Stug IIID, Sonderverband 288, Panzer-Grenadier Regiment -- Afrika, D.A.K., 1/35th Dragon ***FINISHED***

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat May 30, 2015 5:45 pm

Been wanting to build this vehicle for ages, took time to assemble bits This is the fairly old Dragon kit with some aftermarket decals, Aber etch, and quite a bit of scratch building for the specific bits that make this vehicle unique. Sonderverband 288, Panzer-Grenadier Regiment -- Afrika contained the only Stug's in D.A.K. until Tunisia, so makes for an interesting subject.

Started with the main drive sprockets - for this specific vehicle one sprocket had been repaired in the field with a plate so this was replicated by chopping out a section, then adding plasticard with Mr Surfacer weld beads

Return rollers

Idler wheels

The next significant change - the Jerry can rack for the back deck. I drew this out, then cut from plastic card with my CraftRobo cutter . Then made up a lot of Italeri Jerrycans, and cast some more to have enough to fill the rack later.

Next variance - this particular vehicle carried spare torsion bars attached to the hull sides - Plastic rod, with lead foil for the mounting bracket with punched bolt head

Finished off the suspension - the idler adjustment has been left loose to assist with the tracks later.

Finally for the moment, the main wheels

Peter

Post by **AgentG** » Sun May 31, 2015 5:14 am

Looking forward to this. I just finished my rendition of this rare Beastie. Do you know there is a gent restoring one of these? He found it in a scrapyard somewhere in England. Its confirmed that it is a StuG from svdb 288.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 31, 2015 9:59 am

I've been following that dude for some time... at least I think that this is him.

https://www.facebook.com/StugIIIAusfDRe ... on?fref=ts

Website · Post by **Gav0909** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:13 pm

Interesting build subject, and nice work so far on the modifications.

Post by **AgentG** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:54 pm

Yes that's the one!

G

Post by **SKANKSTA** » Sun May 31, 2015 2:23 pm

Great work, Peter! I love it when modelers go the extra mil to replicate a prototypical vehicle. One question I have: how did you make the bolt heads for the spare torsion bar mounting brackets? I've been making brackets from squashed lead solder for a long time but have never been able to recreate convincing mounting hardware. Can't wait to see this build progress!

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun May 31, 2015 3:38 pm

More stuggage today - First added the read detail to the hull - this old Dragon kit is needing quite a lot of 'dabs' of filler, lots of 'nearly' fit

Then made up the upper hull and glued in place

SKANKSTA wrote:Great work, Peter! I love it when modelers go the extra mil to replicate a prototypical vehicle. One question I have: how did you make the bolt heads for the spare torsion bar mounting brackets? I've been making brackets from squashed lead solder for a long time but have never been able to recreate convincing mounting hardware. Can't wait to see this build progress!

Simply - just use some plasticard and one of these

Peter

Post by **Danta2er** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:34 am

Always something else to buy...egad!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:52 pm

This kit is hiding in the stash somewhere, it will be great to see built up, nice work and very cool mods too

Post by **Nige1940** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:30 pm

Looks like a great start ! And a very interesting subject given the unit, placement and added field mods .
The RP Toolz punches are awesome but REALLY expensive I just renewed my worn out punch and dies with them .
Will look superb with the aber etch one of my favourite etch manufacturers , though I just bought some Tetra Model Works etch and it looks like a contender . I'll be watching with interest .

Post by **rodrant** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 12:28 am

Interesting subject ! Didn't know this lonely Stug fighting in Africa...one of my favourite WWII tanks !

To follow this build , very interesting and looking promising !

Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 1:31 pm

Outstanding build

Love the extra added detail of the spare torsion bar and repaired drive sprocket

Post by **Tiger131** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 3:29 pm

Superb work on this cracking build..

Post by **demarcation** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 7:08 pm

Nice! I´m a big fan of Stugs myself and looking forward to follow this build.

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:38 pm

Today's work on the Stug - the left hand side - added the Aber Etch for the main structural parts for the fenders - chopped off the guards at both end ready for the Aber replacements later.

