AllenD's 1/35 Dragon StuG IV, Last Production '45 - Bob's StuG GB

[scottie3158]

Allen,
Top work mate.

 

[JR]

Russian " Hordes " What ever next , Dude 1 control your self..

 

[SimonT]

Looking good Allen

 

[Steve Jones]

What an update! Wonderful work and a terrific blog.

 

[minitnkr]

Looking good Bro. Stay warm. PaulE

 

[Fernando N]

Looking good Allen, too bad about the engine but as you said it isn't a plausible setup.
Got a reply from Carson yet?

 

[Allen Dewire]

Good Morning StuG World,

I can't believe it has been so long without an update. For that I must apologise to one and all! I have been working on this in between naps at the table after work and crappy weekends…...

Si, Paul, Simon and PaulE, Thank you so much for the kind words and support. I am trying to push forward despite a lot of personal obstacles. Dude 2, what would you call 100,000 Soviet troops charging your position??? I can't think of another word at the moment!!! Thank you Stevie, I'm giving it the old college try and hope to drive on. Me too Fernando, I will mount the Maybach in another Pz IV in the future. I haven't written Carson yet as I forgot when I got the etch sets. See below...….

I finally got the etch sets for the StuG and I must say, I was impressed with them. Voyager does make nice stuff and really complete sets too,


Ignore the Schwimmwagen wheels as they are for something else. On the box cover, it shows 4 sets in use. It is a little confusing at first as one might think you get all of them in the box. The 35544 set gives you a whole lot of things including wire, tow cable, tiny bolt heads resin parts and more, beside the 8 frets of etch,


The etch is easy to work with and comes in different thickness'. The etch pieces bend easy enough and for the most part are forgiving if you goof up. There are some super tiny pieces that will stay on the frets as I can barely see them and they wouldn't make a difference in detail. The other set PEA322, had the parts I wanted most so we'll start there,


You have to be very careful removing the fencing from the fret as it is so thin and can bend if you look at it crooked. Use a new blade for this. The additional armor plate for the driver is twice as thick as the normal etch. You also need the uprights for the fencing and make the hinges for the plate. The little piece of round stiff wire was used to roll the hinge ends. After a while, with some bending and some CA, we managed to have this,


I scruffed up the etch so it will glue and also take paint better when the time comes. The plastic rod came with the set, but doesn't stick to the etch with CA. I replaced the plastic with 2 pieces of 0.5 mm steel tubing. The fence uprights were glued after the feet were bent. There is a foot of bent etch on the bottom of each one. I think Dragon's destruction makers also work for Voyager and here's why,


Y1 are the feet that go on the bottom of X10. They have to be folded over and then glued on. If you bend them as shown, you will get an 'L' and not a foot. You must fold them under, not over. They do give you extras in case you follow their way of doing it!!! Reading through the destructions of the big etch set, I came across these pieces,


A complete remote MG mount and the gunsight cover with hinge. So Fernando, you see why I forgot to write Carson. The mount is fiddly to build and you get 2 types of shields for it too. I will look sweet when I get it together and the CA holds!!! The gunsight cover requires too much slicing and dicing of the kit parts to install. We will leave it as it is.

This is how the main parts look in place,


I made up an antenna mount for the right side and it fit exactly over the kit part. With the fence in place, you can see why I chose not to install the engine compartment. I will fill in the area with PaulE's favorite, 'Crapintheback'............another shot,


Here you can see the protection plate for the driver in place. These were used on StuGs in Italy too. Later in the war, one needed all the protection they could get. Next up is the commander's cupola and you have the choice of the kit parts (10 pcs + periscopes) or the Voyager etch parts (65 + periscopes)!!! I'm still debating on which one to build. I'll let you know later. Well, back to the table and the fenders for this puppy…...

Thanks for looking and all C, C and C welcome. Build on!!!

Prost
Allen

 

[Graeme C.]

Looks a rather complex build Alan, but you seem to be getting to grips with it.

 

[minitnkr]

Beautifully executed. PaulE

 

[scottie3158]

Looking good mate. Go on go for it the etch cupola I would love to see that.

 

[JR]

Impressive work Dude 1

 

[adt70hk]

Oh my. That is a lot of PE there.....

 

[Mickc1440]

Some very impressive work mate, looking grest

 

[SimonT]

65part etch cupola - madness, but we want to see it

 

[Jim R]

Hi Allen
Missed the start of this most impressive build. Just had a catch up. I must say all that etch and then the Dragon instructions would give me nightmares. Just reading that the cupola has 65 parts and I'd have to go for a lie down
The work so far is beautifully neat and sorted. A real tribute to your skill and patience. Now I'm on board I look forward to the rest.
Jim

 

[Jakko]

Just reading that the cupola has 65 parts and I'd have to go for a lie down

I looked at the photo on the box that Allen posted and was kind of wondering why Voyager didn’t just supply an entire StuG in etched brass.

 

[Steve Jones]

That's some serious PE there mate. I did a PE cupola on the Panzer III and the issue was keeping all the vision ports as close as possible as space is a premium. Good luck

 

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Fine StuG Fans,

Not really an update, but a decision has been made over which road I will take on the cupola……..But first,

Thanks Graeme, the build is not too bad really, but sometimes you get carried away with it!

Thanks too PaulE, still a ways to though. How's things in downtown Ohio my friend?

Paul and Simon, I Looked at the destructions for a long time and really thought it would look great if I gave it go, but.......

Dude 2 and Mick, Thank you Gentlemen and the bribe money is on the way as usual….

Yes Sir Andrew, but I have to say that for the price of €17,95, it is definitely worth it even if you only use half of it....

Hi Jim, Thank you Sir!!! I had to really go over and re-read the destructions many times before I put a drop of glue on anything. I hope to finish this before I retire in May....

Hi Jakko, I had to laugh as I thought the same thing when I saw the etch set. I would think a whole StuG would have cost a heck of a lot more than €17,95 though!!!

Hi Stevie, you know I will need more than luck Buddy and therefore I think I will pass on the etch and here's why,


Start counting folks and here is what you have to work with,


It's all there except the hex bolt pieces P1. The parts to assemble pieces G and H are 1 - 2 mm big and my optivisor doesn't want any part of it. So after lots of beer and a long lie down thought process we are going to go with the kit parts and keep going with the build. To be honest, to make this cupola right now, I would have better luck French kissing a rattlesnake!!!

No table time tonight I'm afraid as the 810 tires we got today whooped my butt. I have a bunch of fender items to clean up and paint, maybe tomorrow…...

Thanks again for all the support and sorry if I disappointed a few of you with the cupola. It is nice and maybe with a stronger optivisor and a few beers, I might just give it a go one day!!! Good Night..................….

Prost
Allen

 

[BattleshipBob]

Good god Allen, all that PE, can feel a headache coming on

Turning into a monster build!!!

 

[Jakko]

Hi Jakko, I had to laugh as I thought the same thing when I saw the etch set. I would think a whole StuG would have cost a heck of a lot more than €17,95 though!!!

Nah, you even get change from that if you buy a fully etched kit of a tank!



Having built two of their Shermans, though, I most definitely wouldn’t recommend them to anyone considering themselves to be serious modellers