Sturmi Platoon

The Finnish army in 1944 received several StuG model G self-propelled guns from Germany. This Sturmi platoon represents one such unit. When I decided to paint up these 'tanks' I first considered using the color pallette recommended at the Flames of War website. While I liked the camouflage pattern a lot, the recommended colors looked far to vivid in my mind to provide proper concealment. Further research on the Internet led me to www.andreaslarka.net, a fantastic website dedicated to Finnish armor. After looking at the photographs of the restored tanks and StuGs there, I decided to try to emulate the look of the tanks in natural light. This is my attempt. They're missing some Finnish national insignia, which are on order. When they arrive I'll add them to the models.

The StuGs supplied to Finland lacked the additional schurzen armor plates, which were added as protection against bazooka attacks. In place of these the Finns placed large logs on the side of the StuGs, holding them in place with steel banding. Since no figure manufacturers make Stugs with this addition, I had to modify these Battle Honors 'stock' StuGs with my own improvised log armor made from styrene rod and flat stock. In order for the log armor to fit properly I also had to significantly modify the models by removing most of the spare track that was mounted on the side of the tanks leaving just enough showing to not look 'funny'. It was fiddly work, but well worth it to have my Finnish StuGs properly adorned. Since I was going for a realistic look I also made sure to slop some mud on the tracks and fenders and cover the body with a suitable amount of dust and dirt.

If added to my force as a Finnish Sturmi platoon, these tanks are considered fearless veterans costing 315 points. Far too expensive to add to my 600-point force, but viable for my force at 1000 or more points. I haven't decided for sure yet, but if I choose to use these in my 600-point games, I'll only use two of them, posing as an allied German assault gun platoon. The German option allows me to use only two StuGs and they're considered confident veterans, priced at 190 points. A 600-point army using them this way would look something like this. This is the cherry on the top of my 600-point Flames of War painting challenge. In 10 calendar days (7 painting days available) I was able to complete 930 points of troops, primarily comprised of infantry and man-packed weapons. It's not a Scott MacPhee level accomplishment, but for me it's pretty fulfilling.