¹⁄35

StuG.III Ausf.G Late Production Dec.1944

Take cover, incoming details

Now that the basic assembly is done, we can turn to adding the gun mount, roof and various details on the casemate and fenders. Pilsen mounts are molded on the new roof piece, though the holes are a little off centre on the round ones and need to be fixed. I just widened the holes slightly then plugged the undersides with scrap (in my case, shaved bits of sprue). The close-in defence unit can be left open or closed. The remote machine gun and mount is an exercise in patience. The machine gun itself is nicely molded with a separate feed cover. A nice idea, but the fit is lousy if you want it closed; shave and file/fill it as needed. The muzzle is pre-drilled, but will need enlarging. Leave the butt mount off until you've completed everything - mine went walkabout at some point. The shields are reasonably thin, but over scale nonetheless. The MG cradle will drive you mad due to the small size of everything and the so so fit; the top mount went flying into the unknown from my tweezers when I sneezed. I think I'll stick to early model StuGs in the future.

The commander's cupola assembles easily enough. Add the periscopes after you've assembled and painted/weathered everything else, as they'll fit in from underneath easily. The etch piece that goes in bends nicely; I formed the curve around the handle of a knife. Use whatever you have handy, just make sure the diameter is a little smaller than the final size, as the brass will spring out. I glued it in place from the front openings, one support section at a time, with super glue. Let the glue set before you move onto the next section and you shouldn't run into any trouble. Add the binocular mount and binoculars last. Be very careful removing the binocular sight from the sprue. The deflector needs a little trimming and the removal of a bolt for a better fit.

Now we can mount the main gun. The gun mount does not swivel, a minor point that can easily be fixed if you think about it for a minute or less. The gun mount will fit under the lip of the casemate if you chose to install it after the casemate is in place. If you want some more wiggle room, remove the forward mounting pin, and don't glue just yet. Adding the mantlet proved trickier than I had hoped; I managed to squeeze it in, but damaged the paint on the walls and on the mantlet itself. The gun cradle needs to be elevated as much as possible, and then the mantlet is wiggled in to place. You might be able to make this fit more easily by doing one of two things: shave off some of the recoil housing, or sand down the sides of the mantlet a wee bit. You only need to find a millimeter or so on all sides. Do some trial runs before you glue anything in place to see what works best for you. Add the breach assembly, and the gunner's periscope, which you should have painted already, after the mount is glued in place. The roof fits nicely, then add the hatches, remote assembly and cupola after painting and weathering is done.

Placing the gun travel lock needs some thought as you don't get any help here. Glue the lock bits together, let them set, then slide the gun barrel in place if you haven't already glued it, lower it to the desired height and fit the travel lock in place, mark or glue depending on your dexterity. When that has set properly, add the etch chain first, then the spring. I noticed two things here: the spring should attach to something, and the chain/spring alignment seems wrong. If the chain/spring is supposed to provide tension to pull it to the side, then the spring shouldn't lay flat. Details, details, details. Carefully measuring with the old Mk 1 Eyeball, I chopped up a slice of sprue and cut a notch in it to provide something for the spring to attach to; amazingly, it worked on the first go. Check your references for what it should actually look like.

The schurzen mounts and rails can now be added. Shave off the mounting pins on the bracket faces, as the earlier rails have mounting holes, the newer ones don't (oopsie). Take care when removing the attachment points from the rails, the trusty razor blade works well here using a rocking motion. As for placement, you'll need to study the painting guides as the instructions are again somewhat vague. No skirts are provided, so you'll need to source those. If you do hang skirts, use them as guides for where to mount the triangles and posts to be sure they'll line up. Dragon provides a nice touch with wing nuts that can be used on various brackets, and unlike some other releases, the instructions mention this. I opted not to use them. I wasn't 100% sure they'd still be where I glued them when all was said and done and just plum forgot to add them afterward. Hey, spare wing nuts!