Well, I actually got time over the past few days to start up on my Tamiya StuG IIIB with the teeny weenie aluminum barrel and all five PE pieces. I know, I'm such a rebel. Anyways, the kit is typical Tamiya, although there is an issue with the periscopes' mounting location. The instructions would have you thread it through an open hatch that it can't possibly fit in, but they have a correction on their USA website showing where it should be. Actually it's a no brainer, as there is only ONE hatch it can properly fit through.
Another thing to watch out for if anybody is building this. Sprue "E" is actually attached to Sprue "A" as there are two of them. Sprue "E" contains the correct movable suspension parts, not the ones on Sprue "A".
Enough about that, pretty basic build, no major gaps, but I did have to squeeze the front half of the lower hull to mate up with the upper hull, maybe a tiny bit of warp, but I've had the kit for six years in various temps through three moves, so could be all on me.
On to the photos:
For those of you who like free things to help with your modeling, I present the "Velveeta Cheese Mini Parts Holder":
Tried to use liquid masking film on the interior to show some wear, but I think it's a bit overdone. I used a toothpick on some smaller foot traffic area to show through the Panzer Interior Buff in some other areas more effectively.
Still have quite a bit left to do. Road wheels, sprockets and idlers need painting, haven't started on the tracks yet, and looking for a couple of misc items to throw on the back as it looks too empty. Also waiting on some Hornet replacement heads to show up for our fearless commander. The Tamiya kit head looks horrible.