On the Gustav Line

Howdy, all!

This is the article on the StuG IV project that took me a decade (!) to complete. If you go back through the posts from the early days of this little slice o' the Internet, you'll see many references to the StuG project that finally got finished a few years ago. Without further ado, here it is in all it's glory.

The StuG IV

The German assault gun known as the Sd.Kfz 167 Sturmgeschütz IV (StuG IV) was a result of the Krupp manufacturing firm’s desire to built assault guns for the Wehrmacht. The vehicle was a lash-up of the late mark Panzerkampfwagen IV chassis and running gear topped with a modified StuG III Ausf. F superstructure.

At the time, the Panzer IV was being outperformed by the StuG III, and all Panzer IV production was scheduled to be shifted to building the Panzerjäger IV, a Pz.Kpfw IV/L70 “Lang” chassis and a fixed superstructure armed with a 7.5 cm/L70 gun, the same gun being installed on the Pz.Kpfw V (Panther). However, Vomag also fitted a 7.5 cm/L48 gun to the vehicle, which became the Jadgpanzer IV Ausf. F.

The Stug IV was beginning to fade into the files of “never built” vehicles until an air raid on the Alkett plant in November 1943 destroyed the StuG III production line. Since the StuG IV could be placed into service faster than either the Jagdpanzer IV or the Panzerjäger IV, Krupp was authorized to begin producing them. 1,108 StuG IV’s were constructed, and an additional 31 were converted from damaged Pz.Kpfw IV chassis before production was ended by the German surrender.

Dispatched to the Eastern Front, the StuG IV became a proficient tank-killer. It would be used on all fronts between 1943 and 1945, and some saw post-war use with the Syrians in their conflicts with Israel in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Four examples are known to survive, two in Poland, one in Latvia, and one in Australia.

Panzer-Abteilung 190

Panzer-Abteilung 190 was formed from the remnants of the first iteration of II./Panzer-Regiment 202 and sent to North Africa with 90. Leitche Afrika-Division. Engaged in battles in the region, most of the unit’s vehicles were destroyed in the battles around Tunis in May 1943. The remnants were then reformed with additional vehicles in July 1943 and attached to the 90. Panzer-Grenadier Division and garrisoned in Sardinia. When the Allied attack began on Sicily, the unit was kept in reserve and later removed to the Italian mainland. Initially posted to the area around Pisa, it would later take a place on the Gustav Line, one of the defensive lines around Anzio and Cassino.

The unit would ultimately see most of its war fighting ability again destroyed, and the few remaining vehicles would be re-distributed to other units. The StuG IV’s of Panzer-Abteilung 190 would wind up going to the 34. Infanterie-Division in Northern Italy, where they would spend their final days.

The Project

Photo 1: The kit.

The project started as a “group build” project with the AMPS Central South Carolina “Wildcats” in late 2010, shortly after the Chapter formed--this coincidentally was a period in which I was laid off and only working part time, so I figured it would be an easy task. The best laid plans and all that...

The group decided on the then-new (2009) Dragon “Early Production” StuG IV kit. Along the way, Mike Roof did a lot of research on the kit, assembly sequence, and applicable features of the StuG IV, and provided the information to everyone in the group build. The level of detail that Mike went into was incredible, and the fact that he broke down the various bits of the kit into what was used in which time frame, what parts could be kept, what could be tossed in the spares box…in short, it gave everyone a glimpse into Mike’s “style” when he builds a model.

Before I move forward, yes, this is another one of those models with very few in-progress photos. Follow the text for the procedures I used. Also, some of the sequences might be written in a different order in which I actually completed them. Sorry, but this project stretched over nearly a decade…

Let’s get it on!

One of the first items to consider is zimmerit, the paste that the Germans applied to their vehicles to prevent magnetic anti-tank mines from sticking to the hull. The early StuG IV’s got it, the later ones didn’t. Since the model is an early vehicle, it needed to have it. There are many ways to add it—textured acrylic gel, putty (either body putty or epoxy putty), photoetched brass, resin...and, of course, several months after this project started, Dragon issued a kit with molded-on zimmerit. The aftermarket and kit alternatives are nice, but they tend to be too regular whereas the real thing was applied by hand, and one vehicle was different from another. To get that “organic look”, the best thing to do is make it yourself with putty or another substance.

