JK Resin

Return rollers for
StuG III Ausf. G Late

This is a set that I have been waiting for for a really long time. Why ? Because one of the main issues of the Revell StuG III are the return rollers. That kit represents a late StuG III but still has the rubber return rollers (because Revell chose to keep the running gear of their Panzer III kits.) This wouldn't have been such a big deal if Revell had chosen to give us the Schürzen which late StuG IIIs generally carried, in which case the return rollers would have been hidden.
This set is an easy fix for two of those kits as it gives us 12 return rollers in two styles: one with holes and one with reinforcing ribs.
The style with holes was fitted by Alkett between January 1944 and the end of the war, while the one with ribs was used by MIAG between November 1943 and the end of the war. As Stephen Brezinski concluded that the Revell kit is a November 1944 variant (or later), the choice of these types is justified. I should do my own research, using [1], to determine if the Revell kit has any identifying features to make it a MIAG or an Alkett vehicle.
Note, however, that there was a third style of return roller, used by Alkett from November 1943 and March 1944, which had both holes and ribs. Careful drilling out the holes on the wheels with the ribs might be a possibility to create that particular type of wheel.

These return rollers were 310mm in diameter, which is 4.3mm in 1/72 and which happens to be the diameter of the resin wheels in this set.

While the wheels will have to be carefully removed from their supports, casting quality is excellent and so are the details on the hub.

A note for those who want to go off the beaten track: Panzer III were not equipped with steel return rollers during their production, but it seems a very few that lingered on long enough were retrofitted with them as can be seen here.

References

[1] Sturmgeschütz III. Band 2: Erscheinungsbild: Rückgrat der Infanterie (German Edition), Peter Müller; Wolfgang Zimmermann, History Facts, 2016

Review sample kindly provided by JK Resin.

JK Resin kits can be purchased from

Article Last Updated: 21 October 2017