Sd.Kfz.167 StuG.IV Early Production

The Ryefield Stug IV 1/35 is a highly detailed model kit. Due to the high number of small parts in both plastic and photo etch, a high level of manual dexterity is required. I opted out of making the tracks workable as the track pins were too difficult to line up with the track pin holes, even with the provided track assembly jig. Therefore, the tracks were built up as non-workable link and link tracks. Each link has a solid guide horn and they are very detailed. The kit's side armor plates are made from thin sheet metal and are true to scale for this kit. The kit only includes a wound piece of string to make the towing cables. Mounting these cables on the rear of the vehicle can be an arduous task as two must be made and then mounted on top of each other. The side fender assembly is somewhat troublesome due to the method of attachment called out for in the instructions. The instructions include six color printed option markings. This model kit is highly recommended for intermediate to advanced model hobbyists due to some of the build issues mentioned in this review.