The Winterketten were an early, quick solution to the problem of ground pressure in boggy ground. They had simple cast extensions (as visible in the picture) whilst the Ostketten were more substantial widened tracks, a bit like the Panther tracks. I'm putting the Fruils Ostketten together at the moment, I'll post a picture later.

Cheers
Henk

Jeff,

Looks great. Good job on the construction. Looking forward to seeing it painted.