Light and brush guard scratched from wire and soldered together. This is another bit that is unique to this vehicle.

Finally added the supplementary dust filter, with brackets made from plasticard, and solder for the feed into the main air intakes. Also updated the weld seam using 'green stuff'

Peter

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:03 pm

More done today

Added the gun mantlet with the extra Aber PE

Added the lights with the Aber light covers

Added the fender for the right hand side, and green stuff for the weld seams

The pair of extra air filters in place

More weld seams

Peter

Post by **lucasner** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:42 pm

Peter,
Any idea how common the extra torsion bar storage was? My level of knowledge on Stugs mostly amounts to be able to tell the difference between a Stug III and a Stug IV.
Beautiful build! Scratch building and adding details is my fav part of any build.
Dave

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:01 pm

Today's work on the stug - more etch and LOADS of soldering

First the horn, and an empty light bracket - this vehicle had lost it's right light

Then soldered up the front and rear fenders, complete with the tiny hinges with 0.3mm rods in the middle - they were fun. Not great at soldering, but getting better the more I do it, so there's that

But it does give nice details in places where you will never look

Peter

Post by **Coen** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:50 pm

I've never gotten the hang of soldering. I know that it's a superior skill, but it's just one of those things.
They look excellent Peter. That's fine work bud.

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 3:59 pm

More soldering today - first the smoke grenade rack

The rack for the wooden box on the fender - no idea what this contained

Then added the tools and spare wheels. Once again the spare wheels were mounted differently, so had to scratch the mounts, and steal some wing nuts from the aber etch.

Fitted the jerry can rack as well - at that point called it a day. Next weekend start on the Spade Ace tracks... drill, pin, drill, pin - repeat......

Peter

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 5:53 pm

Another day of superior work.

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:56 pm

i love stugs so am following along with interest, great job so far.
Jase

Post by **demarcation** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:10 pm

Nice work!

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:19 pm

Today's work - started with the last of the brass - the 8 pieces that make the fire extinguisher and the rear lights

Then start with the tracks - these are Spade Ace tracks - need a bit of cleanup on some of them and the wire supplied it very hard to work with.

Got 40 links done so far before my thumb got too sore, need about 83 per side, so about half of one side, then the extra links for the front.

Peter

Post by **pmarshall** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:51 pm

Day off today, so got some more done today. Drill, pin, drill, pin repeats..... until there's 91 links ( more than the 83 it should have but I think these links are a tiny bit small).

Slotted the sprocket and idler in place and a couple of the running wheels and tried the track in place - just pinning the last 3 links. I've abandoned the provided wire, and gone to softer copper wire which is easier to work with apart from when you bend it.

That's it for now, as i'm suffering a bit with Fruil thumb ( even though they are spade ace tracks

)

Peter

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:06 pm

What do you think of the spade ace compared to the Fruils Peter, better, worse, same?
The struggle looks amazing by the way!!!

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:34 am

Coen wrote:What do you think of the spade ace compared to the Fruils Peter, better, worse, same?
The struggle looks amazing by the way!!!

Not having used Fruil's Pzr III/IV tracks I can't give a direct comparison, but in general terms i'd say they are very slightly inferior, but not enough to put anyone off. For example so far there's been about 6 links that were really badly miscast, and quite a few that need a bit of cleanup, but you get *lots* of spares. The steel wire they give you is incredibly hard, which makes it a real pain to work with , but replacing with copper wire makes life easier.

They were about £4 cheaper than the equivalent Fruils, which feels about right - i've got another set of T-54/62 tracks which look very similar quality.

Overall if Fruil's are a 9/10 these are an 8.5/10 - I'd recommend trying them in the least

HTH

Peter

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:51 pm

Today's work - Another 40 links done

Peter

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:37 am

Very cool. Thanks Peter.

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:55 pm

Today's track tickling - finally finished !

