Another weekend means the start of a new build and I decided to tackle an open-topped project that has been sitting and waiting for a while, DML's Premium kit of the Sdkfz 164 Nashorn Panzerjager. Since this weekend also coincided with NFL Divisional level playoff games, I didn't get in as much build time as I might have otherwise but still made the most of it. I'm not adding a whole lot to this kit aside from the workable tracks and some brass ammo from AFV Club and am using Nuts & Bolts Vol 14 as my guide throughout the build.
As mentioned, the NFL playoff games provided ample opportunity to take care of some of the tedious/routine tasks while watching TV and the first order of business in Step 1 was the cleanup of the many road wheel halves, assembly of the return rollers, idlers, and sprockets. The Premium kit provides the choice of either early or later style Pz III sprockets since the Nashorn used a grab-bag of readily available Pz III and IV components. N&B 14 has quite a few photos of the sPzJgAbt 525 in Italy and while there's a consensus of "early" vs. "standard" features, it's not uncommon to see vehicles sporting a motley combination of both early and standard features. With that in mind, I decided to use the earlier style Pz III sprockets after checking their fit with the 40cm MK SK-18 links. All of the road wheel halves had their molded on seam sanded down and left unassembled to allow for better detail painting in later stages. I mistakenly cleaned up all 20 of the road wheel halves provided even though only 18 will be used...the other 2 are extras but are cleaned up for when/if I ever need them in the future.
The kit instructions are the color photograph type where photos of the actual model parts in various stages of assembly are used vs. the more familiar b&w line drawing type...and as such, I have to remind myself to examine all the photos carefully in each step as many parts are shown already installed and the call-outs not so obvious. For example, I overlooked part C18 whenever I took the shot below and had to go back and install it when I noticed that later on. Step 2 deals with the lower hull tub and adds the front tow point extensions along with the final drive housings and suspension elements. There were several shallow ejector marks in various spots around the lower hull, some raised and others sunken, that had to be dealt with before I added the suspension bogies. The suspension elements have to be carefully added to the hull side since there's a bit of play in their mount points so I test fit some of the road wheels on both sides to make sure they all sat level before the glue had set up. I left off the sprockets and idlers and the rest of the wheels for now and will install those much later on in the build.
That's as far with the construction as I wanted to go while sitting in the living room so I spent the rest of the time working on the MK tracks. The SK-18 set includes 208 links and the DML instructions call for 104 links per side since the Nashorn/Hummel hulls were stretched Pz IV hulls so the set may just barely provide enough links with no spares depending. The idler arm is adjustable somewhat so I think I'll be able to play with that when the time comes to insure the set will work. If not, I have extras left over from previous builds that can be called on if needed. I got about 2/3 of one track side done before calling it quits.
This one's on it's way and more progress to come next weekend!