Well it's been slow on Braille scale lately, so i though some pictures of my new dragon stug 4 in progress would perk you all up. I used an ABER barrel, whick looks great. ANd a PE set for the Revel Of germany stug 4, which is just not up to the quality of this kit.
I will show some pics of the new road wheel setup, makes it real easy to get perfect road wheels. Since you paint the center hub seperatly, then installon the rubber. THe track is beautiful, however i am using a set of ROG tracks from their panzer 4 kit, which is a beauty.
FOr the most part construction is great. THe superstructure is molded seperatly and a nice close up shows the cast in detail. It also makes it really easy to install the fenders. THe original fenders looked very good, and the tools were great. I carefully removed the tools, and sanded down the detail of the fenders and used the photoetched treadplate. It allmost fits perfectly. I will finish up the sides of the fenders with a piece of fine brass stock.
THe fit so far has been above average, with just a few gaps waiting to be filled. But all in all this is a fantastic kit.
Well here are the photos, enjoy. It;s not perfect, i lost one of the fender hinges to the carpet monster. I'll try to locate it later tonight.
BIll

You're bound to run into some problems since the Eduard PE set for the Revell/Monogram StuG IV is designed to improve a poor kit with inaccurate dimensions. I've got the StuG IV inbound from eBay, scored it for a whopping $3.94. I haven't seen it but can only imagine the dimensions are quite a bit different from the older kit.

I built the Revell/Monogram one about 8-9 years ago when it first came out in the Monogram boxing. I built it OOB before anyone did Braille scale PE. I was going to accurize a second one I acquired with bits and pieces from the old Esci StuG, but never got around to it. Thankfully, I don't have to any more.

Your work looks good so far. How much did the Aber barrel run you and where'd you get it?

Got the barrel at AMPS, here in the states. Cost about 8.00, very nice. SO far the front fenders have had to be trimmed to fit, and the upper loader doors would not work, so i just used the kit door with some pe hinges. THis has been a good practice kit, and even though the fit has not been perfect, i think for what it is it will be fine. Till the real set for this comes out. LOL
Bill

Looks great so far. I haven't seen (or even heard of) a Dragon StuG IV, but the engineering around those road wheels looks really interesting.

Well i test fitted the tracks today, good thing. THe original kit tracks are about 1/3 of an inch to long. SO i will have to trim then to fit. However they look great. I used a piece of .49 steel rod to create track sag. Test fitted it and it looks really good. I'll post pics later.
Bill

Nice job so far. I like all of the extras. Sorry to hear about the fender hinge though. I have also lost several small pieces to the carpet monster. I finally went out and bought a large floor mat-the kind you find in offices to prtect the carpet from office chairs. Now, when I drop a small part, it usually stays on the mat, and it's much easier to recover.

...and the next time I was in my LHS, there it was! I think I'll wait a bit to see if someone like Part puts together a set specifically for this kit.

Hi, Just picked up my second StuG (late) in 1/72 today. I had originally bought one last week but after working two days on it I slipped and spilled a whole bottle of paint right on the top of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I was so impressed with this kit and the engineering that Dragon put into it that I just had to have another one and try it again. (Yes, I made a wooden base of sorts to put my paint bottles in now much like I had to do with the liquid glue bottle here awhile back. Live and learn the hard way sometimes.)

You model looks really nice and I applaud your patience and perseverance in doing PE on this small of a kit. Please keep us informed of you work to keep us other builders in 1/72 scale inspired.

Have just built the Maus in this scale from Dragon and it was just as nice as the StuG. I'm now waiting somewhat impatiently for their new E-1100 kit to come out next.

Take care, Sgirty

I have the E-100 kit allready, it looks really nice. However i have to give Pegasus the bigger thumbs up for turret detail, it really is head and shoulders above the dragon kit.
Bill

When building this model, you need to remove 3 links worth of the track to make it fit nicly. ALso dissregard the large seam left over when you join the upper to the lower hull over the front drive sprocket. With the drive sprocket installed and the track installed it is completly hidden.
More later as i find problems.
Bill

Ok, model is like 99 percent done. I have only to install the light, and clean it up to make it ready for the paint booth. Here are some new photos. I am especially proud of how well the rear fender springs came out. I hand wrapped them myself and i think that they look sharp. Well her ethey are. Enjoy and critique.