This side has 90 links as opposed to 91 on the other side, but sounds about right. Once again, last pin just slotted in place

However there's a sting in the tail - the spare links carried at the front - oh well, drill, pin - well you get the story

Cleaned the tracks with Vinegar, then dunked in Ultimate Burnishing fluid - only took about 5 mins to get them like this. Then ran 1200 grit wet and dry along the track pads.

Then finally get some paint on - Alclad Black primer

Well that's the big Hump on this build over - now the fun bit, painting and weathering.

Peter

[img]

Post by **mannloon** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:14 pm

Jesus that's beautiful. Good results for burnishing after assembly. Rest of the build is very clean. Top notch.

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:45 pm

Today's work - first preshading with greys gradually getting lighter from the black base

Then on with a coat of RAL 8020

Then on with the RAL 7027 SandGrey

Finally a coat of Klear over the top to prep for the decals

Peter

Post by **martin57** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 7:49 pm

Good job looks great liking all the extras

Post by **Nige99** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:29 pm

Looks great. Pre shading is spot on

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:25 pm

Excellently done bud.

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 4:18 pm

Today's work started by putting the decals on ( all 3 of them

)

Started planning on where to fit the extra stowage - something like this eventually

Painted the rubber on the wheels

Taking advantage of the fact that it's glossy and waiting for the rubber paint to dry , did a pin wash to pick out the details

Sprayed some Washable Dust and Sand under the fenders to give a base for later

Then using a wet brush, merge all the dust / sand together

Then put the wheels and tracks in place

Sprayed a base coat of German Grey over all the Jerry cans and one stowage box

Finally for the day, sprayed a coat of Matt varnish over everything

Peter

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:00 pm

So much fine detail. Very nice!

cheers

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:56 pm

Today's work - first put a light brown filter over the Stug

Then put some 'Worn Effects' on the Jerry cans, followed by masking tape for the water cans

Sprayed the white, and the petrol cans with a slightly different shade of Desert yellow from the Stug. Sprayed base brown on the wooden stowage boxes.

Started chipping, and added the Jerrycans to the rack after wearing them back a bit.

More chipping, and painting the tools

Stowage in place - the wooden boxes and the metal box with some chipping

Painted the exhausts with Rust, then added various rust pigments

Just a few details to add, and more dust and it's nearly done

Peter

Post by **AgentG** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:35 am

Wow!

Very nice.

G

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:09 pm

Today's work - started by adding the rest of the stowage. Ended up with it slightly differently to the original plan

Fitted the sight

Then dusted down with both Ammo 'dust' and 'African dust' airbrushed on, then stumped back, and pigments.

Very nearly done, just needs a few stains adding next weekend once the enamels have completely cured.

Peter

Post by **hansolo** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:55 pm

Looking awesome!!
How did you do your chipping?

cheers

Post by **pmarshall** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:10 pm

hansolo wrote:Looking awesome!!
How did you do your chipping?

cheers

Chipping was done in 3 passes - first a sponge, then fine brush to work specific areas, then a prismatic pencil to give a lighter contrast in some places.

Peter

Post by **hansolo** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:18 pm

pmarshall wrote:
hansolo wrote:Looking awesome!!
How did you do your chipping?

cheers
Chipping was done in 3 passes - first a sponge, then fine brush to work specific areas, then a prismatic pencil to give a lighter contrast in some places.

Peter

Thanks! It looks really great!!

cheers

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:31 pm

She's a Beauty Queen

....well at least for us armor buffs.

Post by **AgentG** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:20 pm

I'm loving it!

G

Post by **demarcation** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:19 pm

Beautiful work mate, absolutely top notch!!

Post by **privatepete** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:43 pm

Hi great work,can you please tell me what a prismatic pencil is sorry to show my ignorance

thanks Pete

Post by **pmarshall** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:46 pm

privatepete wrote:Hi great work,can you please tell me what a prismatic pencil is sorry to show my ignorance thanks Pete

Oops - should be Prismacolor pencils.

Got a range of greys and browns which makes it easy to get contrast.

HTH

Peter

Post by **pmarshall** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:33 pm

now finished - in RFI here