Early model StuG III

[Eclaireur]

I assumed somebody would have asked for this before, but having scrolled back I don't see it. Isn't it rather an obvious gap in the range? Nobody else does one in plastic, and it's great for a whole variety of early to mid-war scenarios, right up to D and E variants in Stalingrad. I don't know enough about the development of the basic hull but couldn't it be done as a conversion pack to the existing StuG ?
EC 

[EarlyWarGamer]

I would love to have an appropriate/accurate Stug III for early war gaming, but I doubt that will ever happen, from any model-making company.

Stug III A = 36 built. Saw service for the first time in France 1940.

Stug III B = 300 built.  The tracks are wider, the drive sprocket and idler wheel are different, and the return rollers were repositioned.  MAYBE a complete track replacement kit could be offered up to turn an A into a B. But that would mean first their needs to be a Stug III A offered up. And with only 36 built (and many people far more interested in mid and late-war models) I don't see an Ausf A ever being offered up.  But they could do an Ausf B kit.

Stug III C = 50 built. Superstructure changes. Which means that the Ausf B kit would not work for the C. MAYBE they could offer a new upper hull replacement kit for the Ausf B kit. But there must first be an Ausf B kit.

Stug III D = 150 built.  Externally identical to the Ausf C. So Whatever replacement superstructure kit that was offered up for the Ausf C to turn an Ausf B kit to the next version, would also work on the Ausf D.  Or ... they could offer up a new kit that covered the 200 Ausf C/D versions.

Stug III E = 284 built. More superstructure changes. A replacement superstructure kit could be offered up to turn an Ausf B kit into an E, or the same replacement kit could turn an Ausf C/D into an E. But first we would need either an Ausf B or an Ausf C/D kit.

Stug III F = 366 built + Stug III F8 = 250 built.  Superstructure changes, and the addition of two different long-barreled guns.  There are probably too many parts that would be different to allow for an upgrade kit to one of the earlier kits to turn it into an F or F8. This would probably need to be a separate kit.

Which leads us to the offered kit of the Stug III G.  7,810 of these were built, and another 1,299 of the StuH 42.  Which represents 86% of all Stug IIIs built during the war.

Again, if they offered up a kit of ANY of the Ausf A through Ausf E models, I would love it.  But unfortunately, I don't see how a single kit could be used to produce all five of those versions. And once you produce a kit to only cover one (or two in the case of the C/D) very few were produced, and I suspect that makes their usefulness as a model kit very limited.  And given the numbers built, of all the earlier versions a kit could be made for, the F/F8 is the most likely, and that doesn't help at all for early war accuracy.

[Eclaireur]

oh man EWG - I thought you'd give me some supporting fire here  it's not really about numbers of the real vehicle produced is it? I mean look at the number of King Tiger or even Jagdtigers made, but the number of models out there... Or the Puma armoured car perhaps?

Maybe the best answer is a resin one? At the moment I can only see a 3D printed one out there ...
EC

[ripley]

It would be nice to have an early version or two but I really doubt we'll see any in plastic , maybe one day  in resin from Trechwerx or Der WaffenKammer  . The problem is that they , like the early Pzr III and IVs look so much alike with only a cosmetic change to the hull sides or extra armour plate .  While some of us can spot a C or D version from a grainy black and white photo , to your average guy there's no difference and they'll make do with whats easily available . Maybe if 28mm had a larger fan base , say like 1/35 scale , we would get variants . Tamiya brought out a B ( ?) to compliment their other early war tanks , as well Bronco released a D (?) with the rear fender air filters , a type of which 6 were sent to North Africa , again expanding their desert war line . Maybe if more companies got into making  28mm plastic kits , we might get some of our missing favorites. There are more companies making plastic figures ( just saw a plastic Cowboy sprue and WW1/2 French  ) so maybe one day , they'll branch out into tanks and trucks , not that I'm going to build all the kits I have now , but I can always add to the stash just in case

[EarlyWarGamer]

I absolutely support your wish for an early war Stug III.  Absolutely. I am simply voicing my belief that it's not going to happen, because a single kit cannot cover the wide range of changes that took place between Ausf A and Ausf E.  But I would love to be wrong about that.

I was actually trying to list off a summary of why a single kit will not work to cover the Ausf A through Ausf E models. Too many changes to have a single box cover the lot.  (And really, no big reason to make an Ausf F/F8 because those are long-barrelled versions, and we already have that with the Ausf G).

While I would prefer the Ausf A (because it served in France 1940), an Ausf B would also make me happy.  They made 300 of them in 1940-1941, and this was the version that saw service in many theaters, including the Eastern Front.  And like many others, I would have no issues dropping an Ausf B onto the table for France 1940 action, and calling it an Ausf A.

The important thing would be that we have a short barrelled Stug III to field.

I agree that production numbers don't always translate into what drives making a model kit.  I can't imagine why anyone would ever want a Maus ... but those kits are out there, and if they sold even 2 then they have sold more than were ever produced in real life.  But people enjoy "what if" scenarios, and I cannot blame them for that.

Anyway, to reiterate, we do NEED an early war Stug III because the one we have on offer has a long-barrelled weapon. And all those early war versions had a short barred gun.  So for that reason alone, we NEED one.

[Eclaireur]

agree on the Maus 
like you say EWG, any early model StuG would be good - resin or plastic
EC

[Tracks]

I assumed somebody would have asked for this before, but having scrolled back I don't see it. Isn't it rather an obvious gap in the range? Nobody else does one in plastic, and it's great for a whole variety of early to mid-war scenarios, right up to D and E variants in Stalingrad. I don't know enough about the development of the basic hull but couldn't it be done as a conversion pack to the existing StuG ?
EC

You are not alone. I have also noted this in a post I did sometime ago.
You can see it here:
http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=848.msg11889#msg11889

[Eclaireur]

ah yes, I see you did Tracks! Interesting how many of your requests have been met. Agree heartily that a Lee/Grant would also be excellent
EC

[petejones]

I would love to see the early StuG as a plastic model kit. I have a couple of the resin/metal hybrids from Warlord and they are OK, but a plastic Ruby kit would be much better!

[Tracks]

Yes, it would be nice, but EWG and ripley make good points.

That being said, maybe the best way to approach this project is to start with the Ausf B and just ignore the Ausf A altogether.

From there, maybe add a few bits to try and add more to the kit - if not difficult - so that an Ausf C/D/E can be made from the same kit.

Another idea would be to just ignore the Ausf A & B and start with the Ausf C/D/E.