Stug IV - Revell (03182)

Don't let the sweet box art fool you, this set is crap, well atleast compared the Dragon Stug IV i've previously build. This set is not very detailed and i would consider it a beginner set after having assembled it, two of them actually (stupid me). Supposedly Revell makes some of the best Pz.Kpfw IV kits on the 1/72 market, sadly i haven't had the change to get my hands on one of those, but after having build this i'm not sure i want to throw more money at Revell right now.

I really like to look of the Stug with side skirts which is way i bought this because Dragon doesn't make a Stug IV with schurzen, i suppose it would be possible to buy some PE side skirts, but i didn't think of that at the time...sadly.

Of course i forgot to get some pictures of the Stugs assembled, but here are some of them after priming and basecoat of sand. I've also taken some pictures to compare to my Dragon Stug IV.

 Here you can see some of the differences of the two kits, the Dragon kit is clearly alot more detailed, actually i can't come up with a single thing where the Revell kit is better, except for the side skirts.
For wargaming i suppose the Stug from Revell would be sufficient but i surely wouldn't use it for display unless it was heavily modified with PE parts and other stuff.

Just finished with the camo scheme of both the Stug IV. I then drybushed them with sand and applied a blackwash to the entire model. I didn't try to recreate any camo pattern from photos, they are actually just random.

The wash is left to dry

I'm hoping i can have them finished in a few hours which i think is quite manageable, only problem is the damn rubber ring on all the wheels the most tedious of all painting.

Wheels almost done...and testing side skirts

Ok i finished both of them now and my conclusion is that it's going to be a long time before i buy another Revell kit, the lack of detail (especially on the lower hull, wheels and tracks(!)) just makes this kit less enjoyable. The only positive thing is the side skirts cover most of the lower hull so only small parts of the terrible tracks are visible.

Anyway here are the pictures of the finished Stugs.

I am quite happy how they turned out though, but next time i get  the idea of getting Stug IV with Schurzen, i'm going to get a Dragon kit and buy some PE skirts for it.

StuG IV Late - Dragon (7260)

After having build the Stug III i figured i might as well try the Stug IV as well, sadly i couldn't find any with the side skirts which i really think makes the Stug look awesome. But HobbyEasy did have this Late Stug IV from Dragon which i decided to try.

A few weeks later i purchased a new Stug IV from Revell, two actually, since i figured it would be nice to have a platoon of Stug IV and i wanted some with side skirts, have have only assembled one and i must say it is pretty disappointing when it comes to the little details which Dragon excels at, i will add a proper review when i get around to actually paint it. Next time i think i will stear clear of Revell and buy Dragon or Trumpeter  instead, i have a couple of late Tiger I from Trumpeter and they are very nice, again review when they are finished.

Assembly

Nothing fancy here, everything fits together nicely and the instructions are the usual Dragon standard of real pictures instead of wireframe. Like all Dragon kits the detail on this are quite good especially if i compare it to my Revell Stug IV, don't have any pictures of that at the moment but could be added later. Again no PE-parts for this kit but the only place i could have seen them really make a difference were at the engine deck since everything else already got good detail. I really liked the way the road wheels were assembled in this kit, because the rubber rim of the wheel is a part for it self, which means they can be painted without fear of ruining the paint on the actual wheels  and then put together in the end, it's a small thing but nothing is more tedious than painting rubber rims on german tanks, especially on Tigers and Panthers.

Painting

The technique used for painting this is the same as all my other tanks.

• Prime the entire model with a red'ish brown or hull red
• Paint the model sand, Dunkelgelb preferably
• Apply camo scheme, most commonly olive green and red/chocolate brown disruptive patterns
• Drybrush with sand
• Wash with matt black thinned with water
• Drybrush with buff
• Paint details, glue on tracks and drybrush those with gunmetal
• Apply decals and airbrush with a coat of matt varnish
• Display or rule the wargaming table with the might of german panzer

Here the camo pattern is done, and model is ready for drybrush

Finished