I tried the green putty route years ago, and it works, but you have to move quickly, before the putty skins over and becomes unworkable. This time, I tried the acrylic gel method—apply the gel, then “comb” it out with a section of Campbell’s HO Scale corrugated siding. It is easy enough to do, but after it dried it lacked depth and “sharpness” when compared to photos. The corrugated siding left rounded ridges. To address this, I had an old razor saw blade lying around, cut it into sections, and gave those a whirl. I liked the profile, but the gel medium tended to relax as it dried, yielding sharper, but still rounded, peaks.

Looking around the workbench, I noticed a tube of Elmer’s Professional Wood Filler. I tried a test swatch on some scrap Evergreen sheet, and it was promising. It still wasn’t as sharp as I would have liked it, so on a whim I added a small amount of microballoons to the filler and gave it another test. Bingo! The rows were sharp, as were the peaks. So, over the next few days I applied the wood filler and combed it out with the section of razor saw blade. Hurdle number one, crossed…

If you’re a tool junkie, several companies offer zimmerit tools. Trumpeter’s is a roller-style tool—apply the medium and roll it out—and Tamiya’s are photoetched “saw tooth” scrapers similar to a razor saw blade. I actually acquired the Tamiya set through some wheeling and dealing a few years ago, so I believe I’m set for zimmerit tools for a while (not that I use them all that often, anyway).

I painted the inside of the engine compartment flat black to disguise the fact that it would be empty. Some areas could be seen through the cooling louvers, so painting it black makes it less obvious that the area is empty.

Now we reach the part of the story where I went back to work in the corporate aviation world, complete with six-day, 16 hours a day work weeks. The project languished. I would peck at it every now and then, but for the most part it remained stalled in the “Projects in Limbo” cabinet.

I did develop several habits during the project. The first was to remove all the parts I didn’t need from the trees and place them in the spares box. I also used a highlighter to note which parts I was going to use on the instructions, and would cross them out with a pencil as I installed them on the model. As you might know, Dragon’s kits are, as the Brits might say, “bitty”, with lots and lots of small parts—my take is that if the actual item consisted of four parts, Dragon will break it down into a dozen, no matter how teeny the parts will be. By marking them out on the instructions—especially when you are picking up on the project after a week, month, or longer—helps keep track of what has been done and what still needs doing. I figured this last one out after I spent the better part of an hour (!) figuring out where I left off after my last session on the model a few weeks prior.

As I pecked away, I continued to pre-paint some parts and subassemblies. The superstructure interior was painted Testor Acryl Panzer Interior Buff and the details painted in their relevant colors. I didn’t go whole hog here, since I was unsure whether I wanted to leave the hatches open—I did enough to make things convincing if it was seen through the hatches, and no more.

The wheels were given a coat of Panzer Yellow (PollyScale) and then assembled. Road wheels were brush painted a few at a time with Acryl Aircraft Interior Black (it is a “scale black”, perfect for tires) until they were all complete and ready to be assembled to the suspension. I kept them in a plastic cup until they were needed.

Be sure to follow the Prime Directive—make sure everything is straight, square, and plumb as you assemble it. Nothing looks sillier than a model of what is nominally a 23-ton vehicle with half the road wheels floating up in the air. I made a block for the lower hull—I set the hull on the block to hold it at the correct height, and then installed the suspension bogies. As the glue dried, I checked to make sure it remained aligned properly.

When it comes to the tracks, I can offer several tips. First, work on them throughout the process. Clean the links up and place them into a container with a lid so that should it overturn you won’t be playing “Pick up the Links” for an hour. The next tip is to assemble a few links at a time, even if that only consists of lining them up against a fixture and taping them in place. It becomes less tedious by spreading the job out over several sessions.

Did I say fixture? There are commercially available track alignment fixtures available, or you can go the DIY route. I taped a section of square brass tubing to a picture frame glass. The brass acts as a straightedge. I would clean up a few links and lay them in place along the brass. I used thin strips of tape to hold them together until I had the whole run completed. I constructed the second run in the same manner. Pay attention, since the Pz.Kpfw IV tracks were handed. Dragon molded the links in slightly different values of gray to help out in this respect. It may help to label them right and left to keep things organized.

When it came time to assemble them to the vehicle, I temporarily installed the road wheels, idler, and return rollers. The sprocket was permanently attached and the glue was allowed to dry for a day or so. This is important, since the final assembly will undergo a bit of tension—nowhere near as much as the old-school “rubber band” vinyl tracks, but there will be some tension on the sprockets because they attach to a raised boss and not an axle to lend stability.

