DML Sdkfz 164 Nashorn COMPLETE pics p.14 03-13-10

Thanks Steve! I debated with myself on whether or not to add the radios since the space there is so tight to begin with but once I had it test fit and installed I just knew they had to go on. Thank goodness for cannibalized spare parts from older builds...otherwise I would've had to scrounge some resin sets and that wouldn't have been cheap.

All caught up on this one and ditto on the ammo and the radio.  It all looks great.

Thanks Marc appreciate the comments as always.

I had hoped to get to the painting stage today but two things tripped me up. The first was simply an underestimation of just how many parts I still needed to clean-up and add to the vehicle and the second was the realization that I didn't have all the paint supplies I needed on hand in sufficient quantities! So that means painting the exterior will be delayed until tomorrow but will still get done this weekend.

Speaking of all those parts to add, I went back through the different steps and conducted a survey to be sure I didn't miss anything. I test fit the kit-provided Magic links with the spare track holder on the hull nose and the links can slide in and out without problem so I went ahead and installed B3 from way back in Step 4. I also returned to Step 18 and added the lifting eyes, parts A4, to the rear exterior but left off the cleaning rods until after paint. All of the details in Step 21 were also installed, this covered the crew hatches, all the various lifting eyes on the hull glacis, and also the lifting eyes for the fighting compartment side panels. The mount holes for the A20 eyes was larger then the eye itself so a little but of putty was needed to fill those gaps.

After checking references, I realized that the three lower eyes called for in the instructions aren't seen on the actual vehicles...both the surviving examples in Kubinka/Aberdeen and numerous in-action photos don't show these as being there so I filled their small mount holes with putty and left them off.

I also completed the details in Step 22 which deals with the Bosch light and the jack. I assembled the jack but left it off for now to make it easier to paint that area of the fender and the hull. The instructions have an error here in that they call for the base of the Bosch light as part B40 but you actually need to use B39 or the actual Bosch light will install backwards. I drilled out the armored connection point on the glacis as well as the port on the Bosch base with a #72 finger drill and added the connecting wire conduit with 0.5mm diameter solder.

Step 24 was the last one I needed to work on and it deals with the gun travel lock. The instruction show this already assembled which makes things a bit tricky as there are no less than 8 parts that go into the assembly and some of them are very small. I used a #78 finger drill to carefully drill out the small pulley that is part M23 to allow me to add the missing tension cable that allowed the gun travel lock to be disengaged by the gunner from the relative safety of the fighting compartment vs. crawling out onto the glacis to do it. I drilled this hole while M23 was still on the sprue since it is a very tiny part. The travel lock was assembled and I was careful with the base parts to allow the lock to remain workable. This will help not only in the painting process but also provides options in the final display between the gun being secured or not.

The tension cable was added using waxed 0.008" diameter ship rigging thread which I glued in place on the glacis with small amounts of liquid glue and used regular glue to glue it into the base of the travel lock. The thread has sufficient flexibility that the lock can be moved freely without causing the thread to break free.

Now I'm off to the LHS to rectify my paint supply problem and tomorrow this one's got a date with the spray booth!

Hey William LOOK what the Plastic Phantom left on the door step this morning.

Yours sure looks good man wonder how this one compares? I heard the ammo and ammo lockers match in size on this one.

Waiting for tomorrow

Tony Lee

Thanks Tony! Everything I've seen (haven't read any reviews yet) would indicate that the brand-new kit you've got is a winner. It has mostly earlier-type features such as the mud flaps, single integrated exhaust, bolt on armor for the splinter shield, etc. but has the later style travel lock. I'm sure in your capable hands it will turn out to be a show-stopper for sure.

Bill it really looks great so far. Tonys post there really makes me think what both would be like side by side,. interesting ?       I have the older one myself so don't think I will be hitting the new kit.

Looking forward to seeing when you get the paint on.

Terry.

Bill,

I have fallen behind on this build. I still can't get over the size of that gun in relation to the chassis.  One heck of a door knocker!  Your paint dilemma sounds very familiar.  Just when you think you are ready to squirt some color on it, you find something else that simply must be addressed.  I like what you did with the travel lock cable.

