Before the slaughter - Stug IV in Argentan
Stug IV at Falaise Pocket

Two years ago, I accidentally bought an old Stug IV model kit from Tamiya. I hadn't finished a kit in over 20 years, but I knew this would be the first one I would work on properly. My desire was to place it in a diorama, and I had knowledge of the realities of the Normandy landings in 1944.

It turned out during the project that the decals available with the model did not correspond to historical reality. None of the units whose emblems were depicted on the decals were likely to have received this model. The only Wehrmacht unit that probably used the Stug IV on D-Day was the Panzerjäger-Abteilung 331 unit of the 331. Infanterie-Division. On 11 August, the unit reached the vicinity of Argentan, securing the corridor through which the German forces encircled at Falaise were to pass. The unit managed to retreat and avoid encirclement, but suffered heavy losses in the process.

The model was intended to be painted with a brush only. The camouflage is fictional, as I could not find any photographs of Stugs from the 331. At the same time, it was a testing ground for different methods of applying camouflage (sponge, brush, etc.) and painting figures, which had never been tried before.