1/56 Blitzkrieg StuH 42 Review

Second article for StuG week sees me reviewing Blitzkrieg miniatures 1/56 scale StuH 42.  You can read part one where I review Warlords new plastic StuG III here.

The StuH 42 was introduced into service in March 1943 and served right through until the end of the war. It was designed to provide greater infantry support capability on the proven StuG III chassis, and all but a few prototypes were built using the StuG III G Hull, and fitting it with a 105mm howitzer, with nearly 1300 being produced by the end of the war.


Blitzkrieg have a growing reputation for producing excellent vehicle kits in both 1/56 and 1/48 scale. The models couldn't be simpler to build and come in the bare minimum of parts. The StuH 42 consisted of a solid hull, separate gun, and separate hatches and machine gun mount, the model took around 5 minutes to build, and required the barest minimum of cleaning up.

When working with resin it's vitally important to wash the models in warm soapy water, and use a proper primer. I use an enamel car primer from Supadec, you can pick it up for about £5 on Ebay, although Halfords do a superb primer as well. It's important to use an enamel primer as it's much harder wearing and acrylic primers don't tend to get as much purchase on the resin as these. 

Once I'd left the primer to dry 24 hours I sprayed the model with Vallejo Middlestone using the same techniques to bring light and shade to the kit as described in my review of Warlords kit.

To make the foliage I use seafoam sprigs and leaves purchased from Antenocitis workshop. To prepare them select a sprig, paint it with pva glue and sprinkle it with the leaves. Leave it to dry for a few hours and then cut off some small amounts using references as a guide to the sizes used on the real thing.

Stowage and crew figures came from the JTFM/Die Waffenkammer kit, which is reviewed here

The only negatives to the model are that it doesn't have any Scurzen plates, and I found in a few places the detail wasn't as crisp as I'd like. On the plus side though the model is very strong, and couldn't be simpler to build!Overall Blitzkriegs StuH is a very nice and simple model and if you are pressed for time and want something ready to go pretty much straight from the box, its a great model.

Antenocitis workshop can be found here


Links to the other StuG reviews for Stug week can be found at these links

Die Waffenkammer
Rubicon
Warlord
Blitzkrieg miniatures can be purchased from here

As ever, my work can be viewed at Volley Fire Painting Services