Hi all, from Norway!

Just getting back to modeling after years of house building, tending to kids and so on...
I used to build 1/25 scale cars for contests about 10 years ago, but getting back now I just got the urge to do something completely different. The choice fell on armor because I built quite a bit of armor back in my youth, and this forum also contributed to my choice.

I've picked up an old Academy Minicraft StuG IV that I ditched back in '97 due to the afore mentioned house stuff.
I've been doing some internet shopping and wounded up with som PE, a Rubio barrel, indy links, Squadron Green, MM Panzer colors and a copy of Panzer Tracts no. 8 covering the StuGs, and some other reference material.
I started out laying Zim with Squadron Green according to ref photos in Panzer Tracts and an article by Paul Owen that I found in these here woods, and I gotta say it's a PITA. I'm guessing it's kinda ambitious for me to do an armor starter kit with Zim and PE, but I've been taken with the quality of some of the builds on this forum so I decided to go all the way on my first armor model, so any input what so ever is highly appreciated.

Anyways, enough writing from my part now. Looking forward to some expertise input from you gurus here.

Some progress pics...









Made a spring on the rear fender


Applied some weld seams up front below and beside the saukopf opening and around the base of the commanders cupola. The seams were applied according to my references, hopefully they are correct but opinions and corrections are welcome.

The weld seams are PE from Lion Roar, with quite nice detail. They come in different widths so I applied a narrow one around the cupola base and a tad wider one below the saukopf opening.

Here are som pics of the result, I think they will look good once painted.
Below saukopf area...




Commanders cupola base area...






Since this set originally was made to be motorized there is some rework that needs to be done on the lower hull. At my best effort, and with the reference photos I've got I tried to modify the rear idler mounts.

Some cutting of the molded axle performed here.


Shaped after some ref. photos and other kit photos


Mounted some PE on both sides.



Got some other PE stuff mounted aswell, and more to come...

New saukopf, barrel og muzzle brake from Ausfwerks. These were awesome parts IMHO!





Here's some Aber, Eduard and home made stuff...







Been doing some serious PE workon this StuG! Man, I must say I really enjoy upgrading this ol' bootleg of a kit, kinda cool to see what can become of it.
Anyways, I'll let the pics mainly speak for themselves....almost.

I decided to upgrade this StuG to a late Ausf. G due to the fact that the Eduard PE set I got was for a late version. Collected as many pics as I could get my hands on of the Ausf. G and started converting. First I modified the exhaust, since I'm originally a car builder I tought these exhaust pipes were way cooler than the one on the early StuG's. [8D]

Added some weld seams to the pipes too as noticed on a ref. pic.




I also had to do some remodeling of the hatches and scratch build an MG mount and clip and add some PE to it. I also added a padlock to the hatches, tought that was kinda cool...








I decided to use the Eduard PE fenders so I cut of the plastic ones and replaced them. While I was at it I decided to strip the zim on the front glacis plate and redo it because I felt that the earlier applied zim was way to thick. I used AVES Apoxiesculpt from Ausfwerks for the new zim., great product and long work time before it cures. The front glacis plate also got some PE and some MK spare tracks on PE mounts. Here's the result...





Here's some pics of other details added. I bought a set of tools for Pz III-IV from Royal Model, a jack from Greif Accessories and mounted everything with clamps and holders from my Eduard and Aber PE sets.

Cleaning rods, I just had to drill'em... [swg]



Various tools and PE holders...










Made a new latch on the engine deck with PE.


I think that just about wraps it up with additions for now. My schurzen and brackets arrived from Squadron today so I guess that's next. Then it's time to get the Friul tracks out on the bench. And when they are done it's time for the nitty gritty stuff, paniting and weathering....[%-)] That's kinda intimidating since I've never done anything like that before on my car models, guess we'll just have to see how it turns out. Can't wait to get some paint on this one now...

Please feel free to comment since this is a trial and error project for me...

Later...

wow! For your first proper armour build you are putting some serious work in! You must have handled a fair bit of PE with those 1/25 cars as you are showing yourself to have some skills in that department.

Great progress so far, thanks for posting, all the close ups are great but how about some shots of the whole thing so far?

James

Thanx!
Handled some PE with the 1/25 cars aswell, but not quite the amount I've been putting on this model.

Here's a few full shots of the StuG so far...

Great work, the overall shots really show the extent of work you are putting into this kit.
just a quick question - why the different coloured putty for the various zimmerit areas and why no zimmerit on the area in front of the drivers position?

Also I noticed that you need to drill out the barrel on the MG-42.

Otherwise a very good job, be sure to keep us posted!

James

Very nice so far.
What's your technique for getting the apoxisculpt so thin and keeping it stuck to the model?
I've used it with success for filling gaps/ sink marks, but sometimes I have trouble getting it to stick to the model and not me or my tools.

