FOV Stug

[krieglok]

My sample of the FOV Stug arrived today. It is a very nice looking model. Stugs are a favorite of mine and I like this short gun, early war version.

The tanks has great detail and all the details are already installed. The one hatch that opens, reveals a painted interior wit minimal detail. The commander figure is a new sculpt with the proper body position to stand secure in the hatch which is slanted due to the slope of the top armor.

As we make our way down to the tracks and running gear, the disappointment sets in. The previous Stugs which FOV released had nice tracks and the running gear rolled smooth and true. Sadly, the new Stug has a cheaper, thinner track, no where near the quality on previous releases. The Front drive sprockets were molded in a fashion where they sit to far outboard of the hull causing the track to splay outward, giving the tank a akward appearance. This coupled with the cheapie track means the new Stug has poor rolling qualities when compared to their earlier versions.

In an attempt to rectify the drive sprocket problem, I removed the upper hull, then the sides of the lower hull to gain access to the wheels. The sprocket is held on with a heavy duty knurled axle. I grabbed the back of the axle with a pair of small wire cutters and held it while I twisted the sprocket off. It is very tight, but it does come off. Once the sprocket is off, the halves come apart. The problem lies with the inner side and a shoulder that causes the sprocket to protrude too far. This will be obvious to you when you have them apart. I ground the shoulder down with a dremel tool, taking off about 1/2 of the shoulder that was there. This was enough to get the sprocket back in line with the rest of the running gear. The outer half of the sprocket has a narrow shoulder which slides through the inner half. You have to remove the same amount of shoulder to get the sprocket to seat properly, about 1/16 of an inch. I then reassembled the sprocket to the hull sides by tapping the axle back in with a small hobby hammer. If you seat it too tight, just grab the axle with pliers again and lightly twist the wheel to get the desired freeplay.

This repair fixed the tank visually. The poor quality tracks still detract from the rolling feature of the tank, but it still rolls.

Finally, I found this tank to barely be a cut about the quality and detail of the 21st offerings. FOV seems to have cheapened their models and it shows on the new Stug. If I have occasion in the future, I will try a track swap with the earlier, better tracks FOV produced before. It will look better and probably perform better too.

TJ

[gary1930]

Hmmmmm. My tracks line up just fine.

I do have a complaint about the paint. The lower and upper hulls are completely different colors. And, as usual, it's a royal pain to get the model off of the base.

[tmanthegreat]

Not liking the sound of the new Stug. Funny how FOV is cheapening out now, yet drastically increasing in price. I just might hold off on this one for the moment...

[krieglok]

Hmmmmm. My tracks line up just fine.

I do have a complaint about the paint. The lower and upper hulls are completely different colors. And, as usual, it's a royal pain to get the model off of the base.

They tracked ok out of the box but if you compare it to one of the older versions, looking from the front, you will see a huge (big enough to bug me) gap between the hull and the sprocket. If you look from the bottom, the tracks diverge from the hull towards the front. Even if the tracks are lined up ok on yours, the track it self is a piece of junk- thin and lightweight when compared to their older versions. The tracks are tighter and when coupled with the generally loose road wheels idler and sprocket, the track rides only OK. I doesnt bother me that the sprocket teeth do not fit in the track holes as most models do that, but the track seems to want to jump off after an extended road march on the carpet...

One thing about the road wheels I noticed when I compared the old Stug and the new Stug was that the new Stug has the road wheels pinned on from the back of the wheel. This would be a visual improvement over the old versions which use a friction/split axle to attach the wheels from the outside.

The paint issue is interesting. If you notice how the tank was boxed it gives you a clue as to what happened there. They use the "chinese wire ties" to secure the tank in the box. There is noway they can insert these ties into the the tank when it is already assembled. I figure, the top and bottom are painted seperately, wire ties installed and then the tank is put together and boxed. That is my hypothesis on it at least...

I suggest looking at one in person before buying. I buy stuff sight unseen most times but I also dont mind panning a model if it isnt what I like or expected. I keep them and improve them to my liking. I feel that the quality is just not there for the money on this offering. New version, nice paint, nice sculpted figure but it should be more in the $25 range. Maybe someday the Chinese workers will price themselves out of a job and then we can pay premium prices for American made stuff instead

TJ

[Rowsdower]

I have a bad feeling that FOV line isn't going to last much longer.

[NHoggard12]

Does anyone know what unit this tank is from? I love knowing the unit. FOV used to include this, along with great detail and diecast.

[PanzerArm]

The stug is from the 192nd StuG Brigade, Eastern Front, 1941. I was changed in '42 to StuG Abt. Grossdeutchland.

-Kevin

[MG-42]

* I received mine yesterday and upon further inspection & review , I noticed ,.. "there's nothing wrong w/ mine and I bought two".

* Both upper & lower hulls are consistent in color and the running gear is just fine in which this is the only section where there is some dusty weathering applied.

............ maybe you guys just got a bad tank , cause there ain't nothin' wrong w/ mine.


* I think this tank is worth it , even though it's plastic ! ... Despite what FoV's claiming is die-cast metal on the box. Which technically , is flat out , False Advertisement !

......... my KV & KT w/ Porsche turret upper & lower hulls , are die-cast metal though.


- Mitch v MG