I'm building a Stug at the moment. A lot of photos show a tool rack or other added device for holding fuel drums and gear on the back of the stug.

I've always built my kits out of the box. How do I build such a device? I assume out of plastic card etc. But actually, how? For eg, if I cut the card into stripshow easy is it to glue it all together?

kind regards
Digger

Digger,
I've got a link on my computer at home. I'll try to check it out tonight and post it. It has some good closeup shots of a fabricated rack on the back of a Stug.

hey digger,
there is no fast and hard rule for making racks on a StuG. they were all put on by shop personnel in the field. the mechanics either took strips of steel or angle iron and welded them on to the back of vehicles. the German military made extensive use of field modifications during the war. basically it is up to your imagination on how you want to set it up.

Chris Pig no.1

Hi Digger
I made a rack using thin Evergreen plastic card. It was my first 'scratchbuild' of any consequence.

I cut the plastic card into long narrow strips using my eyeball mark 1 to assess the dimensions from photos. I then fit the strips to the space available on the rear deck. It was very much a cut and fit method! The leftover shorter lengths/mistakes were used to make the vertical braces. I glued it all on before painting, and it is a fairly sturdy structure. Very easy, and it encouraged me to detail the hatches etc!

The result is here:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.php?set_albumName=albuq69&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

The rear 'brace' of a run of tracks is in a lot of photos I've seen. There was a lot of junk piled on the rear deck of Stugs, and I can see why a rack helped.

Cheers
Andy

If you are serious about a stowage rack, you should get a reference book on a Stug III. They are interesting to look at and usually provide good shots. To make the rack, you should get some spare photoetch fret use the strips to construct the rack. I am about to do the same thing for a Mark III and the photoetch is the perfect size for the job, as I saw from reference photos.
Good Luck,
Andrew

Digger,
I have sent, to your email address, 3 pictures that may help you. I did not post them here because I got them off of someone's website, but I don't know whose. I prefer, if I post pictures, that I know to whom to attribute them.

Thanks team.

I will try the methods suggested this weekend. My Styug is special to me as it is the only model my wife has ever bought me. She picked it because she liked the look of the box art with the crew and their dog.

I have been working on it longer than any other model as I want to make it as good as I can.

Cheers
Digger

That's funny! My Stug IIIB was a Valentine's Day gift from my wife!!!! I guess great minds think alike!!

Cheers
Andy

PS did you get my rather longwinded description via pmail?

Andy,

thanks for the advice - it seems your partner is the last of the great romantics.

It is funny why certain projects take on a special sinificance - i actually took 3 models down for judging last night to my local IPSM meetong. I got scores of 73.5, 78 and 81. When I got home my wife asked me how I went and whether I had taken HER model down for judging. I said i planned to take it next month for its first outing to get some feedback before judging.

I'm keen to get a little closer to 90/100 for it.

BTW 81 was for my T34/85 and is my best score yet.

Digger :-)