OKB Grigorov

German Self Propelled Anti-Tank Gun
Panzer IV/70(A), early

A point of note is that the operational doctrine of the Wehrmacht did not consider this vehicle to be a Jagdpanzer, but to be a substitute for a main battle tank, more specifically in the II. Abteilung of a Panzer Division when insufficient Panthers (carrying the same L/70 gun) were available. (This means that the use of “Self Propelled Anti-Tank gun” on the boxtop isn’t entirely accurate.)

The contents of the kit
Upon opening the box, we are struck by the sheer number of parts that are inside.

The contents

Detail of the tracks and fenders

Detail of the various small parts

The resin parts are nicely cast, but, at first glance, not without the occasional fault. For instance, the rear upper hull plate has a waviness to it. Sanding it flat would be an option if it wouldn’t remove the details in that area. Bending after heating in warm water is a better option; it took me two minutes. Some panel lines on the engine deck might benefit from rescribing. (Perhaps the molds are already getting worn.) There also was a rather large air bubble on the gun housing, covered by very thin layer of resin that didn’t stand up to any handling. It’s in a partially hidden spot and rather easy to fix, though.

Detail of the main hull parts

Apart from these minor gripes, the casting quality is clearly better than most resin kits I have had the pleasure to work on. I especially like the fact that the hull is hollow (apart from casting supports), so, even while there is no interior, one can be added at will with some minor scratchbuilding.

Besides the resin parts, we also get four frets of photo-etch parts and a metal gun barrel.

Only after I started construction did I notice that the "pipes" on which the Thoma Schürzen are suspended (parts 87) were missing from my specimen.

The instructions are elaborate, but at first sight don’t follow any logic. I didn’t find any instructions to glue the upper and lower hull together, for instance; the drawings are mostly meant to show where which part goes on the assembled kit. However, the parts need to be identified by number first, based on drawings on the instructions (they are not repeated on sprues as on classical, injection molded kits). Knowing that the parts are plentiful (I’ve been told more than 450, and I don’t dare to try and get a more precise count), this will be somewhat of a challenge unless you are very familiar with German armor and can thus identify parts on sight.

There are no painting instructions or decals included in the kit.

The boxtop mentions that this is the “Early” variant. The first series vehicle was accepted in August 1944 and the 277th and last vehicle was produced in March 1945. The kit is not actually a very early variant as it already has

• four steel roadwheels on each side (introduced in September 1944), which fortunately also means that we don’t have any need for Zimmerit.
• Thoma Schürzen

On the other hand, it still has the old front and rear towing configuration, and four return rollers, which makes it a pre-December 1944 vehicle. I believe this justifies the use of “Early” as a moniker.

Construction

As usual, with resin kits, the actual construction was preceded by a clean-up phase, where the major parts were removed from their casting supports and checked for blemishes. A casting deficiency was found in the gunmount, where a rather big air bubble was trapped beneath a thin fleece of resin. The position and shape of this bubble allowed for easy repair work, using superglue and baking powder.

The air bubble in the gun mount. Left: after removing the fleece; right: after remedial work.

Actual construction started by mating the upper and lower hull, adding bits and pieces along the way, starting with those that were the least likely to break off during handling of the kit.

The reinforcement strips that hold the different major assemblies of the (real) vehicle together are provided in PE. As they are long and slender, and as I don't have a bending tool, folding and installing them was a challenge, as any deviation from a straight line will show. Corrections were made with thick paint.

Some notes about the parts on the first page of the instructions (above):

• the pegs to hold the roadwheels (red) are too short to go into the axle holes of the wheels.
• the idler mount (blue) sticks out too far
• without correction, the combined effect of the above will casue a mis-alignment of roadwheels and idler
• the spacing of the roadwheels is unevenly distributed; the fourth and fifth roadwheel almost touch (green)
• the rim of the roadwheels is of uneven thickness
• all wheels have axles that are slightly off center.
• the driver's visor (yellow) can be placed in the open or closed position. It is one of the parts that you best install at the end of the build
• the part in pink has no number on the instructions; I am pretty sure it is part 42

The resin tracks are very flexible, and can easily be bent around the drive sprocket and idler without heating. The teeth of the drive sprocket match the holes in the tracks perfectly.
The tracks come in long strips; no individual links here. You would need about two-and-a-half lengths for each side and the kit provides more than enough. Where the track lengths meet, care is needed to have them connect realistically.
I took a shortcut, and only installed two lengths of tracks. The missing section would be hidden in a muddy section of the diorama.

The frames that will hold the Schürzen are delicately done, but require planning and patience. As they are very fragile and only have tiny areas where they attach to the hull, they will come off very easily during handling.
While the instructions show you where they are to be installed, there is no indication on the hull. The required guesswork runs the risk of having the triangular frames (installed in the picture above) interfere with the hangers of the actual Schürzen. As the latter have a specific position on the Schürzen (that cannot be altered without drawing suspicion), you will need to play with the frames on the hull when everything is in place and you are finally ready to hang the Schürzen on their rails.

There are also fixtures for the Schürzen on the fenders (red in the drawing above). These will also have to align perfectly with features of the Schürzen. The same comment about trial-and-error applies.
While we are looking at this page of the instructions, I'd like to point out that the rear tow hooks (blue) go inside the fenders.
And, while the kit provided the modeler with PE parts in reckless abandon, no details are provided for a plate on the rear of the hull (green). I added bolts from stretched sprue.

Some points about the instructions shown above:

• there should be a small gap between the gun mount and the mantlet, which can best be simulated by adding a small spacer in between
• the grab handles for the hatches (red) were made from copper wire
• the hinges for the hatches on the top of the hull (blue) were reinforced with a small section of streched sprue where they attach to the hatch; this will not only make the assembly sturdier but will also help attach the hatch to the hinges

Assembling the Schürzen is a major part of the work, due to the way they are engineered. The upper and lower part of each is thicker, and the kit requires extra strips of PE to be glued into place to create this effect. It's fiddly, to say the least.
There are three hangers for each of the Schürzen, that will allow them to be attached to the rails (red). That makes a total of 18, while the PE-fret only provides 12.
The small peg on the inside of these hangers (green) interfered with the pipes, so, after having painstakingly installed them, I removed them again.
I can't say if this is due to the fact that I created my own pipes from brass tubing, as my kit came without them.
The elements linking the individual Schürzen at the bottom (parts 40 - blue), are not seen in period pictures, so I left them off.

The kit doesn't provide an antenna, or doesn't mention that one needs to be added to the antenna mount on the left rear side of the hull.

As the kit was going to represent a vehicle captured by Soviet troops, some battle damage was simulated.

Decals came from the spares box and the paint scheme is not based on any particular vehicle.

Diorama

For the diorama I also used Milicast figure set F22 and an S-Model GAZ-67B.

The diorama was initially finished without the Schürzen to allow access to the groundwork.

Conclusion

In all, a daunting kit. However, if you have some experiene with photo-etched parts and lots of patience, the result can be very rewarding.

Preview sample provided by OKB Grigorov, through IPMS Belgium.

Article Last Updated:
09 December 2021
30 December 2022