saw this for sale on ebay, it seems to be a stug with a panzer iv chassis, did this combo ever exist? im no armuor expert but ive never seen a pic of a real one, so is it someones what if , 2 kits knocked into 1?

it looks like it is, i dunno if it ever existed but this one is definitely in 1/72 scale

Yes, it existed. It's the Sturmgescheutz IV L/48, with the Saukopf ("pig's head") gun mantlet.

Check out Achtung Panzer for more info:
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/stug.htm
Photo from Achtung Panzer:


The PanzerKampfWagen IV (PzKpfw IV) chassis / base, or modified version thereof, was used for many types of vehicles for example:
Anti-aircraft (mobelwagen)
Armoured Recovery Vehicles (Bergepanzer IV)
Assault Guns (Sturmgeschutz IV / Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar)
Self-Propelled Guns (Hummel)
Jagdpanzers (Nashorn / Hornisse).

Hope this helps.

Stug IVs first went into production in December of 1943 and were a lot less commonly seen than the version built on the Mk III hull. There were around 1,100 Stug IVs built. That is definitely a kit of a real vehicle.

you learn something new every day! on the question of scale the figures are 1/32, putting my anorak on, its that hte ho-oo figures have square bases, while the larger figs have the rounded ones you can see in this pic.on the subject of never seeing this tank before,no doubt now i'll start seeing it everywhere! in kits, on tv, on this site.......

Both Tamiya and Academy (Tamiya copy) make 1:35 Sturmgeschutz IV (Sdkfz 167) models and they are quite cheap too!

StuG IV / Sturmgeschutz IV (SdKfz 167) armed with 75 mm L/48 gun.

If memory serves:

Most Stugs were upgunned to help them against enemy tanks.
Stugs were issued towards the end of the war in place of almost every other tank as they were both cheap and quick to build.

the stug was build on the panzer iv chassie
a lot of tanks where built with that chassie
i read it in my book

Incomplete Tamiya StuG IV

Maybe someday i'll finish it.