Tamiya's Nashorn, x2! What could go wrong...

[NotDaMama]

Good morning all! 

 

So, as the title suggests, two of Tamiya's 1/35 Nashorn kits will be built and shown on this thread, one built by me, the other by a friend of mine, hopefully building at the same pace!

 

The plan is very simple; both kits will be built mostly OOB, they will have the same markings and both will be in winter whitewash. A first for both of us and one of the reasons for this unusual build plan! The differences will be small, my friend Tom has Fruil tracks and an aluminium barrel he will use, I will be adding Kaizen ostketten based on anecdotal evidence of their use on the Nashorn and earlier Hornisse. Dio bases may or may not be included, it depends on how successful this is andvwhether or not the whole snow idea works.

 

No idea how often updates will be but I'm hoping at least one a week to keep things moving. Tom has his kit already, mine is winging it's way, slowly, to me at the moment so building should begin at the end of the week. In the meantime, I have the Kaizen tracks and I'll post up on this build a quick rundown of them. I'm also hoping to update the progress to YouTube, so I'll link in here if all goes according to plan! The best laid plans of mice and men, and all that...  

 

Well, that seems a d*mn sight more complex and ambitious than it did two weeks ago. Let's see how long it takes before it all goes horribly wrong. 

 

and we're off! 

[Blaubar]

Interesting plan.

Good luck to both of you.

[Ozzy]

Sounds an intresting project. 

[NotDaMama]

Thanks Blaubar! 

Ozzy, I'll do my best not to disappoint, but if this goes even remotely according to plan I'll be impressed! Haha. 

 

So, the good news is the little red van that I'm sure occasionally steals my post has finally been and I have a Nashorn in my corner making the Mrs look at me in a decidedly unhappy manner. To say I'm impressed with the kit would be an understatement. 

 

I've build some of Tamiya's newer offerings, such as their Panzer IV J and the Tigers and felt they were pretty good given Tamiya's older kits and moulding. This kit though is a long way removed from the 90's quality! For a start there's a single piece barrel, saving all those frustrating moments where you're sure you've lined everything up right but you've still got a cracking step in your otherwise smooth gun. There are MP40's delicately moulded into their retaining brackets, quite subtle detail for the fighting compartment floor and gas mask canisters that don't look like baked bean tins at last. The wheels are a high point, very well moulded and definitely look the part with the separate hubs, and the 88mm rounds are well detailed for plastic. Figures are very well done with an attempt at a fabric pattern applied, however I'm not convinced it's anywhere near right. Having one of the reversible smocks myself I'm pretty sure it shouldn't crinkle quite the way Tamiya's designers seem to think. Other than that the detail is very good right down to the "sharp" rims on the steel pots to replicate the appearance of the later M42 helmet (opposed to the "rolled" rims of the earlier M40) 

Although they're vinyl the tracks are well done and would look fine if I wasn't currently obsessed with the idea of replacing them with ostketten. They can sit in the stash should I need them at a later point. 

The main upper and lower hulls, the side armour and the gunshield are all well moulded, if a little thick for the scale (I really have no objection to this as I feel it makes the kit look more substantial and I'm not a fan of the available AM parts for Nashorn armour) and the instructions are a lot clearer than they used to be. I particularly like the additional sheet detailing marking and painting options, including, at last, both sides of the vehicle! It's only taken how many decades?? They have gone a little overboard with their explanations of how not to screw it up though. That in mind, I am almost guaranteed to find new ways they haven't yet thought of to make this far more difficult than it needs to be 

 

The Kaizen ostketten look very good, a lot of sprue marked L and R (which will no doubt not help...) Well moulded links and a minimum of clean-up. There are ejector marks though and they will need sanding down but that's a small price for workable track. Speaking of which, there's a small bag full of brass rod included to act as the track pins. 

 

As I'm having a serious disagreement with photobox (who isnt?) Pictures will be forthcoming a little later. So far the plan is to start work Monday sometime as the weekend is unfortunately booked with domestic things that have neither tracks nor armour  

 

Back soon!

