Cyber-hobby 1/35 StuG III ausf B

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia, was the world’s largest ever military operation both in terms of its scale and the price paid in casualties. On June 22, 1941, more than 4.5 million German and Axis troops attacked Russia along a 2,900km front. As well as these soldiers, the enormous military undertaking involved 600,000 vehicles and 750,000 horses. Barbarossa continued into the winter of December 1941, by which time the attack had faltered at the very gates of Moscow. Russia committed 3.2 million soldiers against the initial assault, and later fed in 5 million further soldiers. One of the armored fighting vehicles that Germany made good use of at that time was the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun. Based on the chassis of the Panzer III tank, this successful vehicle eventually became Germany’s most-produced AFV. One of the StuG.III variants employed during Operation Barbarossa was the Ausf.B, which mounted a short-barreled 7.5cm gun. A total of 300 StuG.III Ausf.B vehicles were built as close-support vehicles for the infantry.

The above from Dragon USA.

Cyber-Hobby is launching a useful set in its Orange Box line. The box includes a 1/35 scale StuG.III Ausf.B model kit accompanied by a set of four Wehrmacht infantrymen marching across Russia’s vast steppes. The vehicle and soldiers are perfect for depicting the summer timeframe of Operation Barbarossa, a campaign that marks its 70th anniversary this year. Both these items are classic Dragon items. The 1/35 scale figure set has not been available for some time, but the marching figures are as sharply sculpted and well-posed today as they were a decade ago when they were first released. As for the StuG.III kit, it has been upgraded with new Magic Tracks. This economical Orange Box set allows modelers to recreate a typical scene from Operation Barbarossa.

I think that Dragon USA's PR department has pretty well spelled things out. Cyber-hobby and Dragon have both done the modeler a real favor by reissuing older kits with extra bits and at a very nice price. This one is their venerable StuG III ausf B that comes with individual link Magic Tracks as well as a nice figure set depicting German soldiers from the time of the invasion of the Soviet Union. In addition to the individual link tracks, the set includes two very small photo etch frets that include engine screens and brackets to hold the barrel cleaning rod. The StuG is basically a pretty simple kit as tanks go so were it not for the links boosting the parts count, this one would be a real light-weight. As it is, it boasts 380 pieces.

Markings are provided for two vehicles, which is a bit unusual as normally these orange box kits only provide one set of markings. One is the box art kit from Abt. 142 with the Death's Head markings. The other from the popular 'unknown unit; Russia'. You do get a bunch of vehicle numbers so you can do variations that are appropriate. The well done instructions show where everything goes and provide Gunze and Model Master paint references. The back of the sheet offers painting instructions for the figures that go along with it.

If you want a very nice StuG III kit, figures, and don't want to pay a lot for it, then this is the kit for you.

September 2011

Thanks to www.dragonmodelsusa.com for the preview kit. Get yours today at your local shop or on-line retailer.

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