Cyber Hobby

1/35 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf. G w/ Zimmerit

Kit Number: CHC 6454

Reviewed by  Michael Delano, IPMS# 45465

MSRP: $63.95 Imported by Dragon Models USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com ) Between 1942 and 1945, around StuG III variants were produced under ordnance number Sd.Kfz. 142/2 as the Sturmhaubitze 42. This StuG variant was special in that it carried a 10.5cm main gun, or 'leichte feldhaubitze' (translated as a 'light field howitzer'). Dragon's latest release in their line of 1/35 kits with pre molded zimmerit builds up into a very attractive representation of this lesser known StuG variant. This kit is different from the previous zimmerit kits in that it features the 'waffel zimmerit' pattern that was common to these particular vehicles.

In the kit box, you will find neatly packed 741 parts spread among 14 gray plastic sprues, 1 clear parts sprue, 1 photo etched fret, and one length of twisted cable. In addition, a nice albeit small sheet of Cartograph decals are included to represent the following units: Unidentified Unit, Eastern Front, 1944 (Overall Sand) 202nd Sturmgeschutz Brigade, Kurland, 1945 (Winter Whitewash over Sand) 904th Sturmgeschutz Brigade, East Prussia, 1945 (Winter Whitewash over Sand) I have heard several gripes about this kit in terms of accuracy of the fenders for this particular vehicle. According to some sources, the fender support brackets do not match those that would have been fitted by Alkett, the manufacturer of the StuH 42. With that being said, however, I found no other problems with the kit. The Zimmerit is very nicely molded and to scale and the kit even includes the cupola deflector added to StuH 42's that came later in the production run. I must also mention that this kit comes with a very nice amount of interior detail. All of the hatches can be positioned in open or closed position. With this kit, I decided to go with the unidentified Easter Front unit markings - mainly because I have not had luck with whitewashes in the past. I began by assembling the kit in 5 major sub assemblies: Lower Hull Road Wheels, Return Rollers, Sprockets, and Idlers Upper Hull and Fenders Interior and Main Gun Left and Right Track Assemblies With all assemblies completed, the upper hull and fender assembly was mated to the lower hull assembly. This is a tricky process as you have to match up the main gun assembly to the gun pivot points within the casemate at the same time you are matching up the lower and upper hulls. This is a process that would benefit from three hands. In the end, I simply decided to mate the upper and lower hull first and then carefully wiggled the main gun into the recessed housing afterwards. To accomplish track assembly, I temporarily mounted all road wheels, sprockets, and idlers to the lower hull. The entire left and right hand track assemblies were completed using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement one at a time and then wrapped around the running gear. This was allowed to sit over night to allow the track assemblies to become rigid and easy to handle. Once dry, they can be easily removed with the running gear. All sub assemblies were primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200 and allowed to set overnight. This was followed up by a base coat to the hull, road wheels, sprockets, and idlers of Floquil Depot Buff thinned to about 50/50 paint to lacquer thinner. This was applied in several light coats to get an even finish. To paint the rubber tires of the road wheels, I cut off about 1cm from 12 toothpicks. This allowed me to fit the road wheels tightly onto the toothpick allowing me to rotate it around a 'fixed in place' Number 2 brush loaded with thinned black paint. I like this technique because it allows you to obtain very consistently painted road wheel tires. The Hull and running gear were given a coat of Future to seal everything in. The decals were applied with the help of Micro Set and Micro Sol. I was very nervous about the decals being applied over a very complex Waffel Zimmerit pattern, but with the aid of the Micro Set and Sol products, it was a breeze. Once the decals were set, everything was given one more coat of Future to seal them in. This was followed up by dry brushing using a slightly lightened mix of Floquil Depot Buff. This was in followed up by several light oil washes. Mud was applied using a mix of Scenic Landscapes light brown ballast, earth toned pastels, Tamiya Brown, and scenic cement. To complete the track assemblies, they were primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200 and followed by Testors Gunmetal Metalizer. Once dry, liberal application of oil washes were made to fill in all recesses and give them a dirty worn look. This was followed by a light dry brushing of Tamiya Metallic Gray. Once fully dry, the tracks were wound back around the mounted road wheels, sprockets, and idlers followed by the outer halves of the return rollers. Overall, this kit was a joy to build. The assembly is very straight forward and there were no fit problems other than a very tricky process of fitting the main gun to the traversing mechanism. This is another great addition to the King Tiger and Panther D kits with pre-molded zimmerit. Many thanks to Dragon Models USA and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this kit!

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