Tamiya StuG IV Build question

Armor/AFV
1

I am building the Tamiya StuG IV, my first model in 4 years. I wanted a cheaper older kit to practice some airbrushing and zimmerit application on before moving on to the tamiya elefant.

I am building the gun right now and ran into a curiosity in the build. When the gun is fully elevated there is a decent gap under the mantle. I can’t imagine this is supposed to be there but I can’t seem to find any errors in my build. Everything is racked together right now so if I did make an error it isn’t permanent. Has anyone built this kit and able to comment on if that gap is supposed to be there?

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2

Well Im not a StuG expert but looking at some pictures shows that there is a little inside lip that doesn’t completely cover that area, as shown in this pic.

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I may be wrong though but here are some more picture that may help.
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It almost looks to me like it goes straight into the interior…
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It honestly looks to me like it goes all the way though but as I said I may be wrong.
You hopefully may find this video a little helpful.

3

Thanks for the pictures, still can’t tell if the gap should be there. Anyone know definitively?

4

I’ve never seen a STUG with it’s barrel elevated so high. This is an anti-tank weapon, after all, not a howitzer.

From what I have seen in pictures, there is a small shied around the gun and an opening into which it sits. Apparently this gap let in the rain as you will often see a canvas shroud surrounding the opening.

5

I did notice that the gun was too high elevated and had come detached from the roof where I had tacked it. The gap is smaller than the picture but still there. Yeah I agree! I do not plan to display it with the gun elevated that high at all, I just put it at that angle to emphasize the gap.