1:35 STUG.III Ausf.F/8 Early Production Carson 776620 500776620

The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG.III) has the distinction of being Germany’s most widely produced AFV of WWII, with 10,619 eventually manufactured. Based on the chassis of the Panzer III, it was cheaper and faster to build since it did not have a rotating turret. Once German troops began encountering heavily armored Russian tanks, the StuG III Ausf.F was fitted with a longer 7.5cm gun. This marked its first true emergence as a tank destroyer rather than as an infantry support vehicle. The further modified Ausf.F/8 was produced from September-December 1942, with 250 vehicles built. It was based on an improved hull from the Panzer III J/L, and so it had thicker rear armor. It featured a 7.5cm StuK L/48 main gun. The ‘8’ designation came about because it was the eighth update to the Panzer III hull.

To go nicely along with its previously released Late-Production model of the StuG.III Ausf.F/8, Dragon has now launched a new 1/35 scale kit of an Early-Production variant. It has all the appropriate features of an early type. For example, it has new parts representing the 30mm-thick armor that was welded on (rather than the bolted-on armor of the Late-Production vehicle). Similarly, the extra glacis plate armor is welded rather than bolted. Another change is the new road wheel rack fitted on both sides of the StuG.III F/8 tank destroyer. It’s made from photo-etched metal. To reproduce the irregular shape of the roof, it’s assembled from several well-fitting parts. In fact, all the parts fit well thanks to Dragon’s famous engineering quality and accuracy.