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Stug III Ausf D...

...an example at the War and Peace Revival Show, 2016

When I arrived at the War and Peace Revival show, held at the old Folkestone Racecourse site in Kent for the 2016 show, I was only just making my way from the car park at the back of the showground towards the display arena and the main display and trade area when I saw a desert camouflaged Stug driving up the roadway towards me.  At first I imagined it to be one of the modern Stug reproductions which have been regular visitors to the show, replicas built on the chassis of the British FV 432 APC.  These were built for TV show such as Band of Brothers and the film, Saving Private Ryan.  But as it got closer, and when I could see the running gear up close, there was the realisation that this was a genuine example of a Stug II Ausf D, and not a replica.  As Bronco Models have done a 1/35 kit of just this variant, the photos should be a helpful reference.

The Bronco Models kit has additional fittings to represent one of three examples of the Stug III which was sent out to the Afrika Korps in North Africa.  All three were captured and set to be returned to the UK for evaluation.  As I understand it they were all loaded aboard a cargo ship though one was soon jettisoned into the sea in the Mediterranean and just two actually got back to the UK.  One was dismantled and essentially lost, while the other ended up as a range target.  It was that range target that was recovered in recent years and has since been restored to running condition and in the colours and markings it would have worn in North Africa.  They were operated by Sonder Verband 288 while there, and markings for the unit are provided for the kit.

Later in the day, as I continued my walk around the vast showground area, I found it once more, parked up in their allocated display area.  The owner had spent a number of years restoring the vehicle and it had only been completed a month or two prior to War and Peace, so this was one of its' early outings.  I must say I found it a real pleasure to see and hope this selection of photos will be of interest to any modeller building the Bronco Models kit.  For details of the mode I did review it while I was looking after MilitaryModelling.com so I have provided a link to that review, with details of what is in the kit, at the end of this page.  I hope modellers will find these photos helpful.

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Robin

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