1/15 Stug!

Hello All,

I am gearing up to build Bandai’s 1/15 Stug. I also plan to uprade it to Full Option with Tamiya electronics. So far, intelligence indicates that Bandai’s kit leaves a bit to be desired as far as accuracy in the gun mantlet, gun mount, and driver’s compartment. The original Gearboxes leave much to be desired so I will install Tamiya’s newer Type 4 gear boxes using machined base plates.
If anyone has tips or ideas, please let me know. I’m also looking for 1/15 or 1/16 items like stowage. Hey, my Tiger I needs a friend!

Okieboy

hello okieboy, i have a stupid question.

when you say full option, does that mean the turrets move too via remote control? or the tank just move forward, back, left and right?

Heh heh, by full option I mean that the Stug will be able to move its tracks independently in both directions, the main gun will elevate, and the will fire with the barrel and tank recoiling like Tamiya’s full option tanks. The Stug doesn’t have a turret to rotate.

Okie

oh shoot, it’s a stug.
sorry, am a little bit sleepy [|)]

hehehe

Seems like you have have a thing for the big stuff Okie. I can’t wait to see this one as you go along with it.

Sounds cool, Roy!
How’ d you score the Tamiya electronics?
The old Bandai 1/15 kits evidently have their accuracy and detail problems, but they’re big ‘n’ fun!
What was available…Stug IV, Pzr IV, Hummel, and Tiger I. You can still find them quite often in shops here.

Roy, you’re a glutton for punishment ain’t ya?? [;)] [:D]

[banghead][banghead] [;)]

Good luck on it bro! I think I’m about done on the 1/16 stuff. (Well, I do have my Kublewagen to go with the Tiger but that’s easy…and that’s it, no more…ahhhhhh)

Verlinden makes some 120mm stowage and other stuff that you could use with it Roy.

Eric

Yeah, I was shopping at the LHS last week, looking at Tamiya’s 1/35 Stug when the wife says, “Why don’t you just build the big version honey?” God I love that woman!
So after doing my research and hunting I found that the stock GBs suck, and to upgrade to Tamiya requires serious mods; (Base plates). As for the kit, the GB’s and the Tamiya electronics, I’ll be buying them from Dave at dave4what.com. He also sells the Hummel, Tiger I. and the Panzer IV. Great prices.

Okie

Cool project Roy!

I’d like to do a Full Option Sturm (lots of scratchbuilding there)[;)]

Keep us posted!

Have fun with the build okieboy. I hope you will post some pictures of it.
mark956

Should be a nice addition to your Tiger. Look forward to your work.

yes- a fixation on BIG stuff.
ahahahhahaah- excuse the pun!![|)][|)][|)][|)][|)][|)] [:X]

As far as scratch building, I’m getting some help from some of the guys in the tank club. One fellow makes cast resin parts that addresse the inaccuracies in the Bandai kit, such as the driver’s compartment, gun mantlet and gun mount. I ordered base plates so I can use Tamiya’s gearboxes. The GB’s have to be tilted to bring the axle up to the proper height and lower the back end to clear the top deck. Right now I’m slowly piecing together the parts I’ll need before beginning. That way I can be assured that I don’t end up buying something that I can’t finish. I’ll be sure to keep ya’ll posted since you will be my biggest base of knowledge and help. I’ll also take step by step photos and post them when I can.

Okieboy

Hey ya’ll,

So far things are starting to take place with my project. My base plates are on their way, plus one of the guys in my tank club is also a machinist, so he’s going to make me an aluminum barrel and the necessary adapters to fit the Tamiya gearboxes to the sprockets. I’ve purchased a couple of Graupner 400 motors. I’d can’t wait to see how they differ from the Zagi’s. I also found metal tracks and sprockets for the monster. The only problem I have to solve at the moment is how to alter the mantlet to allow the new barrel to recoil and elevate. I hope to solve this problem by checking out what some of the other guys have done on their Stugs while at the Danville, VA tank battle next weekend.

Okie

hey Okieboy, i saw two of those 1/15 kits by Bandai here on one of our local toy store and they’re selling it half the price. one’s a stug and the other one is a half track.
my question is, are the kits by Bandai really good? when you bought the kit, are the control and servos already there? or you have to purchase it separately? i wasn’t able to get near the box coz i’m afraid it myt follow me home. lol

Thanks! and post some pics too! i wanna see them before i buy them.

That sounds like quite an interesting build…Thanks for the site too. I’ll have to check the kits out.

Regards, Dan

Hey Gary,

If you want a good look at the inside of the kit like I did, do a yahoo search for “Stug”. A fellow posted his pics and review of the kit. The kit itself is very simple, and there is a lot to do to make it fully R/C. It does come with gearboxes, but they are very simple and would not last. That’s why I’m going through the trouble of not only buying Tamiya type 4 gearboxes, but machined base plates that will adapt them to the hull. Now since I’m using different gearboxes, I’m also having the machinist make me two adapters so that the Tamiya gear shafts will fit the Bandai sprockets. The tracks that come stock are plastic, but they snap together; no metal pins to hold them! You’ll have to buy metal tracks and sprockets from Kenny Kong. Now to the barrel… It’s not like the Tamiya kit. the barrel glues into the mantlet which then hinges to the hull. Since I want this to be a full function model, like my Tiger 1, I’m getting an aluminum barrel made and will have to figure out how to adapt the kit to accomodate Tamiya’s recoil and barrel elevation units to the kit. I’ll be getting some help with this since at least two guys in my tank club have already build the Stug and upgraded it to full function. I will get to take notes on how they did it.
The long and short of it is this: The kit does not come with servos, or motors. It has the rudimentary gearboxes and the parts for a battery box and a printed circuit board. The kit it dated 1971, so what do you expect? It does have rubber rims for the roadwheels though. The upper deck doesn’t fit to the hull as the Tamiya kits do. The kit also doesn’t come with the schurzen side skirts. I’ll have to scratch build them myself. I won’t go into the inaccuracies right now, but if you’re a stickler, there’s a lot to do with the mantlet, gun cradle and driver’s compartment.

Okieboy

Sounds like a cool project [:)]

thanks for that okieboy! sounds like a lot of work!
can’t wait for you to finish it and post some pics!

sounds interesting