Cheers

Dave

Thanks Terry! Since DML has labelled the kit a "3-in-1" it will be interesting to see just what those options/variants are that they are providing. My guess is one is probably the command version but the other 2 possibilities are anyone's guess? Maybe Tony can be enticed to crack his open and let us in on the secret? When DML announced this one I could only shake my head...not the first time they've done that when I was already working on an older kit and/or had just finished one of the subject in question.

Dave, this one could really ring your bell for sure! The ironic thing is that I didn't need paint but needed mixing jars to be able to create a new batch of DY for the exterior...I thought I had some sitting around but no dice! Just as well though, the weather turned nasty yesterday afternoon with blowing dust and very windy so I wouldn't have been able to paint anyhow. Today the weather is nice though so it will get done! Glad you like the travel lock cable, threading the string was an exercise in patience for sure. Now that it's in place I can see just how glaring of an omission it is for it to not be there. DML addressed that in their newest release that Tony posted above though so it's only on the Premium kit that you have to do something about it.

OK you talked me into it Bill.  First thing I notice was the box was some what deeper than the older kit and with the top off the first thing that hits you right between the the eyes is the goody bag that always sits right on top of the pile.

The older Premium kit is on the left and there's not much reason to point out the difference as you can see.

There are 20 sprues in the new kit compared to 13 of the old one.  Once again Dragon finds it cheaper to give a good number of spare box parts than cut a new mold. Another thing of note is the casement sides are a third to almost half as thick on the edges and the intake louver panels that are molded in on the Premium and have to be cut out for the provided PE are separate and also are hollow between the vanes not solid as on the older kit.

Being a 3 in 1 kit you've got the option of building the "Initial", Initial Modified" or the "Early" and the instruction sheet even shows you what parts are used for your preference.

They provided a NEW lower hull tub for this one too with added details even.  You get Magic Tracks instead of the DS bands this time around.  I counted 18 nicely molded ammo rounds in there.

I'm not at all knowledgeable about the Nashorn and can't get into the nuts and bolts of the new kit but it sure looks the part to me.

I'll be looking for a professional review myself everyday.

Thanks Bill for letting me intrude on your blog.

Tony Lee

The much-anticipated time for paint had arrived so to get ready for it today I prepped the fighting compartment by masking it off with several strips of blue painter's tape. Some of the strips were cut in half and positioned in various degrees of overlap to maximize protection, especially around the gun.

The road wheels and other items for the suspension were also made ready by mounting them on wooden toothpicks. I used small amounts of blue poster tack putty to secure them in place along with my trusty styrofoam box. Since there are 36 road wheel halves, it's a crowded place!

The painting session began with the application of a primer coat of MM enamel Italian Dark Brown applied by airbrush. This allowed me to check all the putty and sanding work I'd done earlier and I made a few corrections in various spots and then touched up the primer before committing to the base coat.

The base coat was applied by airbrush using multiple thin coat passes to build it up sufficiently over the primer coat. I used a custom mix of MM enamel Light Gray and Panzer Dunkelgelb in a 50-50 mixture.

Next up was the camo pattern. I decided to apply a three tone pattern for a vehicle with the sHPzJgAbt 525 in Italy 1944 and used the kit provided finishing guide as a rough outline for the overall pattern. I applied the Rotbraun first by airbrush freehand using a 50-50 mix of MM enamel Military Brown and Leather. Then I added the Olivegrun freehand by airbrush using MM enamel Khaki. I went back over the pattern and cleaned up some over spray here and there with the original base coat color. Once I was happy with that, I heavily thinned down the base coat mix and sprayed it as a mist coat from about 12 inches distance to tie everything together. The masking was removed and it did its job well with only some very minor touch ups needed.

I also got the road wheels and other suspension items all done. They were primed just like the vehicle with Italian Dark Brown and then the rubber portions painted by airbrush using MM enamel Gunmetal. I used a draftsman's circle template to paint the hubs with the base coat mix used on the hull.

