Sturmgeschutz IV Sd.Kfz.163

Thanks Bill :) .. I bought some 2nd Pz decals for the kit today, so now I'm all set.

Liam

By late '44 and into '45 German vehicle markings became much simpler as a rule...and usually consisted only of the standard German crosses. You will still find some vehicle sporting numbers depending but much more common to see them without it as the end got nearer.

Much thanks Bish, looking forward to getting started on this kit :)

Its not uncommon to see pictures of StuG IV's without numbers. You say you found info which said the 2. Pz didn't carry vehicle markings in the early stages of the battle. In a battle of this kind, i can't imagine numbers being painted on part way through.

I think you would be safe not to apply any numbers on your StuG.

Thanks Greg! I was reading somewhere that the 2nd pz displayed no numbers during the early stages of Battle of Bulge.. Can this be confirmed for all AFV (mainly Stug IV) In the 2nd pz? If not what style of numbers did they use? 

German+Stug+advance+ +Battle+of+the+Bulge

I don't see anything on these two..

Archer Fine Transfers http://www.archertransfers.com/

AR35081 - Sheet contains markings for the 1st, 2nd, 11th, 21st, and the 130th Panzer Division including all known variants. ($6.95USD)

AR35082 - Sheet contains markings for the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 26th and 116th Panzer Division including all known variants. ($9.95USD)

And don't forget the Balkenkruez...

AR35104 - Sheet contains Balkenkreuz insignia commonly found on late WWII German armor. Sheet contains three most common sizes of the standard black and white insignias. ($7.95USD)

Thanks a million Bill! You've answered all my questions.. until now, haha. I've decided to stick my stug on a diorama during Battle of the Bulge with either the 2nd Pz.div or the 6th Pz.div. Anyone know where I can get decals to support this? 

Ok, I'll do my best to help out here.

1) StuG IV's first appeared in December '43 and served on all fronts from that point forward. So you can consider Italy, the Eastern Front, and the West after Normandy as viable time periods.

2) StuGs were assigned to many units but usually in their own battalions...and there were many battalions formed throughout the course of the war, far too many to list here. The StuG IV didn't receive any special consideration when assigned to a unit...it was after all designed as companion to the StuG III when StuG III production was interrupted by Allied bombing in 1943.

3) Stug IVs followed the same design timeline as StuG IIIs, so as StuG III features were introduced, they also appeared on StuG IVs. Zimmerit would've been present on StuG IVs produced from Dec '43 through Aug '44, so highly plausible to find one with zim also sporting whitewash in either the 43-44 or 44-45 winter setting. Schurzen were fitted on all StuG IVs throughout their production run so that shouldn't be cause for concern.

HTH!