Tamiya 35087 WWII German Sturmgeschuetz IV 1/35 Scale Plastic Model Kit

Tamiya ventured into the modeling business in 1948, with a scale wooden ship model kit. Since then, Tamiya has been striving to offer merchandise that can truly be called 'First in Quality Around the World.' Now Tamiya is offering more than 300 different products, both in the fields of precision static models and high performance radio control vehicles. These products are not only sold in Japan but also exported in vast quantities to the United States, Europe, South East Asia, and to many other parts of the world. The standard of excellence achieved by Tamiya is regarded as among the very finest in the world of model hobbies. The Sturmgeschutz (storm or assault gun) was developed in the 1936-39 period to provide armored support for the infantry. This came about largely because the new tanks being produced were destined for the panzer (armored) divisions. In a battlefield situation there was no guarantee that tanks from an armored division would be available to support the infantry. Thus the idea of the assault gun regiment organic to an infantry division came about. The new assault gun developed was based on the Panzerkampfwagen III Designated Sturmgeschutz III, the assault gun had a low superstructure with its main armament mounted in the superstructure front and given limited traverse. Pre-production vehicles were battle-tested in the invasion of France in May 1940, and then ordered into large scale production. The original idea was for a vehicle able to give fire support for the infantry, but it was soon discovered that an anti-tank capability was even more important. Later models of the StuG III led to the StuG 40 in early 1942, a StuG III with either a 7. 5 cm Sturmkanone 40 L/43 or (later) a Sturm Kanone 40 L/48. In 1943, production of the Pzkpfw III was phased out as being at the end of its development as a gun tank. Because of the great losses of tanks on the Russian front General Guderian suggested that StuG III vehicles be issued to tank divisions as they were cheaper, simpler and quicker to build than tanks. This would have created an even bigger increase in StuG III output which was already insufficient to meet demands. So it was decided in a conference with Hitler in November 1943 to use the chassis of the Panzerkampfwagen IV. The object was to use this new Sturmgeschutz IV for the panzer divisions. This would greatly simplify maintenance as the panzer divisions. This would greatly simplify maintenance as the panzer divisions were all equipped with the Panzer IV tank. A prototype was already in a month, using a superstructure from StuG III production output. As the Panzer IV chassis was 46cm longer, and 8 cm lower than the StuG III it was necessary to weld in an extra forward deck plate, and superstructure side strips, to fill the gaps. On the left front of the superstructure an armored box (with two periscopes and a hatch) was built forward to cover the driving position.'This finely detailed plastic model kit requires assembly and painting.