Hi Trevor, you can fit Dragons magic tracks to the Tamiya StuG III without any problems whatsoever. I have done this twice already with good results.

Hi Alex K, if you're new to the hobby and are not quite sure how far you want to, or can go with detailing (ie PE, resin, and co.) I'd choose the Tamiya 35197 StuG III. It's accurate, a breeze to build and if you do want to go crazy you can loads of AM bits without huge plastic operations.

You could always check through the first StuG Brigade builds
thread, there all of your questions should be answered :-

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/192014&page=1



Paul

Paul is right... you can make it easy or hard for your first build. I would choose easy.

Build a Tamiya, then maybe later go back and replace those tracks after you have done a few kits.

Indie link tracks are a bit at first but maybe you have more skills than most of us and can get them right the first time.

Modelkasten makes a real nice track set... but be warned, they cost it too.


Don't put too much thought into it, just have fun with what you go with and then rest is downhill as there is no pressure here on you.



~ Jeff

@Alex K

I strongly recommend any of the Tamyia Stug III.
Easy and nice builds, problem-free kits no doubt.

The Stug B also has a metal gun barrel and metal engine grill.

Something to read and digest:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/misc/stug3b/stug3b.htm



Jeff

Wow thanks for all the speedy replies!

Jeff - Yes I have been looking at the latest kits simply because I get the impression that the newer the kit the more time they've had to iron out issues. Good point about the engineering, I suppose they have the chance to use their new methods on these kits too. I have heard a lot of praise regarding their zim-coated new kits so maybe that's a good idea...
Also, regarding your last post - Just finished reading that funnily enough! Terry's review is one reason why I want to try a newer Dragon kit, I believe the one he is comparing to the Tamiya is the model which eventually made it's way into the CH Stug III Ausf. E kit.
It is also why I have added that Tamiya kit to the wish list.

Tristan - Thanks for the words, that's how I have been taking a lot of reviews. Being new I am finding myself spending far more time reading up on kits than I do actually assembling them, and as you say there's always something people will complain about.
Though to be fair most of the time a reviewer will only highlight things like that because there are some picky modellers out there and they are entitled to be picky I guess - It's their money and hobby, and we are lucky to have such variety!
Ahh yes, I have heard the instructions complaint, and to those people I would say "Compare Dragon instructions to the instructions for the garden shed I had to assemble a few weeks back...".

Robert - I have been watching your build It certainly looks like you are enjoying yourself, I had checked out the kit you are doing (gotta admit it was the units included which made it jump out at me). But I think I'll have to avoid the CH kits for my first attempt as I'd like to see what the new kits have to offer in terms of quality.

Paul - Wow what an obvious suggestion that I stupidly overlooked! I have to say I was tempted by the StuH 42 that you yourself had bought...
I went with Tamiya for my first kit and they do indeed lead the way in stress-free builds Though I would like to challenge myself and go with a Dragon StuG.
That being said, I have also got the Tamiya Finnish StuG III Ausf. G (35310) on my wish list and apparently it is based on the kit you mention so eventually I will tackle that kit (technically).

John - Yes I have been reading good reviews on the Tamiya stugs, and the B in particular has gone on to the wish list (I loved the variety of markings) but like I say, I'd like to try my hand at a Dragon kit.
I've completed a couple of Trumpeter models and while I know they aren't at the same level, we can only improve ourselves by challenging ourselves.


I have been checking reviews like mad all afternoon and after getting through almost 30 pages of the first StuG build (sad to see so many pics removed..but some amazing work in there!) I may have settled.....On 3 choices.

6576
6644
or
6582

The 6644 is leading the way however as I am keen to one day weather a kit with a Winter look, but with plenty of time to choose I'll keep checking.

Which leads me to a question - Do others check reviews and scour the internet thoroughly before buying a kit, or am I odd? It doesn't strike me as a hobby that lends itself to impulse buying what with all the potential for getting a bad kit or something you didn't actually want (like buying a kit to make it for theatre A when markings provided are only for theatre B).


Okay I better stop derailing the thread with too much rambling.
Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions and I look forward to building with you all!


