1:72 Sturmpanzer IV 'Brummbär' / Pz IV Ausf.H

The Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär from the UM brand

The UM brand has worked the heavy assault gun Sd.Kfz. 166 up as a plastic set completed with photo-etched metal where injection molding could not hold the necessary thickness. The finished machine measures roughly eighty-two millimeters in length, so it fits comfortably into a smaller display case and into a small scene with ruins.

The origin and the service of the machine

The design arose out of the need for the infantry to have a weapon that would break a brick building or a field fortification with a single shot. On the hull of the Panzer IV version H a tall armored casemate grew up and a howitzer in 150 mm caliber was built into it. The baptism of fire came in the summer of 1943 at Kursk; further machines served in Italy, in the suppression of the uprising in Warsaw and in the final fighting in the west. Later pieces received a machine gun in the front of the superstructure and a reworked commander's station.

What to watch out for during the work

Bend the photo-etched items over a metal ruler and fix them with small drops of super glue. The flat walls of the casemate are a rewarding area for shading dark yellow, but they forgive little, so lead the paint in thin layers and keep the transitions soft. Leave the wear on the edges and the deposit of dust around the tracks until the very end, otherwise they will be covered by further layers.

Who the set is suitable for

• lovers of German self-propelled weapons of the years 1943 to 1945
• modelers who already have experience with bending photo-etched parts
• builders of small urban scenes with ruins
• collectors of equipment derived from the hull of the Panzer IV

The package contains the parts for the build, not a finished product; obtain paints and glue separately.