[NotDaMama]

Well, just as predicted, my best laid plans are currently going nowhere, but at a rapid pace! Tomorrow should see the start of the building proper but unfortunately it's unlikely to go up on YouTube as planned, at least not from the start. My partner had agreed to provide the camera but before this could happen my young son managed to get his hands on it and, well, I'll leave the details to your imagination but needless to say it needs cleaning. Properly. 

In the meantime, I bring photos! First up, a look at the kit itself:

As you can see, nicely moulded, quite a bit of detail, limited flash. Whilst not as highly detailed as the likes of Dragon I think this is still one of the best of Tamiya's offerings. 

The instructions are also nice and clear. The scheme we will be following for this build will be Pommern from the 519th Schwere PanzerJager Abt in late '44, I will be using the camo pattern outline from the vehicle on the next page as the base and then applying a whitewash over this. 

 

The Kaizen tracks haven't been brought out of their bags yet, I'm deliberately keeping everything together for now to ensure nothing wanders off before I need it. The kit does claim to have enough links for both sides of a Panzer IV with links for spare, but if the carpet monster, or my son, hear that then I'll be one too few for sure! 

 

Sorry the track pictures aren't the best, better ones will come when I start work on them. So far my plan is to get the running gear installed and then work on the track straight after, hopefully preventing any serious fit issues before they occur. 

 

Tom, building the other kit, will be using Fruil tracks and an aluminium barrel once both have been ordered. Unfortunately when he ordered the original barrel he didn't spot that it was only 1/72... He has however cracked on with the crew helmets: 

This was done by applying a base white primer, Panzer Aces white and then, using a sponge, gunmetal was applied to create the wear effect. 

 

Hope you like the plan and the progress, what small amount there is so far, more soon! 

[NotDaMama]

Well, I've successfully managed to leave it a whole ten days without posting an update, though in my defence I have been pretty unwell. That's my story and I'm sticking to it... 

In the meantime I have been able to make considerable progress on the Nashorn, as has Tom, despite his working something in the region of 18 hour days, 6 days a week (something about needing overtime to develop a stash... can't think what he means! ) So far the Carpet Monster has struck repeatedly, though with only one fatality. Tom has lost a small lifting hook from the upper hull but Tamiya have agreed to replace this, for a price (£5.50 for the part and £4.50 for the shipping ) and he should be back on track in the next couple of days. His new barrel has arrived and this time its the right size! In addition to the barrel he's been hitting the hobby shop for the following:
AFV Club bras 88mm shells

Mig Ammo face paints set

Streaking effect and winter grime effect

This is in direct contrast to my wallet being taken off me with the words "kit moratorium" being muttered at me by Mrs Mama... Looks like I'm stuck with what's hidden in the tool boxes! 

 

So onto the progress. First, mine (purely because I'm writing this. When he writes, he can go first)

As I am still planning to paint using my Aztek I've assembled as much of the upper hull as possible but left the hull sides and rear separate. So far the build has been pretty straight forward really. No surprises, simple instructions, nothing overly complicated, a typical Tamiya build really, except of a much higher quality. As you see below we have the detail of the upper hull less its armour:

Foolishly I left off the fenders. This was a bad move as not only do they attach through the usual hole and peg (you can see the mount above the final drive) there is also a small peg on the underside of the overhang that sits on top of the vent panel. This meant a lot of pushing and fighting and generally feeling stupid in order to get the parts to fit. Fortunately there is no lasting evidence of my stupidity as I made sure to remove it all. 

The side armour was quite simple to assemble, no surprises there but there are quite a few ejector pin marks. Most were slightly raised and easily removed, the deeper ones will be covered by the internal fittings once the kit is fully assembled so I haven't taken the time to fill them. I have deliberately fitted the two MP40's and not the MG34 as the '34 mountings are sufficiently small to be hand painted without being obvious, whereas I felt the MP's would stand out too much if I used the same method. 