Alex

EDIT - Actually, as there is still plenty of time I might take the advice given and grab the Tamiya stug B to do while I wait. It shouldn't take too long and would be nice to be able to compare the two companies for myself.
Plus I like the idea of having another completed model, in particular a stug!
Thanks again folks.

I believe EVERYONE reads up on reviews of kits they are thinking of buying. No matter if they are along the lines of what they are used to or not.

Whether they actually use them is another story.



Jeff

Well I got the Tamiya kit today. Should be a fun build! I forgot how nice and straight forward Tamiya kits are hehe.

Now that I have a StuG III, I can go with a IV for this build!

I dislike that kit sorry. I like the figures but there is better dragon molds of the stug III.
The Stug III G from cyberhobby with winterketten ,is a really good kit.

Of course the Dragon kits may be (probably are) better overall, but the whole point was to get a simple kit which builds up into a nice model before this build begins.

That being said, I just had a look and from what I can see Dragon/CH haven't released a Stug III Ausf.B mold since 1994. I'd be happy to be proven wrong though.

As this Tamiya kit has more favourable reviews, I don't feel as though I have missed out.
Chances are I will get the whole family of Stugs eventually So the way I see it I just got the best Ausf. B available, still plenty of opportunity to sample Dragon's offerings.

Don't forget, those who enlisted in my first StuG Campaign and didn't finish their build have a second opportunity with that unfinished kit to get their ribbon! Of course, you must show a continuation of the build right here.

I will finish mine as well but want to start a new kit... the StuG III Ausf E.


If I can find one!





Jeff

Ok, I'm a wee bit late I know, but the Tamiya Stug is great - a nice, easy build for a newbie, but looks great too. If you're going for indi tracks the Academy ones are really nice and are cheap too. I've used several on my Stugs. good luck with the build, Stevie.

Thanks for the reply, and pointer. I hadn't looked at replacement tracks yet, didn't even know academy offered any! Will look into it.

I haven't started the kit still, and with a lot of new kits entering the stash recently I doubt I can justify another purchase, especially not another stug as I believe the wife is beginning to learn the names...
So I may just enter this tamiya kit instead!

Hopefully someone else enters with one of the dragon kits I was contemplating so i can get some more insight and perhaps next stug build I will tackle one of those.


EDIT - any tips on where to find academy tracks in the uk?
Couldn't find anything in ebay or even through a quick Google search..only a few people mentioning they used them on a tamiya kit, no reviews or stores.

Got to say I'm really looking forward to this campaign, the StuG has always fascinated me and this will be my first one.

Right now I'm leaning towards building the lone StuG that survived the allied bombing of Monte Cassino and fought alongside the Fallschirmjäger there.

As far as I can see from pictures and a quick google search it was an Ausf. G(?) of Sturmgeschütz Brigade 242 with additional bolt on armour at the front.

I'm thinking that this kit from Dragon will portray the right type of vehicle:



Without the schürzen and obviously with appropriate stowage added.

Cheers
Tristan

Looks like a good choice Tristan.

I gotta see this one through!





Jeff

Tristan;

Hi!

That's a really neat kit - sometime I'll get mine finished!

I would suggest that IF you have a specific StuG at Monte C in mind, that you look at all pics of it carefully - I am not sure of the beast (not actually even remotely knowledgeable of it!) but it MAY have had some key visible feature(s) you'll want to address - one of which could be zimmerit.

IF you are doing a G which came to the battle with zimm (and probably the large majority of G wore zimm), you'll either to DYI it or need a different kit which offers zimm... Of course, if it was one of those earlier G and missed out on the zimm party... you are good to go with this kit!

Bob

Bob: thanks for the comment, on the pictures and video clips I have found of the surviving StuG it is very clear to me that this vehicle did not have and Zimm applied.

Here is a very good picture showing the front of the beast.



I think the toughest details to replicate will be the exact stowage carried on the vehicle. I will try to get it as close as possible from the recourses available.

Cheers
Tristan

Tristan, I built that kit recently and it went together extremely well. look forward to seeing your rendition of it.

