Tamiya 1/35 Sturmpanzer 'Brumbar', by Jack Bruno

The Sturmpanzer was one of those funky things the Germans came up with to destroy strong points and level city blocks. It was very cool looking but they lost the War, ya know? Built on the Panzer IV chassis it carried a crew of five and between Early/Mid/Late Productions topped out at 305 vehicles built. It saw action in Italy, France and Russia. It suffered from weight problems and gave way to the newer Panzer Jagers that were in development as the War turned into a defensive one for the Reich.

THE KIT

No information supplied

CONSTRUCTION

Wondering what to build one day, I perused my stash and came across the shelf full of the old Tamiya kits that were introduced in the 1970's. I alwayzz was intrigued by the Brumbar ever since building the 1/32 Kit from Monogram that featured the artful Diorama work of Shep Paine. Looking thru the parts, it went on the top of the build pile (yup, I've got one too) and I came across a few boxes of extra parts and it just hit me...........First I spied a Panzer IV set of Drive Wheels and then got out my bag of spare Magic Track........On Vehicle Tools too and I was in..................

I went according to the instructions and built this chassis first. I had to drill out out the mounting peg of the new Dragon drive wheel but that is very easy and not much trouble. Just make sure everything was lined up right. Getting together all of the Bogie Wheels was fun and only the sanding of each was tedious, but watching the Cubs lose another one was much more tear jerking. With all that out of the way I started to make the Dragon "Magic Track." The Dark Gray was for the left and light gray for the right.....a simple, glue-snap-next and before an Episode of watching Sheldon converse with Amy Farrah Fowler, I had almost the whole thing finished.. The only thing that you need to pay attention to is that I do a two thirds run and before the glue dries, wrap the track around the drive sprocket and return roller.......on German Tanks, add the appropriate sag. With the tracks done, complete with sag and the whole nine yards and did the rear (stop it) exhaust and mounted the large hull that was like a blockhouse on wheels. The Muffler got special attention from liquid glue and a stiff bristled brush to give it a Future rust look. I took a pencil out and drew lines where and where not I wanted the home made Zimmerit to be. I look at pictures off the net and decided on the pattern and unit (Italy, late 1943)..........For my zimmerit I use Tamiya polyester putty, the tube with the little green tube of hardener with it. I swear by the stuff. Using a toothpick I applied it, smoothed it out and when I was pleased with it I trolled the area with the Tamiya Zimmerit tool applicators. Within an hour it was done. I set this aside for a few days to dry and started something else. Modelers do that. A few days later , unfortunately during another Cub loss, I started putting all of the small fittings on the Tank and took this time to decide the colors and sawed the schurtzen into five separate sections on each side. I did not want the zimmerit job to be hidden behind shields. I kept stowage and other things to a minimum and opted to go with the Dragon tools that were molded much mo' betta than the old Tamiya stuff and mounted them where they should go. The hardest part of the build, and not very hard at all, was the mounting of the skirt hangers on the hull. A little patience and thought will get you by this easy. During your zimmerit process, keep in mind the mounting bars.....thus the pencil. Within a weeks time I was ready for paint.

COLORS AND MARKINGS

Truly, my favorite part of any build is the paint job.......God created GREX just for that reason. A full coat of Tamiya Flat Black out of the rattle can gave me a good base to start and filled in the nooks and crannies for the shadow effect I wanted. I over sprayed a Dark Yellow and went to a lighter shade and yet another. Time for the Kitty's strips and I used Vallejo Red Brown. As per the pictures the red brown camo did NOT go all the way down the sides of the Brumbar. It stopped right at the point the schurtzen would be covering up the hull, roughly half way down/up the sides. When this dried I gave it a coat of Future to get it ready for the oil washes and decals. The decals came from a Dragon kit (spares) and was a simple one digit number and a Balkencrauze. I gave these several applications of Solvaset and really melted them on so well people think I painted them. After these dried for a day I brushed some Future over the dried decals and started a Oil Wash just after that. I use Turpentine to cut the Windsor-Newton with. I like using Dick Van Dyke Brown and just start off light and build it up to to your liking. I wanted a very employed Vehicle so I used several applications. I got the LOOK I wanted and waited for it all to dry , then Flat coated it all with Vallejo Matte Flat. Your close, but not there yet...........alwayzz wanting a little more I started to dry brush are's with yellow/white oil paint. I had drilled out the top scope prior and now filled it with some Elmers Glue. When that dried it looked like glass. Time for Mig Pigments and I had a ball with several tints and a big brush. Using an eye-dropper I sealed the Pigments with Tamiya Thinner and there you have it. I did not mount the schurtzen and can put them on or off at my desgretion.

CONCLUSIONS

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and if this build taught me anything it is that there is life for those old kits you have in your stash that YOU think are no longer good. Using your head and having fun can prompt you to put spare parts and do substitutions where you can............this Sturmpanzer has done very well for me in the Contest Arena and now resides with a Collector.......and now, that Chi-Ha...................See Ya Next Time!!!!!!!

Jack Bruno

March 2014

KIT #:	35077
PRICE:	Cheap at a swap meet
DECALS:	?
REVIEWER:	Jack Bruno
NOTES:	Many additions