BTW: Apoxiesculpt makes some killer weld beads. Just apply a thin rope and texture with the tool of your choice.

First off, welcome aboard.

Secondly, very nice build! All those extra details look great.

Thanx for the cudos!

The reason for the different colors on the zim is just that I tried out different kinds of products, and came to the conclusion that the Apoxiesculpt was the way to go. Water based product with long working time. The green stuff is Squadron green putty, also nice but you have to work really fast and it obviuosly attacks the plastic. The beige stuff on the upper hull sides are a two part epoxy putty that I don't remember the name of.

The MG 42 barrel has been taken care of...

Thanx for the cudos on my build.

For getting the Apoxiesculpt to stick I roughed up the area a bit and I use a small amount of water on the plastic spatula I use when applying it. Sticks like glue when dry.

Thanx for the tip about the weld seams, gotta try it out when I run out of PE welds.

Great work Per-Erik and welcome to Armorama. That's a lot of work to take in in one post. The result is really good and I hope we see more of your work here.
Nice idea to take an old kit like that and work it up into a masterpiece

Hello Norway

WOW!! Such nice work, specially with the etched parts. I realy like yuor choice of zimmerit pattern, it makes the model stand out from the crowd of ordenary zim. covered vehicles.
Makes me wanne order a StuG IV myself, but maybe I just gotta finish some of my many projects first.

Regards Jacob

Great work Love the zimmerit pattern... keep up the good work!


AlexanderK

You certainly are doing a rather impressive job on an old kit.
Please keep us posted on the progress, and the finishing of this project.

Welcome to Armorama.

I'm very impressed. The only negative thing I see is that PE chain. It is so 2 dimensional. As good as your build is, I am suprised you used it instead of real fine chain. Great build so far.

Because the Academy kit is from the old Tamiya dies. There is a moulded "concrete armour" piece in front of the driver, so it wouldn't need Zimmerit.

You've done some truly amazing work, there. Of course, you had more work to do than strictly necessary, because you started with the weakest of all the available StuG IV kits, Academy's copy of Tamiya's 1975 kit. It will benefit further from replacement wheels, sprockets and tracks (Model Kasten has good ones), as Tamiya's (and Academy's) wheels are too skinny, tracks are too wide, and the drive sprocket spokes do not taper properly.
Tamiya offers an inexpensive Panzer IV tool set, a sprue from their more recent Panzer IV kits which they sell separately, and it will have some more refined detail parts than the Academy clone of the old Tamiya item has.

Thanx to everyone for the welcome and positive feedback on my model so far, highly appreciated coming from you hard core armor modelers in here. I'm amazed of the work I have seen on this forum and site in general.

Carl: I know it needs another type of chain but I'm not quite sure where to get the right one. A pointer in the correct direction is appreciated. Thanx!

Gerald: Thanx for the tip regarding the ModelKasten wheels and sprockets, I'll look into that. I bought a set of tools for Pz III - IV from Royal model which is mounted on the StuG in the pics. Thought they look really ok compared to the kits "blobby" tools. I also bought a jack from Greif Accessories as you can see in the pics.

Again thanx for looking and commenting on my build.

You have indeed done a nice job with the tools. I've critiqued the Academy base kit more as a friendly "heads up" to those who might see this impressive model and want to duplicate it. You have done a lot of "heavy lifting" here, showing that even a mediocre kit can look very good indeed in the hands of a superlative builder, but newbies would be better off starting with Dragon's more modern version. Still, those who choose the old Tamiya or Academy items for reasons of price can dress it up with Tamiya tools at reasonable cost.

Got some primer on the StuG today.
It got a bit "wholer" when a uniform color was applied. Can't wait to get down to the dunkelgelb and camo...










Dunkelgelb is da next step...

It is almost a shame to cover up all that excellent PE work with paint. Looking forward to seeing it camo'd up.

Darryl

Just a quick pic of the pipes on the StuG to get an opinion of wheter they look ok or not.
Here goes...



Comments are welcome...

Thanx...

I loved your use of after market etching. It looks like this took a lot of time and patience.

They look good to me!

Looks great, Per-Erik! A great comeback after years away from the hobby. The mufflers looks fine to me.

Looking forward to see more

Wow - just fantastic. You've just inspired me to buy this kit. I live in South Korea, so it sells here for $8. This would be a good kit to practice zim on since I've never tried it before. Love the PE welds too, think I'll buy some.

Again, thanx too all for the kind words on my build so far, I really appreciate it!

Got started with some washing and weathering this weekend.

Here are some pics after I washed the model a couple of times with a raw umber wash.





After the "dots"...



Made a new tow cable too.
Used some speaker wire that I twisted with the pin vise.
I used some lead foil on the ends and insdie the loop. Then I slapped on some paint and wash. I think they turned out pretty good.




I recon the next step will be a pin wash and a tan wash to simulate a dust coat.

Comments are welcome, cause I'm still learning...