These plates will stay separate until the painting phase is finished, then it will all be brought together in order for the weathering to blend everything. Looking at the photos I can now see the pin marks on the rear plate that I'd totally forgotten about Well, I know what tomorrows job will be. So far, the most frustrating part of the build has been attempting to get the travel lock unlocking wire fitted correctly. After much fighting and flattening I managed to get everything spot on: 

Then promptly squashed the blasted thing flat to the hull when I manhandled the hull to test fit the tracks  After some messing about it's about as good as it can be, after a good squishing, so I'm making every effort not to repeat the error. As you might notice from the picture above, I've had some issues with my poly cement. I was using a Humbrol thin liquid but over the course of a day the middling amount left in the jar turned from thin, free flowing fluid to thick, sticky, unwieldy rubbish. Unfortunately I didn't spot it until it was too late and I have a few joints where its obvious things are not as they should be. I'll try and clear them up but not sure how successful I will be. Still at a loss to explain what happened with the cement so if anyone has any experience here I'd welcome anything they have to say. 

Currently we are at this stage, just a few more internal fittings to assemble and then the gun:

 

On to Tom's Nashorn!

As mentioned he has lost a hook, but this will be replaced quite soon, and has a small shop worth of additional things to use with the kit:

He also tells me that he should have the Fruils in his possession soon but hasn't yet got a date. 

We have approached the build in pretty much the same fashion, and we both plan to airbrush the base coats at least, but Tom has opted to attach his fighting compartment armour first after test fitting everything. 

Much of the interior will remain missing until the painting is finished, same as with mine.You get a good idea of the floor details from the following picture: 

 

The next phase for Tom will start once the missing hook arrives (you can see the mounting hole on the inside plate at the top) and he'll move on to finishing up the interior fittings and the gun. From what he tells me these should be separate too for now and then fitted once primed at least.  

 

I had expected two very different approaches to this kit but its come as a bit of a surprise that, whilst neither of us is following the instructions really closely, we are pretty much building in the same steps as the other, the main differences being our approach to painting. 

 

Next up, the Kaizen Ostketten!!

 

Edited March 25, 2017 by NotDaMama

[NotDaMama]

I decided to split these posts as I've moved on to do some of the track work whereas Tom hasn't received his fruils yet.

 

From the beginning you'll remember I got hold of a set of Kaizen Ostketten. For those not familiar, Ostketten were designed on the back of the Winterketten to provide German medium armour and similar chassis vehicles with better footing and mobility during the Russian autumn and winter. Winterketten were standard tracks with long "tongs" cast onto the outer edges. Whilst they did as advertised they suffered from being easily broken off or distorted and were far too large to sit underneath the Schurzen of the mid-late war armour. To provide a more sturdy, improved track the Ostketten was designed. This is essentially a 400mm Panzer III/IV track link with a heavy duty extension cast from the outer edge. A comparison photo is included, shamelessly pinched from the great god Google: Winterketten on top, Ostketten bottom.

These tracks were pretty often seen from June of 1944 onwards, even being produced for vehicles such as the Hetzer, and there are plenty of images available of these tracks even being used into the summer in some cases. Originally we had wanted to do a StuG III F build, complete with Winterketten, but unfortunately we weren't able to locate a pair of StuG III F and fell back on the Nashorn. Whilst researching for that unfortunate false start I came across the Ostketten as well as anecdotal evidence of their use on the Hornisse, the predecessor to the Nashorn. This gave me the idea to add the Ostketten to this build, meanwhile I kept an eye out for solid evidence of their use. Below I have just that! 

Unfortunately it's only the one photo, it's not known where it was taken or the unit involved and nobody seems able to confirm whether this was a one off or something done more frequently. For these reasons I decided I can get away with it and nobody can really stop me  

Onto the kit! 

There are 220 links, 4 to a sprue, 55 sprues in the kit, along with (it claims) 38 brass rods (I have no idea as I was being terrorised by a small anti-tank child at the time of unboxing and then forgot to check when I got back to the kit later. Oops...)

The links themselves are very well moulded, very delicate and, I think, very highly detailed for indie link plastic track. 

