Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 [WIP - Assembly and Installation of the Short-Barreled Main Gun]

 After overloading on cuteness with a series of Hello Kitty builds it was time to return to a more sombre subject matter vis-à-vis an armored fighting vehicle (AFV) from World War II. It has been nearly two years since I last worked on this Tamiya scale model kit - the 1/35 scale Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 - and it's still only at the assembly stage. I seemed to have really slacked off my AFV projects big time. This time around I plan to, at the very least, complete the assembly process of the Sturmgeschütz III. In this post are Steps 11 and 12 of the assembly process.

Short-Barreled Main Gun of the 1/35 scale Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142

Steps 11 and 12 of the Tamiya Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B assembly process

 One of the uniue selling points of this kit is the amount if insane detail that goes into the interior of the Sturmgeschütz III as well as its gun. For example, the kit provides a metal part that accurately replicates the inner barrel rifling (spiral grooves) inside the gun barrel. Imagine that! In the real world, this inner barrel rifling served to stabilize the projectile (i.e. the shell) thus improving accuracy.

Sub-assembly of the 75mm StuK 37 L/24 short-barreled main gun ...

... comprises tons of details made up from both plastic and metal parts ...

... of which the most prominent is the precision-made aluminum barrel ...

... which comes complete with inner barrel rifling.

 Even by just looking at Step 11 of the assembly process (see second photo from top) you can already tell there are a lot of delicate parts involved in putting together the Sturmgeschütz's main gun. Despite the strong plastic that is characteristic of Tamiya parts, there are still some thin and tiny parts that you have to be very careful with lest you snap it in two. Case in point is the thin bar connecting the gunner's seat to the main gun sub-assembly, or even the mid-section of the gunner's periscope.

Other noticeable details are the ammo pouch for collecting hot spent shells ...

... a fairly detailed plastic replica of the 7.5cm Kanone breech block, ...

... a seat as well as a periscope for the gunner that is connected to ...

... the main gun's contraption which itself can be pivoted up and down.

 Among other details I noticed are the 75mm Stuk 37 L/24 short-barreled main gun, the 7.5cm Kanone breech block, the pouch that collects spent shells, targeting periscopes, a seat for the gunner, pivot points that allow the gun to move up and down, and many more parts that I don't even know the name of. And that's just the main gun sub-assembly itself. If you look at the interior (see below) in which the gun is housed, you can't fail to notice details like seats for the crew and commander, a rack for the ammo/shells, and textured steel plate floor. There are actually much more interior details located on the yet-to-be-assembled fighting compartment which covers up the main gun section.

Before installation: main gun and interior of the lower hull (with wheels temporarily removed)

After installation: main gun and interior of the lower hull (with wheels temporarily removed)

Short-barreled main gun installed within the lower hull's interior (side closeup view, from left)

 After the main gun had been assembled, it was time install the sub-assembly into the Sturmgeschütz itself (see above and below images). They were temporarily fixed together sans glue because I intend to paint the main gun separately from the interior. Both the former and latter have details that would be difficult to reach with a paint brush if they were to be glued together before being painted.

Many parts have yet to be attached to the lower hull hence it looks quite bare for now

Sturmgeschütz's interior and short-barreled main gun sub-assembly (closeup view from behind)

Wheels on the lower hull were removed as their fitting is still loose prior to being painted

 You may have noticed the Sturmgeschütz III body is missing lots of parts assembled from earlier steps like the wheels on the lower hull. These were removed to make it easier for me to manage Step 12 as well as to make things less stressful during the photo session. This is because the fitting of the wheels on the lower hull are still very loose. The wheels tend to come off easily thus complicating assembly work in Step 12 as well as posing of the Sturmgeschütz when being photographed. But I do plan to put on the wheels again for the final assembled shots, which is still some way off. 

Short-barreled main gun installed within the lower hull's interior (side closeup view, from right)

Main gun sub-assembly takes up almost all the space inside the hull interior

Sturmgeschütz's interior and short-barreled main gun sub-assembly (closeup view from front)

 After resuming work on just these two steps, I am reminded why I seem to have slackned the pace of my AFV projects. The extremely tinyand delicate parts involved can be a frustrating experience for someone with big clumsy hands like me. Working on Gunpla kits seem easier in general compared to what I've experienced with 1/35 scale AFV kits. Be that as it may, I'm glad I'm not put off resuming work on my AFV projects. A tad less enthusiastic than my mecha projects. Perhaps. But enough that the hobby train momentum isn't slowing down anytime soon. Until next time, be well and happy.