Now, here’s how I ran the tracks—I doubt it is the best or most efficient way to do things, but it worked…

Apply some liquid cement to all the track joints and allow it to begin bonding the links. Once the bond has firmed up but is still pliable, carefully wrap the run of tracks around the suspension. Cement the loose ends together and use a small strip of tape to secure them, and repeat with the other side. Set the vehicle on the glass surface and set some weight into the hull to keep it down. The upper hull was taped into place, then I used cosmetic sponge wedges to set the sag between the fenders and upper run—simply cut a wedge and insert it between the road wheels. Be gentle, since you don’t want to pull the track links apart. Now, leave the model alone overnight—or longer. The key to the whole operation is to allow the cement to cure fully and the plastic to re-set before handling the tracks.

Because the wheels were left loose, the wheels and assembled track runs can now be removed from the model. Make sure you mark each track run so you don’t mix up left for right after you paint them.

The fenders were a bit fiddly, but with some careful fitting they got added to the hull. The gun was assembled into the interior and the upper and lower hull was joined. Once the major parts of the vehicle were together, it was a matter of assembling the smaller bits to it. Use a good pair of tweezers, since some of the bits are tiny. Some parts, like the tools and jack, were left off until they were individually painted.

When it came time to paint the thing, I was in a quandary. I knew I wanted a vehicle that operated around Anzio. My maternal grandmother’s family was from Naples, and some of them remembered watching as the abbey on Monte Cassino was bombed by the Allies. I was meeting dead ends every time I looked. I finally found an Italian website (http://www.dalvolturnoacassino.it/asp/n_main.asp) that gave some decent accounts of the battles in and around the Volturno River basin. Since I still retain some of the Italian my relatives taught me, and since pictures are universal, I managed to pin down units and places in the area.

With an idea in my head, I began digging deeper, and eventually found a photograph of a StuG IV in an Allied salvage lot near Pontecorvo, about 8 miles southwest of Cassino. Further digging turned up a link to the ADH Publishing book To The Last Bullet: Germany’s War On 3 Fronts (Part 2: Italy). One of the photos of (supposedly) this vehicle shows General Albert Kesselring posing in the commander’s hatch before the battle, and others show it sitting derelict, although mostly intact, in the salvage yard with some U.S. dogfaces examining it. Between the photos and color plates, I knew where I was heading…

Photo 2: The book. If you have any interest at all in the land battles of the Italian Campaign, this is a must-have.

As I was researching, I noted that this vehicle was fitted with a cover where the mantlet meets the superstructure. Apparently, the canvas cover leaked, so the crews would fabricate these covers from whatever they had at hand. The cover that appears to have been installed on this vehicle appears to be either bent sheet metal or welded armor plate from a discarded section of Schürzen attached to the superstructure with hinges so it could elevate with the gun. I fabbed a scale version up from an index card, soaked with CA, and attached with some quick non-functional hinges made from more CA-soaked index card and some fine wire.

Speaking of Schürzen, for some reason known only to Dragon engineers, the kit provides them in photoetched steel. Attaching the brackets to them was an exercise in insanity. The bond between the plastic hanging brackets and the steel panels kept coming loose. Also, measure twice before you attach them or your panels will not hang correctly. I omitted a few panels, as was commonly seen in photos.

The StuG IV was painted in the typical German scheme of Panzer Yellow with a pattern of dark brown and dark green painted over it. Using some of the last of my PollyScale paints, I used the photos and color plates as a rough guide to paint the model.

While I don’t usually recommend the use of color plates as references (they are, after all, an artist’s conception of what the original itself looked like), the plates were used simply because the photos depict the vehicle coated in dust which obscured the camouflage. I took it on faith that the color plate would be close to what the vehicle looked like. Given that common wisdom had the green and brown applied in the field, and given photos of similar vehicles, I took the chance and am quite happy with the results.

Photo 3: Base coat of paint applied.

Photo 4: Squiggles

Photo 5: More squiggles

The paint was allowed to dry, and the next day a coat of Future was applied and allowed to dry overnight. The few decals required (notably, the crosses) went on with little trouble. They were cleaned up after they dried, and a coat of semi-gloss clear was applied to the model.

I went full-on old school with weathering. I used artists’ oils to not only do pin washes and flood washes, but also to drybrush the model. The joy of oils is that they stay workable for a much longer time than hobby paints, so you can go back and re-blend an area until you are happy with the way it looks. From start to finish, the oil weathering took all of an hour.

Photo 6: Decals on, weathering in progress.

Photo 7: The rear of the StuG.

Photo 8: More decals, more oils...I keep my weathering understated.

