Paul’s new kit of the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf E (Sd. Kfz 142) in 35th scale from Bronco Models is all built up – but how will he paint it? Check on today as he puts in a crew from MiniArt and see how it all looks sealed up and weathered in Part III of the build…
Construction Review Pt III: Sturmgeschutz III Ausf E (SdKfz 142)
Manufacturer: Bronco Models
1:35th scale
Type: Multimedia kit
Available from Bronco distributors worldwide
After the base colours, I started adding the various pioneer tools on the fender as well as the antenna holders on the back of the hull. As you can see, I've decided to add some figures to the StuG and these are in the early stages of painting.
The first stage of weathering I did was to apply a brown wash to the upper surfaces of the vehicle using Abteilung 502's Wash Brown. Here you can see that I added an MG34 from the spares box to add a bit to the interior, and was also a feature of the StuG IIIE, although Bronco chose not to supply one with the kit
Then using Tamiya acrylics to simulate light dust and dirt, I lightly sprayed XF57 Buff and XF 52 Flat Earth onto the lower surfaces and the parts of the running gear that I haven't attached yet, although it came out a little heavier than I wanted, but I was still happy with the result. I also gave a much lighter spray of the tones to the top of the fenders and the sides of the vehicle.
With the lower surfaces done, I sprayed the tracks with Vallejo's 304 Track Primer and then attached them to the hull. The drive sprockets fit loosely into their housing, and a poly cap inside the housing would definitely help with the fit, although it isn't a problem that can't be fixed with a spot of glue. Another strange phenomenon I encountered was that despite both sides being made with the same number of links, the tracks on the right side seemed to fit looser over the running gear which resulted in a more pronounced sag on the right side compared to the left.
Being a close support vehicle, I decided to add a dust layer to the tank using Abteilung's Light Mud and made a wash over the whole vehicle and heavier spots on areas that would not see much crew activity.
With only a gun breech and two seats for the interior, I decided that I would add some figures to fill up the open hatches, and also to give the vehicle some life. Going through the stash, I found MiniArt's German SPG Crew Riders which were perfect for the Stug. I painted the uniforms with a three shades of green and mixing intermediate tones with those colours. The faces were painted with the same process using flesh tones.
Adding the figures to the vehicle for the last time and finishing off with a matte coat, and there you have the finished build.
Finished pics of the kit…
To finish off, I must say that I really enjoyed this build. The kit goes together well as Bronco kits usually do, but this time not as over-engineered as some of Bronco's other kits. While there definitely is an issue with the shapes of the holes in the drive sprocket, and the brass barrel, I can live with the sprockets, and a plastic alternative is supplied for the gun. Overall, a highly recommended kit.
Paul Lee
Thanks to Bronco for supplying this kit to build and review.
