YHR

I just received word from Mato that the Stug I have been waiting for is now ready for distribution. This will push everything off my bench as I get all the electronics stuffed in.

borealis

This new arrival was announced by the availability of unusual metal stug III parts in the past weeks.

Nice model, as the Pz. III is, even tough I prefer the 'pig nose' version.

karel47

one to watch but the price will be high again, but tamiya hasn't one of thes maybe considering to buy one ... w'll see and wait

nice addition though !

YHR

Yes, we knew it was coming (I had seen photos of it some while ago), but Mato has announced it is ready for sale now, and they prefer having stuiff ready before making an announcement.

Hiccups and production delays can create some issues with customers, so their motto is when the tanks are in the production line make the announcement.

Cheers

Panther F

It looks like the return wheels are mounted correctly too.

This should make Dan very happy with this release.














~ Jeff

MAUS45

How Much!!!!

Panther F

You can always install this:

[link=http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-16-ATAK-MODEL-16A03-SAUKOPF-MANTLET-StuG-III-Ausf-G-HENG-LONG-KIT-/130865286288?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D11%26meid%3D6239047481174771939%26pid%3D100 011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D4%26sd%3D130850858534%26]'pig nose'[/link]














~ Jeff

Rustytrax

very cool

DirtyBird69

Kind of funny how The Taigen Stug is also scheduled for release next week......already got mine reserved...

sevoblast

ETO had the two other Atak Stug kits at this time. The mantlet will be in stock soon along with the all inclusive field mod kit.

http://www.etoarmour.com/products.php?ViewCategory=58

DirtyBird69

I was going to get that kit as well lol...I was curious were those cast armor pieces field mods or something done at the factory? Also were they welded on?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130851900073...84.m1438.l2649

YHR

I am guessing about the same as the PZIII so probably in the $600 range. This is a completely metal tank with torsion bar suspension. Comes with GB and motors, but no electronics.

YHR

Totally different tanks

DirtyBird69

I know..just funny how two different companys release their versions ofthe same tank the same week....

Panther F

Except for the mantlet and the shot defector in front of the cupola, they are field mods with the concrete up front, the logs and T34 tracks.














~ Jeff

MAUS45

Hi Robert,

Will ETO have the mantlet with the coaxial MG port and shot deflector as well, 16A04?

Thanks,

Rudy

sevoblast

Yes, we will have all 4 kits in stock. We have two now plus the waffle pattern zim sheets. I expect the kits to be in stock by the end of next week.

tomhugill

Dirtybird, whats the price of the taigen stug? The panzer 3 are £350 on ebay over here which considering what your getting is stonking! Im very very tempted. Plus its nice and small so I might find a place to store it!!

DirtyBird69

From what I'm being told by Tony, he figures about $289(U.S.) but might be a bit lower...and that's with 2.4 GHZ radio and all asiatam upgrades..pretty sweet deal...he said he'sgonna start unpacking them today and post some pics by tomorrow(he just received them yesterday). He only got 3 at the moment(one is mine), but will be getting more..

dyeager535

My Feedback: (1)

Aww c'mon, after all the work I've done on my Asiatam StuG?? lol

Are there more pictures anywhere? It looks to be a fairly close copy of the HL StuG, I'd like to see more of the innards, underside of the superstructure, etc. Hopefully no horrid gap under/between the superstructure and hull as on the HL StuG.

MAUS45

I like that they corrected the return rollers, but wish they had left the lower hull side escape hatches off.

There were very few early StuG's that had them. The Panzer III had lost this feature by the "M" version and the StuG's didn't have it any more by the "G" version. The only StuG's that had them were StuG's built on returned Panzer III hulls that were being rebuilt after major damage to their upper hulls. So it would be rare and not often that a StuG III G would have them.

Still gonna get one just hate grinding off the escape hatches in metal!!!!

YHR

There was a chance a stug G had the escape hatch, and that chance is enough for me to leave it alone

Tanque

I'm curious. What are the real benefits to an all metal model in 1/16 scale? I'm not attempting to be adversarial but what are the benefits?

I can think of increased weight possibly improving performance as one benefit.

In my primary scale 1/10 I work mostly in aluminum, steel and brass because it's just easier. If I make a casting and don't like it I can throw it back in the
crucible and start over. Steel parts are fairly inexpensive to make and if I bugger something besides the annoyance factor I'm not usually out a lot of money.
But attaching accessories and other non cast parts it's best to braze, screw or rivet things together as possible. I wouldn't believe those first and last options aren't really an option for
zinc alloy hulls. Given the sort of self "lubricating" nature( hence the use in bearings) of zinc alloys adhesive cohesion isn't the best. And zinc being at times brittle it isn't a joy to thread.
Not really possessing high tensile strength you need to be careful when tightening screws in zinc components.

That said and having Asiatam's Elefant and Famo is an all metal model really a superior choice to a hybrid metal / plastic model such as a Tamiya or a Heng Long with
Asiatam lower for a 1/16th scale model? The hybrid gives you improved strength over a strictly plastic lower but the ease of modification a plastic upper offers....

Just curious what the consensus is. I find the all metal models intriguing however rather costly and somewhat constraining.

Jerry

DirtyBird69

AGREED, too many folks get caught up in this "all metal" craze and dont realize what they lose in the process.......

YHR

For me the attraction is all metal, torsion bar suspension and what I believe is a superior lower hull for rigidity and strength over the plastic/metal combo's

The metal does add a degree of difficulty to modifications though and that is why I passed on the Mato Tiger Metal upper. TOO much work to fix in metal. However the Stug and PZIII are good models, and you are not really losing anything. The fact that all the tools are attached with screws and nuts means you have a tank that isn't going to have parts falling off when bumped and knocked around. I think they will be solid tanks in the field.

If the metal is done well it has an attraction all of its own. The answer is metal is to tanks, what peanut butter is to jelly.

Mato is focusing on this and will be delivering more at a price point lower than Tamiya plastic. I think a metal Sherman is next.