I then applied a few dings and chips to the surface. I may have been too restrained, but I like to err on the side of “not enough” rather than “too much”—even the photos show a relatively well-kept vehicle. I used a “pigment wash” to apply the dust to the lower hull and Schürzen—I mixed various colors of artists’ dry pigments with distilled water into a slurry, then brushed it onto the model. A wet brush was used to control the wash, and later, after the wash had dried, the brush was used to “tame” the area. By washing off areas, you can simulate areas that have been “cleaned” by the crew climbing on the vehicle or the vehicle rubbing up against vegetation or other objects.

The tracks were painted with Vallejo Track Primer, and then given a dark wash with oils. The raised areas were rubbed with a flannel rag and some SNJ polishing powder—find a dark smudge on the cloth and use that to impart a shiny—but not sparkly!—look to the tracks. Do the same where the wheels contact the tracks—the constant movement will wear the dirt and grime away.

To install them, work slowly and carefully to get everything installed properly. I found the best way to do it was to install several road wheels and the return rollers, then carefully maneuver the tracks on to the hull. Then install the rest of the road wheels and the idler. You’ll soon find out how well those sprockets are attached—one of mine broke loose, and a few harried moments ensued until I got it solidly re-attached. The wheels and tracks were further weathered by drybrushing and the pigment wash method discussed above.

I gave the model a coat of matt varnish to blend everything together. The kit-supplied tow cables were cut to length and annealed with a butane torch—it makes the wire easier to work with, and it also imparts a realistic “used” look to it, no paint necessary. Attach the tools and other bits, wrap the tow cables, and it is time to put the display together.

The base

The base starts with a craft store plaque that is sanded to remove the tooling marks and given a few coats of Minwax PolyShades. Felt was glued to the bottom for a “finished” look.

The terrain module was made up by stacking and gluing foam sheets. I used the commonly-found packing foam (the stuff made up with little beads of Styrofoam), and it really isn’t good for this purpose since it is difficult to shape. I did my best, and then coated the module with pumice textured acrylic gel medium (you can also use plaster). Once dry, I started on the actual road where the vehicle would be displayed. The model was set on the road bed, and the contact patches of the tracks were marked out. Pieces of Evergreen sheet were cut just smaller that the dimension of the contact patches and glued to the module. These would give a flat area to attach the vehicle without a lot of fuss.

The road surface was simulated with Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty mixed to a cookie dough consistency. It was spread on the area and smoothed with a wet brush. Blend it so that the Durham’s is faired in with the Evergreen strips. When dry, it was painted in a nondescript ground color and left to dry. The sides of the module were painted black using craft paint.

The landscaped areas were covered with Celluclay that I mixed with a good dollop of white glue so it would adhere better. Once dry, it was painted a dark brown and left to dry.

To texture the road, I went out to my driveway (a gravel driveway) and collected a few paper cups full of various sizes of gravel. Using a sieve, I separated the various sized of gravel, and used the smallest size to represent the gravel road on the base. Woodlands Scenics Scenic Cement was used to lock the gravel into place. Take care to blend and feather the road surface into the plastic strips added earlier. Some various “gravel road” colors were used to create several washes to tone the road down and look to scale.

The landscaped areas were covered with various shades and grades of Woodlands Scenics grass, weeds, and turf. Some of the larger driveway gravel was placed here and there to represent rocky outcroppings. When all was dry, the same washes were applied to again tone the area down and give it a “scale” look.

While researching the Italian website, I found a period photo of a sign on the road between Itri and Pontecorvo. Jodie converted the photo into decal artwork, and had it custom printed with one of her projects. The sign boards and sign post are Evergreen sheet and strip cut to shape. The items were painted tan, and then streaked with oils to represent wood. Then I “whitewashed” everything with a thin mix of white in the airbrush. When dry, the barber pole stripe was masked and painted. The decals were applied to the sign boards, the sign boards attached to the pole, and the pole was installed on the base. The “8” was applied to a white disk; it identifies the road as Strada Provinciale 8, presently the main road between Pontecorvo and Cisterna.

To attach the model, I used white glue. I also used a little of the driveway gravel to tie the vehicle in to the base, and gave it the same wash I did on the road itself. Make sure the vehicle looks like it weighs 23 tons—mind the floating road wheels and tracks (which shouldn’t be a problem since you followed the Prime Directive, right?). You’ll need to once again blend the road surface around the tracks to make sure there are no gaps between the road and the tracks. Do a walk around, and touch up any areas that might need some wash, paint, or clear coat.

I started to assemble and paint figures from the Dragon Panzer Grenadiers set, and at least one will eventually be added to the base, but by the time I reached this point (in 2019, nearly a decade after the project started!), I decided to make up a placard, attach it and the module to the base, and call it a day…