Robert Kru ModellTrans StuG3 Ausf F/8

This kit is a conversion for the Revell Pz 3 Ausf L kit and represents an early StuG 3 Ausf F/8 with welded add-on armour, Pz 3 Ausf M transmission hatches and a gun barrel with a rare muzzle brake, as used on the Pz4 Ausf F2.
The kit consists of a new upper hull and 8 other parts.
The casting of my kit is very nice except the upper front plate. There are small casting imperfections which are difficult to clean because the hatches there are very thin, like casting skin.
If you want to cut out the hatches from the cast and use the Revell parts, you'll have to cut away the hinges from them. The Pz3 Ausf M hull had only locked covers without hinges.
The roof is a couple of mm thick, so opening the crew hatches there is a difficult task.
There are no decals, no manual or pictures of the vehicle included. However, it's quite clear where most of the parts should go. So, this kit would be a straightforward conversion.

Some comments

The problem are some differences to the basic StuG 3Ausf F which are missing. These are easy to find out after a couple of minutes searching on the internet.
• The welded add-on front armour is missing. Ok, this is easy to scratch with some plastic sheet, but it still means some extra work and this omission is nowhere mentioned.
• The roof plates left and right of the gun tube were welded at a steeper angle. To correct this, you could use the two extra plates (numbers E8 and E9) included in the Trumpeter StuG 3 Ausf F kit. It would be an easy task to add them to the Modell Trans master.
• The fact that the gun with this type of muzzle brake was a L/48 version (and not the shorter L/43 barrel as used in the Pz4 Ausf F2) as the conversion proposes, is hard to get for Modell Trans
• The correct gun cleaning rods and the noticeable spare track holder are absent too.

Conclusion

This conversion is a nice starting point for this project, and can be done by beginners if the casting is fine. But it is a missed opportunity to provide a perfect conversion, which would not have taken up much more time.
The “Rivet counter” boys will need to invest more time to get everything correct, something that could have been avoided.
Nevertheless, at this moment this conversion is the best option to build an early StuG 3 Ausf F/8.
I would recommend to get the spare early L/48 gun barrel (with the later muzzle brake) and the roof plates from a Trumpeter StuG 3 Ausf F kit for an easier build.

Review sample bought by the author

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Article Last Updated: 18 May 2014