DML 1/35
Stug III Ausf.G 10.5cm

History:

The Stug III Ausf.G was the last Stug to enter production in WWII. Based predominantly on the chassis of the Pz.Kpfw. III, which was being phased out of tank service in favor of the much more lethal Panther, the Ausf.G carried thicker armor than its predecessors, which was fortunate, as the Stug III was called upon more and more to fill the role of a tank.

It was cheaper and easier to build. However, it’s lack of mobility proved a liability as it was vulnerable to infantry with anti-tank projectiles. The addition of armored “skirts” (Schutzen) went some way towards improving protection, but despite a valiant effort, the Stug III’s were not really suited for the tank role in which they found themselves. Nevertheless, the Ausf.G version was the best of the bunch, and performed well on the battlefield for Germany.

Tech Data:

• Crew: 4
• Weight: 24,100kg (53,020lbs)
• Dimensions: length 6.77m (20ft 7in), width 2.95m (9ft), height 2.16m (6ft 7in).
• Range: 155km (97 miles)
• Armor: 16 – 80mm (0.62 – 3.14in)
• Armament: one 75mm Stuk40 L/48 gun and one 7.92mm machine-gun.
• Powerplant: one Maybach HL120TRM engine
• Performance: maximum road speed 40km/h (25mph), fording 0.8m (2ft 8in), vertical obstacle climbing 0.6m (2ft), trench crossing 2.59m (8ft 6in)

What’s in the box?

The kit comes in a tray and lid type box. The box art shows a Stug III Ausf.G sitting in a snow covered field with a tree line in the background. A side panel shows 4 photos of the completed model.

The kit contains 16 medium gray parts sprues in 9 cello bags. Also included is a fret of Brass PE parts and a turned aluminum barrel. They, too, are in their own cello bags. The decal sheet and instructions completes the kit’s contents.

The instructions consist of a large single sheet that accordion folds out into 8 pages. There is also a smaller single sheet that is the instructions for using the PE parts.

Page one of the instructions begins with a black and white repeat of the box art. There is no history of the vehicle provided. This is a common omission by DML and one that needs to be added. The bottom of the page shows the parts tree drawings. Many of the parts are shaded out in blue, indicating that those parts are extra/excess and not needed to complete the model.

Page two begins with general CAUTIONS followed by international assembly symbol interpretations and a short listing of Gunze Sangyo hobby colors suggested to use to decorate the model. The bottom of the page gives the first 2 assembly steps.

Pages 3 through 7 give the balance of a total of 16 assembly steps.

Page 8 has two 4-view drawings for a couple of marking and painting schemes: one for a Stug III Ausf.G in Germany in 1945 and one in the Ardennes in 1944 (in an ambush pattern). However, no division markings or tactical marks are called out, and there sadly is no decal sheet in this kit. Strange…because a side panel of the box mentions a decal printed by Cartograf company. However, none is in my kit…it must have gotten left out at the factory. No crew figures are provided either.

On the plus side, you do get 2 different gun mantles…the pig’s head one and the squared off bolted type. You also get 3 different muzzle brake options, one option deletes the muzzle brake.

Parts tree letter A holds: gun breech pivot parts, hull roof section, a shovel, commander’s copula parts, hatch lids, machine-gun and it’s shields etc. (37 parts) 8 parts are shaded as being excess/spares on the parts tree drawings.

There are two identical letter B parts trees. Although they hold a lot of parts (43 parts each). Only the drive sprockets and idler wheels are used (4 parts).

Lower case letter “b” tree holds 19 parts, but only 4 of these are used. They appear to be body panel parts. This tree has some turret parts on it, so must be common with DML’s earlier kit of the turreted Pz.Kpfw. III.

Letter C refers to the one piece hull bottom tub part.

There are 2 identical letter D parts trees. These hold road wheels and alternate return rollers etc. that are not used. (20 parts per tree) 6 parts per tree are not used.

There are 2 identical letter E parts trees. These hold the return rollers that you do use and various brackets etc.. (24 parts per tree)

Letter F tree holds tools, the jack, suspension parts etc. (27 parts) 9 are marked as spares/excess on the parts illustrations.

There is no letter G parts tree.

Letter H tree holds a lot of small fittings (44 parts). However, only 17 parts are needed to build the kit and 27 get relegated to the spare parts bin.

Letter I tree holds engine deck doors, spare track link mount bar, rear hull panel, some tools etc. (35 parts)

Two identical lower case letter “i” trees hold the individual link parts. (60 links per tree)

Letter J refers to the single piece upper hull roof part.

Letter K tree holds gun breech parts, bolted armor plates, drive sprockets, alternate mantles and a gun muzzle brake etc. (15 parts).

MA is the turned aluminum barrel.

Also labeled as MA are the two brass PE frets. They hold parts for the rear deck storage railings, skirt support bars, brackets, air intake screens etc. (70 parts)

Conclusions

This kit is up to DML’s high quality of molding and no flash is evident on any parts. Detail is excellent.

Highly recommended to experienced armor modelers, because of the dissimilar materials (turned aluminum and PE in addition to plastic) that the kit is composed of.