Introduction
Sturmgeschutz III Ausf.G Fruhe Version
Here's a quick overview of the type.
Originally intended for infantry support duties, Germany’s Sturmgeschutz (assault gun) and abbreviated StuG III first appeared in combat during 1940. It had the durable Panzer III chassis with a completely new superstructure. To keep the vehicles profile as low as possible, the revolving turret was eliminated and the short barrelled 75mm L/24 gun was mounted directly onto the hull. As it was mainly intended for close fire support for the Wehrmacht, it was used as self-propelled artillery against the opposing enemy’s strategic points. However, when the German forces encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on the Eastern front, the situation abruptly changed. To cope with this Russian tank threat, the Germans were forced to upgrade their existing weapons systems. The G-Type StuG III built from late 1942 onwards, used a more powerful, long barrel 75mm L/48 gun. The early G-Type had a square shaped gun mantlet. The superstructure was redesigned and an MG34 machine gun with shield, commander’s vision cupola and smoke dischargers were added. The thin steel plates, known as Schurzen (skirts) were attached to the sides of the hull beginning in the spring of 1943. The type-42 assault gun mounted a 105mm howitzer on the StuG III chassis and was developed to fulfil the StuG III’s original role of infantry support. Incorporating several minor changes about 7,800 G-Type StuG IIIs were produced.
For further reading there's plenty of information available at the excellent Tank Encyclopedia
I'll also be using this book along with several others for reference purposes
Here's a quick overview of the type.
Originally intended for infantry support duties, Germany’s Sturmgeschutz (assault gun) and abbreviated StuG III first appeared in combat during 1940. It had the durable Panzer III chassis with a completely new superstructure. To keep the vehicles profile as low as possible, the revolving turret was eliminated and the short barrelled 75mm L/24 gun was mounted directly onto the hull. As it was mainly intended for close fire support for the Wehrmacht, it was used as self-propelled artillery against the opposing enemy’s strategic points. However, when the German forces encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on the Eastern front, the situation abruptly changed. To cope with this Russian tank threat, the Germans were forced to upgrade their existing weapons systems. The G-Type StuG III built from late 1942 onwards, used a more powerful, long barrel 75mm L/48 gun. The early G-Type had a square shaped gun mantlet. The superstructure was redesigned and an MG34 machine gun with shield, commander’s vision cupola and smoke dischargers were added. The thin steel plates, known as Schurzen (skirts) were attached to the sides of the hull beginning in the spring of 1943. The type-42 assault gun mounted a 105mm howitzer on the StuG III chassis and was developed to fulfil the StuG III’s original role of infantry support. Incorporating several minor changes about 7,800 G-Type StuG IIIs were produced.
For further reading there's plenty of information available at the excellent Tank Encyclopedia
I'll also be using this book along with several others for reference purposes
Kit
Onto the kit and it's sturdy box...
...which is packed full of parts
Here are the sprue frames in no particular order
There are four of this one included mainly for the wheels & suspension
There are six of this one... tracks... lots n lots of tracks...
The instruction booklet - we'll be visiting each section in turn once the build actually starts
There are also a couple of bags with PE, wire, aluminium barrel & clear parts which will stay unbagged for now.
I've picked up the same crew figures as Stokesy but have different stowage so I'll be adding fuel cans to the rear deck
...which is packed full of parts
Here are the sprue frames in no particular order
There are four of this one included mainly for the wheels & suspension
There are six of this one... tracks... lots n lots of tracks...
The instruction booklet - we'll be visiting each section in turn once the build actually starts
There are also a couple of bags with PE, wire, aluminium barrel & clear parts which will stay unbagged for now.
I've picked up the same crew figures as Stokesy but have different stowage so I'll be adding fuel cans to the rear deck
Hopefully it'll be interesting to compare how we tackle the same kit
(not 
So I resorted to some creative bodging but this required the mantlet thingy to get properly installed - I've buried the bodge down the bottom so hopefully it won't show up when everything is buttoned up