All told I spent about 5 hours working with the airbrush today and even though it was still a little windy and cold, it needed to be done so that I could move on. I didn't get the MK tracks painted, that's something I can tackle during the week since it can be done in short bursts and with a full week for the paint to cure, things are getting very close to the finish line.

Now thats what I'm talking about Bill!

   All the builds I've seen of the Nash have had the line pattern in either red brown or green so this one is definitely a change of pace. Looking forward to seeing it once you've blended it all together

I like the camo Bill. You do nice work, and thanks for the very in depth build logs they have been a help.

Bill - THANK GOD for painters tape.....one of the top ten things every modeler should use. Good stuff. Great camo work...looking good.

Also glad to see you have no ill effects from the metromodeling.....I know your mind is pure and the are no thoughts of wingy things

Rounds Complete!!

Wheels?  Did someone say there is some wheel eye candy here?  Yep there it is! 

Paint job is lookng great Bill!

"The travel lock was assembled and I was careful with the base parts to allow the lock to remain workable."

He made the travel lock workable.... 

What will he do next??

Steve, thanks for the comments! The scheme is one that appealed to me from the beginning and am glad you like it.

Jagdtiger1944, appreciate the kind words and am glad to know that the build logs are helpful for you.

Mike, in the interest of full disclosure I do have to say that as a kid I built many a wingy-thingy and when I came back to the hobby in late 2001 it was to AC before I turned to the darkside of armor! Painter's tape is good stuff for sure!

Boyd, thanks for the laugh! To be fair, what I mean by "allowing the lock to remain workable" is that the supports can move freely between the up and down position...not that the cable/latch mechanism is actually workable! The way the base parts are assembled is a "sandwich" approach with the hinge pins molded in place, so all you have to do is be very careful with the glue and voila! the travel lock can remain movable. Just didn't want to claim any kind of super-human accomplishment like having the spring-loaded release on the lock actually remain workable.

Yup, there it is.  I knew as soon as I saw the road wheels, Edmund would not be far behind. LOL

Cheers

Dave

Very nice.  I think your interpretation of  "dark yellow" is spot-on....

Edmund, I had a feeling you'd like that shot of the wheels. I did it just for you man! Thanks for the comments!

Dave, thanks as well. Ed's a sucker for a nice set of wheels that's for sure.

MR, glad you like the DY. It took some time and tinkering a while back but I've settled on the 50-50 mix as the best representation. The Testors MM Panzer Dunkelgelb is far too greenish straight out of the bottle and the Light Gray counteracts that nicely IMHO. Add to the fact that the weathering process inevitably darkens the finish, you have to do something or the overall result is very dark indeed.

  Yes Bill............     I've been watching from the shadows.

A lot of attention to detail here (as always), and (as always) a great presentation. As previously noted; good to see a variation in the camo scheme too.

 Edmund, if you're into wheels you might like this.....  go down the page about halfway; there's some more on the first page.

AHHHH the paint, very very nice Bill. This is was I was waiting for, and wow what a cool scheme. All the attention to detail and the awesome painting will put this baby on the cover page.

Awesome Bill, simply awesome.

Rob

www.scratchmod.com

Bill, its looking great. I have enjoyed watching your build progress. Now, enough of rest.....back to it...

COLOR    YEEEEEAAAAAAaaaaaa

Tony Lee

DM, always glad to have you lurking in the wings! Thanks for the comments.

Rob, I had a feeling you would be happy now that the paint hurdle has been cleared. Still working on some of the details but look to be able to get the weathering started this weekend.

Mike, Tony,  thanks for the comments as well!

Thanks Wayne! Glad you like...but now you've made me think of donuts.

Well, now that the site is back up and running again I can post what I was going to last nigh.....

Bill, love the choice in camo scheme.  Not something seen very often so it should add a touch of uniqueness to an already interesting build!

Brian

Yep Bill this is what I was waiting for, that special Bill touch. Love that camo

Looking forward, as always, to the weathering. Looks great so afr Bill.

Rob

www.scratchmod.com

Wow, Wow, and Wow

Beautiful work Bill, whats the camo plan.

Bob

Thanks Brian, Rob and Bob, appreciate the comments!