Introduction

All of the Sturmtiger kits in 1/35th scale have one shared problem: regardless of manufacturer such as AFV Club, Italeri/Revell, or Tamiya, none contain enough rounds to fully stock your Sturmtiger. There are turned aluminium rounds from companies such as Tamiya, or resin rounds from companies such as Royal Models, however cost can be restrictive and you are unlikely to find them sitting on your local model shops shelves. AFV Club, with this product, aim to address that problem by providing enough rounds to fully equip your Sturmtiger with multi part rounds in injection moulded plastic, at a reasonable cost.

Contents

A card box measuring 162mm X 131mm X 37.5mm containing a plastic bag with two identical green sprues, and two sets of decals in a plastic bag taped to the outside.

Review

Each of the two sprues contain enough parts to make six Raketen Sprenggranate (Rocket High explosive) with a 125kg explosive charge, and one Raketen Hohladungsgranate (Rocket Shaped charge) for use against fortifications which was able to penetrate eight feet of reinforced concrete. Each round weighed between 345 to 351kg, depending on type, and each round was nearly 5ft long. Also included is an alternate charge portion of the round, which appears to be for placing a round into the breach of the AFV Club Sturmtiger kit.

Each round is made up of six parts with the rocket motor consisting of three parts, the body of the rocket motor, the base plate, and the igniter. Each part is cleanly moulded with well placed and thought out connection points, it should be mentioned that the igniter was not placed into the round until the round had been placed in the breach of the mortar. The locating fins and exhausts for the rocket motor are very well moulded.

The business end of the round also consists of three parts, the impact fuse (two types), the head of the round (two types) and the body of the round. Again the connection points have been well thought through and the parts cleanly moulded.

I have assembled one of each of the two types of round, and while I do not have measurement details for the shaped charge round I do for the high explosive round. The diameter of the round is reasonably accurate, however the length of the round is just under one mm too short when using the data I have. The fit of each part is very good to the point that I have not used any glue while assembling these two rounds, the fit is that tight with the only part I feel that does need to be glued is the impact fuse, due to being very small and easily displaced.

Detail on the rounds all appear accurate when compared to the drawing and measurements I have, with the exception of the overall length mentioned earlier. The only thing I would change on this product is the connection point on the rocket motor casing, this is because the connection is between two of the locating fins and is a little difficult to clean up. The decals included with this product all appear accurate, if a little difficult to see on the backing paper.

Conclusion

I would recommend this product for anyone who wants to fully arm their Sturmtiger, with a product that is well detailed and very close to spot on size wise at a reasonable cost.

References:
Tankpower 16 Pzkpfw VI Tiger volume IV STURMTIGER