 

I shall let you all make up your minds on these tracks, but personally I like them. They required minimal clean-up, fit together with no problems, work well once assembled and, once you've got the hang of it, can be assembled pretty rapidly. There is an opening only on the inner side of each link into which the brass rod is fitted. I found it best to fit the rod and then cut it in place (rather than pre-cut the rod into sections) as the length of rod needed varied from link to link. Once in place I applied a small amount of CA glue to the end of the rod to secure it into the track pin hole. In this way I made up 103 links for the right hand side. The only problem I encountered was, once the run had been assembled, it was banana shaped  Really not sure why that is, there isn't anything on the links that could have caused it and each link was easy enough to add to its predecessor. I can only assume there is a slight kink in the line of the holes as the bend of the track was very regular and even. Regardless, once installed they look fine and having the Nashorn sit on them for a while should train them into the right shape. 

For your viewing pleasure and your expert criticism:

Blinking big tracks they are! But they do look the business. Please ignore the wonky wheels, they aren't properly fitted yet, and the side armour is there so you can get an idea of how it will turn out in the end. I may still add another link into this run to increase the sag to more closely resemble that of the Nashorn pictured above, I haven't decided yet. 

 

Well I hope you've all enjoyed this so far, next update in hopefully less than 10 days! 

 

Panzer rückwärts!

Edited March 25, 2017 by NotDaMama
Edited because I'm totally hopeless at telling the difference between the 3 and 4 on a keyboard

[NotDaMama]

I seem to recall saying something about not making the next update 10 days away, or keeping up with regular posts, or something vaguely to that effect. Yeah, not happening! Oops...  

 

However! Once again I come bearing updates and further works resulting in tanky shaped things. Or, in my case, an exploded diagram of a tanky shaped thing:

 

The grey spots on the rear plate are lumps of Humbrol modelling filler, used reluctantly as I have temporarily misplaced my Miliput, filling the large number of prominent pin marks. This is probably the worst part of the kit for these, everything else is pretty much free of obvious marks or they are subtle enough to easily remove. I plan to let this cure for a couple of days then sand flat, previous experience with Humbrol's finest has not ended well if not left for long periods. Might be me, might be the batch, either way I'm not taking the chance this time. 

 

At this point I'm pretty much ready to start painting (filing notwithstanding), I've assembled everything there is to assemble and planned, roughly, how to proceed with the priming. I intend to use Tamiya's Hull Red as a red oxide substitute (my budget is currently about as large as the MoD's...), paint everything and then hit it with the old XF-60. Detail work will be done by hand on things like the MG34, ammo tins, gas masks etc as usual for me. 

 

The build so far has been quite enjoyable, detail on the kit has continued to impress and, despite various attempts to prevent progress, life has failed to stop both Tom and I reaching the same point at the same time (I am now going to hug the wooden bookshelf, having tempted fate so badly!) Tom has now ordered his Fruils and they should be with him by the end of the month, he has also located a suitable burnishing solution (AK Interactive, if I remember right) and has a backup method if that goes south. Still short on the hook however but he's in touch with the guys providing it this week so hopefully he will have the build complete soon. Here's a few progress photos, I'll split them for ease of reference. Top mine:

You get a good idea of just how big these Ostketten are from these photos. Tracks, wheels, sprockets and the spare wheels are all still loose. 

I used the blu-tak to balance the cradle whilst it dried. This led to Mrs Mama looking at me slightly odd. In my defence, it worked very well, though probably wasn't needed. 

I found the shell racks very well done, despite suffering some heavy pin marking on the back wall. I plan to hide this by arranging the shells to mask them. The single piece barrel is a nice addition and was pretty easy to clean up. 

Whilst the complete rounds are very nice, I wasn't too impressed with the spent cases so I bored out the neck with a small drill and a sharp knife. I'll do this to the other one too. 

Quick dry fit and it starts to look like a Nashorn! 

On to Tom's build:

Tom has elected to assemble almost the whole vehicle before painting, leaving only the internal fittings separate. I quite like the metal barrel and plan to build a second, summer scheme Nashorn at some point using this myself. No idea when that's likely to happen but we have to have ambitions! And reasons to increase the stash... 

All Tom needs now is the hook for the upper hull and he can prime that also. 

