Dragon Models Limited 1/72 Scale
Armor Series No. 7260; Sd.Kfz. 167 StuG IV Late
by Cookie Sewell
126 parts (124 in grey styrene, 2 in tan DS plastic); price about US
$8.95
Advantages: very clean and "modeler friendly" kit; nice selection
of features and options; amazing structure on wheel assembly; separate
tools and OVM
Disadvantages: no brass included, tiny parts not beloved by all modelers
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all late war German fans
Just the other night I was watching the "Last Days of WWII"
series on the History Channel and marveling that somebody recently found
color German newsreels of the Wehrmacht digging in to defend the Seelowe
Heights from the Soviets. One of the vehicles they had color shots of
in a late-war three color scheme was the relatively rare late model StuG
IV.
The StuG IV was an odd duck, created in the summer of 1943 to meet German
needs after a heavy bombing of the Alkett factory basically ended production
of the StuG III. The Germans mounted the casemate of the StuG III on the
standard Pzkw. IV chassis to create the vehicle. While some could argue
that it didn't make much sense to create a limited traverse vehicle carrying
the same weapon as a tank, the Germans used their StuG weapons for different
functions and purposes. It also provided them with at least parts compatibility
with their primary tank of the period.
1,108 StuG IV vehicles were built new between December 1943 and March
1945 plus 31 conversions from Pzkw. IV tanks; while the Nibelungenwerke
produced the converted Pzkw. IV models , Krupp produced only StuG IV vehicles
after January 1944. The vehicles used Ausf. H chassis until July 1944
and then changed over to the Ausf. J chassis. The model depicts one of
the later models with the J hull and twin exhausts.
DML has done a beautiful job with this kit, and it is another example
of the moldmaker's art. The model comes with separate OVM, hatches, engine
access hatch, and a rough-out 7.5 cm gun. The gun has DML's now traditional
pre-bored muzzle brake (done by sliding a pin through the sprue runner
when molding.)
For ease of painting tiny wheels, DML has really exceeded themselves.
Each wheel set comes molded as one pair with the disk part molded separately;
the modeler can thus paint the tire section black and then camouflage
the centers, resulting in an easy and clean method of getting the wheels
painted. A Plus for that one!
Tracks are the new DS plastic gluable vinyl, one section type, so many
modelers will be happy not to wrestle with link-and-length units here.
The directions are not for beginners, as many steps appear to be assumed,
such as how to assemble the road wheel bogies.
The model does not come with any brass parts or Schuertzen shields, so
some modelers may be unhappy that they have been left out.
Finishing options are sparse; two vehicles are given with only "Balkenkreuz"
markings, one in Yugoslavia Spring 1945 and one in Germany 1945. Based
on the one seen on TV, however, they do not appear to have gotten too
many fancy markings at that stage of the war.
Overall this kit is a gem, and will please many small-scale fans.
Thanks to Freddie Leung of DML for the review sample.
Cookie Sewell
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