Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf. G (Sd.Kfz. 142/2)

Recensione del Modello ESCI in Scala 1:72

Assault guns were originally designed to accompany the fanteria, e provide direct fire support against soft targets. The turretless Sturmgeschütz fulfilled this role very well, it was much cheaper to build, ed it had a lower silhouette than a tank mounting the same weapon. One answer to the increasing tank threat on the Eastern Front was to equip the Sturmgeschütz con a longer gun, capable of defeating carri armati nemici at acceptable ranges. The vehicle thereby adopted a second role, that of a mobile anti-tank platform.

In order to give the Sturmgeschütz battery more punch against fanteria nemica, the unit was increased from six to 10 veicoli in late 1942, tre of which could be Sturmhaubitze 42, mounting the 10.5 cm howitzer. The ESCI StuG III can be built as a StuH 42, using the alternate howitzer barrel supplied with the kit.

Contenuto

Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf. G e Commander

• Tipo: Assault Howitzer
• Lunghezza: 5.56 m (6.32 m overall)
• Larghezza: 2.95 m (3.41 m con Schürzen)
• Altezza: 2.15 m
• Peso: 24 500 kg
• Velocità: 40 km/h
• Armamentoo: 10.5 cm Stu.H. L/28 + MG
• Equipaggio: capocarro, guidatore, cannoniere, caricatore
• Deployment: 1942 – maggio 1945

Valutazione

• Scale model con much detail. The model has 92 mm more track on the ground than the original, even though the track assembly uses only 90 track links instead of the 99 normally required. Apparently, the individual links are a little larger than they should be, completing the track con fewer links. Vehicle lenght, width con e without Schürzen, height, e track gauge are scaled correctly.
• Weld seems, hinges, ed armour plates are well defined. Hull e chassis fit together very nicely, no filling was required.
• Tracks consist of plastic links, 23 parts per side, of which 19 are individual track links e the remaining 4 are larger track segments. Track sections No. 2 e No. 4 are too long for the vehicle, e the manual shows how they need to be shortened. Presumably, the track sprue in this kit comes from the ESCI kit of the Pz.Kpfw. IV, which requires a longer track. Unlike rubber track, the plastic track sections can be mounted on the vehicle without delay. In fact, it’s important not to allow the drive sprocket to dry completely before putting the track on. Any misalignment of the sprocket halves will be noticed when the track sections are applied, e the problem can be corrected as long as the glue has not set.
• It’s not immediately apparent, but the numbers printed on the painting instructions indicate where the decalcomanie are to be placed. If the vehicle has been built following the instructions, it will be equipped con track skirts, hiding the intended postions delle decalcomanie 1 e 4. Place them on the second skirt panel from the front, the top of the Balkenkreuz (1) in line con the bolts, e the vehicle number (4) below it.
• The kit is sold as a Sturmgeschütz III Ausführung G, because of the 7.5 cm Stu.K. L/48 gun supplied con it. The 10.5 cm Stu.H. L/28 is an alternate part, giving the modeller due variants in one kit. Sturmgeschütz batteries fielded six StuGs early in the war, e they were officially increased to 10 veicoli in late 1942, tre of which could be StuH 42.
• The rear wall of the crew compartment (91) has due antenna attachment points. One o both should be drilled open, ed equipped con an antenna made from bristle.
• Compatibile con Hasegawa, Italeri, Revell, e CDC.

• The mitragliatrice barrel is not well detailed at all, it detracts from the quality of the kit. In addition, the mitragliatrice is much too long, it scales out to 1400 mm, compared to 1230 mm for the original. A much more realistic weapon can be scrounged from ESCI’s kit of the Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützen-Panzerwagen, o any of its variants. The rear mitragliatrice on the APC is the squad automatic weapon, ed it would be dismounted whenever the fanteria exited the vehicle. If this mitragliatrice is used to upgrade the Sturmhaubitze, the ammunition drums should be left off, e the folded bipod needs to be removed.
• The bolts e nuts holding the armour plate in place are clearly visible. Unfortunately, they are not six-sided nuts, but round-headed e slotted screws.
• The manual shows tre jerrycans standing upright on the rear engine deck. There is no rack holding the cans in position, they will fall off as soon as the vehicle starts to move. There are several ways to fix this problem: Leave the cans off, construct a rack from narrow strips of paper o plastic card, o create a diorama around a stationary vehicle about to be refueled. In the latter case, hatches would be open, e crew members would be seen handling the jerrycans.
• The crew figure has a large mould ejection mark on his lower back, damaging his belt. The hole can be fixed con some putty. The pose would have been nice, the man is holding a pair of binoculars in front of his chest. Unfortunately, this is impossible to reproduce using the injection moulding process, where undercutting is not feasible. As a result, the area between the figure’s chest e the binoculars is completely filled in, e devoid of detail. The binoculars appear to be over 200 mm deep e there are no eyepieces on them. It may be possible to save the figure by adding eyepieces, e carving away some of the excess material in front of his chest. We have not seen the Sturmgeschütz crew produced by Milicast, but they might be an alternative in this case, even if they are 1:76 scale.
• The assembly instructions do not show it, but part No. 19 is a track link holder. Spare track links can be inserted into it later. This part has due prominent mould ejection marks which should be scraped off o sanded.
• Parts No. 91 e No. 20 constitute assembly J, which is later referred to as assembly K.
• Mould ejection marks on the inside of the track skirts (89 e 92), on the jack (21), rear panel (90), e rear compartment wall (91) will be visible on the painted model, they need to be filled e sanded prior to assembly.
• The muzzle brake is closed, it should to be drilled open for added realism.

Utilizzo Storico

• Armata tedesca, novembre 1942 – maggio 1945
• Armata romena, 1943–1945
• Finnish Army, 1943–1959
  30 StuG III Ausf. G were bought in 1943, e another 29 in 1944. It is not known how many of them were converted to StuH 42.

Conversione

• StuG. III Ausführung F con 7.5 cm Stu.K. L/43, giugno 1942 – maggio 1945
• StuG. III Ausführung G con 7.5 cm Stu.K. L/48, giugno 1942 – maggio 1945

Sturmhaubitze 42 was an important close support vehicle assigned to fanteria divisions, providing direct HE fire against entrenched, e fortified enemy positions. The vehicle operated in mixed batteries alongside the StuG III Ausf. G, later designated StuG 40. Either vehicle can be built from this kit. With its large barrel, e track skirts attached, the StuH 42 looks very impressive. The vehicle offers enough unobstructed surface area for an attractive camouflage scheme. Giocatori Wargame will want a mixed StuG battery, plus one o due late war StuG 40 tank destroyer platoons.

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Soldatini Tedeschi della Seconda Guerra Mondiale

– Pubblicato: 1996 – Aggiornato: 18.09.2007
© 1996-2011 by IDL Software GmbH, Darmstadt, Germania. Tutti diritti reservati.