 

I have invested in a metal tow cable, as I am never impressed with the look of the string provided. Just doesn't look convincing to my eye so I have an Accurate Armour cable en route. Tom has acquired Tamiya's brass 88mm L/71 shells (he previously picked up the AFV club version but these were all expended cases with no heads!) and is currently making up his mind about painting the shell heads. I'm poor and therefore will be using the kit supplied plastic. I plan to paint a mix of brass and field grey in order to simulate the later anodized steel cases and the mixed nature of later war German ammunition. As for the tow cable, I decided against attaching it to the forward brackets and will attach it to the rear round the spare road wheels instead. Image stolen from Osprey Sturmartillerie und Panzerjager: 

I have no intention of making this Nashorn as filthy as that above! Any guesses where Tamiya have been looking for inspiration??? 

 

Well, that's all for this update, I make no promises about the next one other than to say it will include figures. And paint. And be about as terribly image heavy as all my others! 

 

Until next time!

 

 

Panzer rückwärts!

[spitfire1677]

A cracking pair of builds, I really will follow this closely

[NotDaMama]

Thanks Spitfire, just hoping we do it justice! 

[NotDaMama]

No update from me for last week as someone decided to provide nice weather and I couldn't resist frequenting the local public house. A choice between sunshine and armour and the sun will always win. Unless it's real armour on a sunny day, then it's all round win  

 

As I'm currently waiting to steal my father's compressor (his has a tank, mine doesn't) and waiting on Mrs Mama to finally acquiesce to me turning the table into a paint shop, I've made absolutely zero progress since last time. I've not been totally lacking in productivity as the figures are coming together nicely and I've done some work on a Tiger that's been sitting staring at me for months, but hopefully this week will finally see paint go down on my project. 

 

As for Tom, that's another story! The gent has been working away like a beaver, both in the office and on the bench, and I'm impressed with what he's done with so little free time! At this point he's primed with red oxide and has base coated with Vallejo Dunkelgelb (I shall ask which one he used in the end as there was some discussion on which of many paints gave the best match) And is now ready to apply decals! He's opted not to apply a camo pattern under his whitewash so will decal, gloss and then wash. 

 

As I'm away from the PC today pictures of Tom's work will follow in due course, likely later this evening! 

 

Panzer rückwärts!

[NotDaMama]

Given the long gap between my last post and now I thought I should provide a small update on how things are going. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get any photos uploaded recently (technical ineptitude on my part!) but progress has been made. 

 

Tom is now all but complete, has received his fruils and is working on those at the moment. I am miles behind as my attempt at airbrushing has not only failed but been frequently postponed by the interventions of the Anti-tank Infant. I had thought the base coat and the pre-shading had worked but, in the cold light of day I see I have such a thin coat of paint applied it might as well not be there... 

Steps are being taken to ensure some work gets done this week and I'm having Mrs Mama upload my photos this time! 

 

More soon!!!

[Badder]

I love this kit and built one myself, but managed to completely destroy it literally moments from completion! There is a WIP somewhere 'The Nashorn is Dead' or something like that.

I bought the smaller PE set for this kit... floor plates and ammo boxes... but to be honest it wasn't really worth the money or the effort. The ammo cabinets themselves are good, but I found the racking inside to be almost impossible to construct and in the end I used the PE cabinets and the kit's racking. As for the 'floor plates' You get one small piece of brass plate which fits in the central floor 'recess' directly beneath the gun's breach. Hardly worth the effort... and a thin piece of plastic card would have done the job just as well.

There's a much bigger PE set with many, many parts, which would add greater realism and detail (fiddly as hell though) but I thought it too advanced and too expensive at the time. To give you some idea, the small and large PE set combined cost more than the kit itself!

I never got round to building the figures, so they reside in my stash. However, I thought that one or two of the figures suffered from poor design. Some of their hands seemed awfully small, and one or two arms were badly proportioned. I suppose though that these faults wouldn't be so noticeable in the cramped conditions of the fighting compartment.

 

I will be purchasing another in the future, so I am following your progress with interest.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[NotDaMama]

Hi badder, hope you're enjoying the build so far. 

