RE: This is my current project.
Today I painted the numbers and the crosses on the Stug. It had HL decals and they looked bad so I removed them. It was the last tank I put decals on, all the newer tanks have painted numbers and insignia, so it was nice to have it done. I also painted the Commander’s periscopes gloss black to look like glass. They were just camo before. I still have the headlight to install but it is painted now too. I put a tiny piece of clear plastic inside the headlight to defuse the LED somewhat and reflect outside light like a real headlight. The dark cavity with a LED showing bothered me. This rebuild is more than just about battle capability, it is a general upgrade in looks and performance too.<div></div><div>This brings me to a question… Where should I mount the HL machine gun LED?</div><div></div><div>I doubt the driver fired from his periscope, I think that is a HL invention and not historically accurate. I plan to leave it for now but my mind is looking into where to remount it later. </div><div></div><div>I have another tank with a DBC/DBU2 so I used it’s apple to plan the mount for the Stug. I have removed the upper part of the commanders’ hatch because it interfered with the apple and it looks like it will mount nicely this way. I can still replace the hatch assembly anytime so no looks are compromised. It ends up with the IR receiver only 6 inches from the ground, almost 2 inches less than the Panther, so this will be a low down sneaky AFV.</div><div></div>