For this campaign I’ve chosen the Dragon Stug III F/8 Early Production Italy 1945 kit. While looking it over and doing some research I’ve got some concerns over the accuracy of the kit that maybe some of you guys can help with. I know that many German vehicles were retrofitted, added details from other production types, or had things field modified by their units. Vehicles with mix-and-match details are not all that rare, but I’d like to try to get this one right. Some things that don’t add up;
1. The loaders MG shield wasn’t supposed to be on the F/8, certainly not an “early model”
2. In addition to the spare road wheel shown on the right side of the loader’s position the instructions also show spare road wheels mounted on the back deck, on top of the armored air vents. This also seems wrong for the F/8
3. The kit shows the tow cables mounted on the fenders with the supporting brackets mounted on the sides of the upper hull. My references show the early F/8 with the tow cables still mounted on the back deck.
I’ve done a quick internet search, and flipped through several of my Stug books, looking for a photo of the vehicle in the sharp looking box top art without success. Does anyone know if there is a picture of this vehicle and where I might find it?
thanks

Nice kit Guy.

To answer a few questions, the shield on the roof has been seen on a few StuG F's and F/8's... but you're right, it could be on the Late Productions or at least a field mod to an Early Production. In the book from Horst and Scheibert (Long Gun Versions) there are several pictures supporting that and the spare road wheel storage on the side of the superstructure as when it was revised for the G model they no longer had room there so they were moved.

As far as the tow cables? Gotta do some more looking.

There is the infamous picture (page 13 of said book) of the US captured StuG F with schurzen and a gunners shield on the roof.



I do hope this round will be even better than the first!





Jeff

Hi Guy,
I remember asking myself the same questions when this kit turned up.
This is the only pic I have that could back this vehicle up, but as you can see it also has the concrete armour on it which isn't
in the kit.



It doesn't mean that it didn't exist though, it's just going to take some time to find some suitable pics.



Paul

Paul,
Are those StuGs sporting a coat of concrete?

As far as the MG Shield, I'd go with it. I'd be curious to know if this was a field modification or if these shields came from the factory.

Hi Alex they sure are wearing concrete jackets and that opens up the choices some more . And probably brings more
confusion and questions



Paul

Paul,
My understanding is that the concrete was a field mod. Add that there are two cast mantlet vehicles and the picture is dated to Nov '43 at the earliest. From the picture, I'm thinking more like spring/summer '44. I can't tell but the middle one looks like it might be a G. The one on the right I can't see if it has a cupola or the tell-tale roof vent. Even the one of the left looks like it has the enclosed radio boxes and could be a G. I guess the concrete could be spread out to make them flush with the front casement.

If I had to guess I'd say the F/8 was brought up to G standards. They were retro fitting Fs and F/8s with schurzen so anything is possible. Probably a replacement vehicle that had been refurbished. So it could even be a late war unit. Any mention of the date or unit in the caption?

That doesn't help much with the MG shield thought. I think the kit's version looks like a field mod. Given the transition role of the F/8 between the F and the G, I could see some coming from the factory with some sort of shield.

Definitely adds confusion but also adds possibilities...I've con fused myself. I'd love to do a concrete fill StuG. I even thought about doing one for the Protection Campaign. I'll probably join this one later on. Maybe I'll do the concrete thing.

Hi Alex you're right about the concrete being a field mod. , and
I also reckon the MG shield also was. Possibly it was some kind of upgrade kit for those StuG's that had survived till '44, or those parts were just butchered from knocked out vehicles.
Back to the foto, here's two more I took with my camera, as the scanner is not good enough:-

the ones on the right



the left hand StuG



The left hand one is definitely an F / F8 you can see no cupola, and just below the MG shield you can see the casematt housing. As for the other two, I'm not sure. The right hand one appears to have no cupola, just the scissor sight which makes it an earlier model as the G, the middle one really has
it now. It could be a StuH F the barrel looks short and fat enough for sure. So I hope this complicates everything even more, it just shows that basically anything can go with these
vehicles and that the saukopf blende is nothing to go by, after all these were seen on the Ausf.C towards the end of the war.

This is going to be one hell of a campaign, there are so many StuG's out there that we have enough to keep this campaign series running forever



Paul

Paul, thank you for taking the time to dig out and post those pics. I have some time before the campaign starts to do some more digging. I'll keep you guys posted if I find any good pics. Shaping up to be a great campaign!