I had considered using the PE set but cost put me off straight away. As it is I think Tamiya have done a good job on the detail for this kit so unless you're interested in workable clamps and scale thickness armour plates I don't think it's much of an investment. That's just my opinion though, I know others will feel differently. 

I've come close to killing this one off myself, mostly with glue fingerprints (a lot of filing removed them!) And the attentions of the anti-tank infant! You forget how long a child's arms are until they're pawing your armour... damn shame yours suffered such a fate though, sorry to hear that. 

So far I've found the figures ok, they're about the same level as Tamiya's most recent but not up to the standards of some of Dragon's Gen 2 stuff. Having been test fitting them the slight proportion issues are a benefit in the fighting compartment though I'm far from convinced they've studied their clothing properly! 

Now that I've got the paint down I'll get an update done this weekend to show everyone how we're doing. 

[NotDaMama]

Still slogging away at the kit but unfortunately life has taken over and I've slowed to a crawl! There will be an update shortly, besides this, with a couple of pictures of where I am and some photos of where Tom has got to. 

[Badder]

Hi,

Any progress on the Nashorns? I was really enjoying this thread.

 

BTW,  have committed myself to getting a replacement.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[NotDaMama]

Hi Badder. 

Things are ticking away, slowly! Everything on mine is ready for the whitewash but I've been having a hard time getting the practice runs to do what I want. Until I'm happy I won't accidentally murder the Nashorn I'm a bit stuck I'm afraid, but new approach to be tried this week and hopefully it's then into weathering! I've noticed, though, that wherever I say hopefully, things go wrong 

Tom has managed to finish his up and actually get a dio base done for it, so when I can convince the Mrs to permit me to fill her website with armour again (thus avoiding the evils of photobox) I'll get some shots of his work up. 

 

Excellent news on the replacement, when does construction likely begin? Be interested to see another take on this kit, it's been good. 

 

Panzer, rückwärts!

[Kev The Modeller]

Hows the build going mate? 

[NotDaMama]

Hi Kev

 

Well and truly stalled would be the best answer! Needing airbrush time yet between family, work, health and the impending free model season (a.k.a Christmas) I've found myself stuck with 3 tanks in need of painted tracks and no time to actually do anything about it. On the plus side I do now actually know what colour I'll be using, but that's not much consolation! 

 

As the Mrs has a potent allergy to German armour I am regularly harassed about their continued presence in the kitchen, so hopefully her displeasure will result, soon, in me being banished to finish them. I can only hope!!! 

[Badder]

2 hours ago, NotDaMama said:

As the Mrs has a potent allergy to German armour I am regularly harassed about their continued presence in the kitchen, so hopefully her displeasure will result, soon, in me being banished to finish them. I can only hope!!! 

Hi, glad to hear your Nashorn is still 'in progress' even if that progress is at a standstill. At least it hasn't been 'put down' like mine was.

I am determined to get another Nashorn, but for the time being I am working on my diorama, only taking a break to take part in the Sherman GB in the new year. Of course work on my diorama has prevented me from making any armour at all, but the temptation to purchase long-desired kits has been too hard to resist.  I've only gone and increased my AFV stash three-fold!

 

I look forward to seeing your Nashorn 'on the charge' again, but fully understand that life gets in the way sometimes.

So, good luck, good health,

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Kev The Modeller]

6 hours ago, NotDaMama said:

Hi Kev

 

Well and truly stalled would be the best answer! Needing airbrush time yet between family, work, health and the impending free model season (a.k.a Christmas) I've found myself stuck with 3 tanks in need of painted tracks and no time to actually do anything about it. On the plus side I do now actually know what colour I'll be using, but that's not much consolation! 

 

As the Mrs has a potent allergy to German armour I am regularly harassed about their continued presence in the kitchen, so hopefully her displeasure will result, soon, in me being banished to finish them. I can only hope!!! 

Fingers crossed for you mate.  I've got a Dragon Nashorn in the stash, it doesn't have figures though which is a pity and their figure kit only cover their Marder 111 I think it is.