While not very many StuGs saw service in N. Africa, a very small number of F/8s (6 shipped, 4 made it) did actually see combat there between Jan and May 1943. Referred to as StuG Battery 90, they served with the 10 Pz.Div.
I’m using Dragon’s kit #6644 for this particular project and swapping out the Winterketten tracks with standard Pz III links:
All the major construction work is done without any major issues aside from the usual Dragon instruction snafus here and there.
Started in on the paint work today to get this one moving ahead in that department. First order of business is a primer coat of Model Master enamel Italian Dark Brown.
Also started in on the road wheels, return rollers, sprockets, and idlers. Same prime coat treatment and the rubber portions were airbrushed with MM enamel Gunmetal.
Terry I’ll be painting this one in a two-tone Tropen scheme (2/3 RAL 8020, 1/3 RAL 7027) that was ordered for use starting in March '42. Africa StuGs are pretty rare creatures, there were a very small number of the short-barrel C/Ds also used IIRC.
Steve got to keep the bench busy, one rolls off, another rolls on! [;)] Thanks as always for following along [B].
Anthony and Bish glad to have you along as well fellas! [;)]
That’s the same colours I use n the Pz III. Rather easy to lose under moderate weathering and dust. I deliberately went lighter as I went up the vehicle, I think the only place you can make the two colours out is on top of the turret. But of course, vehicles do get dusty and its easy to lose any colours on the real thing.
That’s very true Bish. The colors don’t have a high contrast with each other to begin with and is one of the reasons why they are so hard to pick out on vehicles in b/w photos I think.
Thanks terry, but I think it was the pigments that really did it, and that was all picked up from Bill. So I am looking forward to seeing what he does with this one.
More progress in the paint department to report! After letting the primer coat sit for a day, I used some MM Flat Black to create some pre-shading.
Basecoat came next. Since this one is getting the 2nd Tropen scheme ordered in March '42 (2/3 RAL 8020, 1/3 RAL 7027), I laid down the first color using MM Afrika Braun in very thin passes to build it up over the primer/pre-shade effort.
At the same time, the wheels-on-a-stick got their hubs done using a draftsman’s circle template to mask the rubber wheels.
Next came the camo pattern using MM Afrika Dunkelgrau.
Rounding things out, the wheels and return rollers were glued in place on the suspension so that it could get up on its feet for the next stages. The workable torsion bars are doing their job nicely. Everything sits level and no ‘floating’ wheels.
Next up will be working on the rest of the exterior details.
Thanks Bish! You read correctly on the rubber color. It’s Model Master enamel Gunmetal…not to be confused with their Metalizer Gunmetal of course. [;)] The enamel version behaves very nicely I’ve found under weathering/pigment treatment vs. a straight black for example.
Zack, I hope Bill doesn’t mind me chipping in here. Yes, this is an excellent reflection on the N Africa scheme as it appeared after March 1942. before that date, 2 different colour were use. The actually pattern of the darker colour could vary, but the proportion’s would be the same. I recently built a Pz III and though the pattern was different, the colours and proportions were the same as Bill’s.
When it comes to German armour colours, Bill is defiantly the man in the know.
Bish has you covered. There are 2 different Tropen schemes. The first was ordered in March 1941 and consisted of 2/3 RAL 8000 and 1/3 RAL 7008 which were generally darker tones than the second Tropen scheme ordered in March 1942. This 2nd scheme is what is also seen on the Bovington Tiger I for example.
The 2nd scheme followed the same 2/3 to 1/3 ratio but used the colors I’ve got here, RAL 8020 and RAL 7027. Interestingly enough, the Tropen scheme was authorized not just for use in N. Africa but also southern France and certain areas of Russia, most notably the southern areas like the Crimea for example. HTH and glad to provide any inspiration along the way. [;)]
