Here’s the last of my Panzer grey Stug IIIs – a single platoon of the Ausf.F variants, upgunned with the longer 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/43 gun. As with the previous Stugs and Panzer II’s I also added in a unit commander’s head in an open hatch taken from a PSC spare. I also forgot to mention in those previous posts that all 15 of these tanks have had some simply milliput stowage added to them following the modelling/assembly phase.
Once again, these were painted using the same methods as the Panzer IIs and the previously-shown batch of Stug III Es. They were all batch-painted together for the “big” elements, and then finished in sequential batches, though using the same techniques and weathering style. The numbers on this platoon fit in with the Es, though I did change the style of balkenkruz to a slightly later version – though both types were still common across one another so they do both work together in the same units and force.
These models are from Battlefront, and are resin and metal models. Unfortunately, the metal main guns were just really bent and warped to the point where I was really unhappy with them. Luckily, I had some spare Stug cannons in my bits box that both matched the supplied metal ones, with the correct mantlets and muzzle brakes, so I did a small amount of surgery and was able to add in these nice, straight plastic weapons to the vehicles.
In the Iron Cross force lists, Flames of War allows for up to two platoons of Stugs which can either be the short-barreled Es or these longer-barreled Fs.
To give myself flexibility (and to use all of the early-model Stug models I’d purchased) I painted all three with the same grey scheme – of course, I’m not planning to worry about tournaments or anything of the like (though I do like to use force lists as a guide to my painting and modelling) so I’ll be quite happy to play (or play against) all three units on the table at once.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Another great unit of Stugs mate, you’ve got the grey scheme perfect, with excellent weathering
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Thanks Dave! Next up for *this* force will be some Panzer IIIs, though as much as I’d like to knock them out, they’re still on the sprue and I have other stuff in front of the build and clean queue for the time being…
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Nicely done! 🙂 They fit in well with the others and its interesting comparing the shapes of them!
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Thanks John – the small changes as the “same” kind of tanks change/d over time can be pretty interesting if you’re intested in that sort of thing as some of us are! 🙂
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As usual I know nothing about tanks but they do look bloody good mate!
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Thanks mate. I’m no expert myself, but I’m finding it pretty interesting learning about them in the context of history and how things developed.
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Nice work fella, looking good 🤘
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Thanks Alex!
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You can never have enough spare stug guns at hand hehe. Nice work Az
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Indeed! Funny thing is I can’t think of which models they were spares from? 😮
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Great work Az. You are putting together a nice size kampfgruppe there.
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Cheers! There’s going to be a *lot* of Panzer IIIs for this force since I found more boxes of these earleir ones than I thought I had – so it’s that or add more to the existing DAK…
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These tanks look great and I’m glad to hear you could fix the bent pieces as well. The stowage came out nicely as well and was well worth your time to sculpt and paint them up. Little touches like these always help your minis standout 🙂
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Well, fix is a bit gernerous as I simply replaced them! 😀
The stowage is often hard to notice – it’s not supposed to be the star of the show, after all! – but it’s a nice little thing to add so the vehicles don’t all look completely identical. Much easier if I decided to give them all a miss, but whaddayagonnado?
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Great replacement job – we would never have said they weren’t original guns! The painting work as usual is extremely realistic.
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Thank you! Luckily I had the approriate plastic weapons in a bits box!
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Smashing stuff, mate!
Cheers Roger.
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Cheers, Roger! 🙂
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Some nice weathering on those treads and the tanks look just great! 😀
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Thanks Faust! 🙂
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They look fantastic- I really like them. Read about them defending the Stalingrad couldron….
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete! I’ll be working on both sides of that little encounter – though not likely going to do another set in whitewash and snow overcoats, etc…
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Strangely enough these are one of my favorite WWII German armored vehicles, I remember making one a squillion years ago! great work mate.
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Thanls Pat – I do like the design of the Stug myself! 🙂
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