Nashorn

[CygnusX1]

So for my next project, it's going to be this:











Instructions are usual Tamiya - covers 50 steps over 24 pages with a colour pull out for the painting guide. There's also some historical details and pics of a Nashorn in a museum for reference.

Only got as far as opening the box really, but I did put a few tracks together. They're the type with open guide horns like this:

[TheNordus]

Looks nice, are you gonna do the winter version?

[ForbesHutton]

I've built that kit twice, and it's a good one. Even the figures are good.

[CygnusX1]

Looks nice, are you gonna do the winter version?

I think that's very unlikely.
I have my eye on vehicle 213, which is in the same 525th Battalion as 223 that's on the painting instructions.
213 has a couple of unique fitments (like a spare road wheel on the left rear armour plate near the door) and I've got a few pictures of it near Anzio - a couple from "the internet" and a few in a book I have about the Nashorn. What's not clear in the pics I have is the camo scheme. All the pics of 213 are a bit overexposed and washed out; you can tell it's got camo, but the overall pattern and deliniations between the colours are very difficult to see, but from what I can see, the colours and style are going to be "something similar" to 223 in the painting instructions.

I've built that kit twice, and it's a good one. Even the figures are good.

That's really nice to know; I've had a look through the instructions and can see a few possible pitfalls and I've made some notes on how I think I want to change the build order. I'm going to be painting the interior during the build process rather than at completion as well, so that's changing the build order too.

[ForbesHutton]

Looks nice, are you gonna do the winter version?

I think that's very unlikely.
I have my eye on vehicle 213, which is in the same 525th Battalion as 223 that's on the painting instructions.
213 has a couple of unique fitments (like a spare road wheel on the left rear armour plate near the door) and I've got a few pictures of it near Anzio - a couple from "the internet" and a few in a book I have about the Nashorn. What's not clear in the pics I have is the camo scheme. All the pics of 213 are a bit overexposed and washed out; you can tell it's got camo, but the overall pattern and deliniations between the colours are very difficult to see, but from what I can see, the colours and style are going to be "something similar" to 223 in the painting instructions.

I've built that kit twice, and it's a good one. Even the figures are good.

That's really nice to know; I've had a look through the instructions and can see a few possible pitfalls and I've made some notes on how I think I want to change the build order. I'm going to be painting the interior during the build process rather than at completion as well, so that's changing the build order too.

Yep. Leave the ammo and ammo boxes out while you paint and add them after they've been painted separately, other than those it's not too hard to get to most of the other detail parts if the gun's not in the way.

[digger303]

The camo may have been under a lot of dust.

[Hawkmoon]

Looks a nice kit will be following

[Gary30]

Lovely looking kit, I'll be watching with interest, fancy one of these myself

[ElCapitan]

I love these open-topped tank destroyers - will definitely be following along!

[Quax]

definitely going to be keeping an eye on this!

Paul

[Gary30]

I love these open-topped tank destroyers - will definitely be following along!

I can only imagine how hairy it must have been crouching in the back of one of those staring down the enemy

[digger303]

I love these open-topped tank destroyers - will definitely be following along!

I can only imagine how hairy it must have been crouching in the back of one of those staring down the enemy

Nobody would have been goofing off

[KalebB]

Can't wait to see how this one turns out! The Nashorn is one of my absolute favorite armoured vehicles

[CygnusX1]

The camo may have been under a lot of dust.

Yeah, Italy / dusty - could very well be.

So, my plans for 213 may be put on hold. Reason: markings.
The 525th have some fairly unique numerical markings (which you can see in the colour guide pics) - more specifically it's the 3, and their overall size. The 3 isn't a regular German turret marking 3 like you'd find on a Pz4 etc, and they're also an 'odd' size.
I've been trawling through the decal manufacturers looking for markings like this, and I can't find any.

Archer and Echelon don't have anything even remotely similar. Peddinghaus do a set of markings for a 525th Nashorn, but to get 4 sets of 213 I'd have to buy multiple sets of the markings, and then mix/match with the Tamiya markings as the Peddinghaus decals aren't specifically "213", and they're (about) £15 a set. So maybe £30 just to get an incomplete set of markings which may not match. I don't think that makes sense tbh.

I've also looked at stuff like Letraset and other "office" type transfers without any success.

So... I know I've got some German turret numeral paint masks somewhere (I still haven't gone through all the boxes of modelling stuff I had in storage) so I'll be digging them out and seeing if they'll do as I don't rightly remember what they were like. If they don't fit the bill, then it looks like I'll be doing 223 from the kit supplied transfers.

And no, I'm nowhere near confident enough to do the numerals freehand and get anything that looks even remotely acceptable.

So unless anybody has some other suggestions?

OK, so that's that out of the way, I've made some progress:





I'm going to paint the interior first in red oxide (that I mixed from Tamiya paint), then again in DG and do some heavy interior wear and tear. I've also got all the other interior parts in red oxide like the ammo bins and inside faces of the side and rear plates and doors etc (but don't have any pics of them right now). So some progress.

[digger303]

Maybe try a someone who makes decals to order ?

[ForbesHutton]

You could try the printable decals (never tried them myself), or you could also try looking at the railway transfers, they have sheets and sheets of nothing but numbers, something would be bound to work, the trick would be finding it.

[Donkeywalloper]

out and ready for the big push.
DW

[Kevthemodeller]

Off to a good start

[Quax]

out and ready for the big push.
DW

Well budge over and share then!
Cheers Paul

[Donkeywalloper]

out and ready for the big push.
DW

Well budge over and share then!
Cheers Paul

Don't leave me the hard kernels though

DW

[CygnusX1]

So this one has ended up on the shelf of shame.

Essentially: everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, including but not limited to:

1) Maskol leaving "tide marks" that I can't get rid of on some of the interior
2) Maskol eating its way though portions of the interior paint
3) Grit in the main Dunkelgelb paint (my fault I think, probably not cleaning the airbrush thoroughly) which didn't become apparent until it was dry/drying and there it was... and not just a small amount here and there, I mean the whole vehicle is covered in it - in some places it's so bad it looks like a hedgehog.
4) Small parts in the interior and on the exterior and gun breaking off and practically disintegrating into dust when removing masking fluid / tape
5) ... and everything else that went wrong as well.

So it's on the shelf as I'm completely fed up with it.

Next will be something not Tamiya and not WW2, but I haven't decided what yet... maybe a Merkava, but who knows.

[Quax]

Wow you've had it tough with this one! Definitely the right thing to walk away for a bit, find something to build that you love.
Paul

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh we've all been here as Paul said find something else you like

[KalebB]

Wow, that sounds very unfortunate. I think I would have done thrown the thing out of the window at the point of it being turned into a hedgehog

Hopefully the next build is issue free! And merkevas are definitely cool machines

[ForbesHutton]

So this one has ended up on the shelf of shame.

Essentially: everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, including but not limited to:

1) Maskol leaving "tide marks" that I can't get rid of on some of the interior
2) Maskol eating its way though portions of the interior paint
3) Grit in the main Dunkelgelb paint (my fault I think, probably not cleaning the airbrush thoroughly) which didn't become apparent until it was dry/drying and there it was... and not just a small amount here and there, I mean the whole vehicle is covered in it - in some places it's so bad it looks like a hedgehog.
4) Small parts in the interior and on the exterior and gun breaking off and practically disintegrating into dust when removing masking fluid / tape
5) ... and everything else that went wrong as well.

So it's on the shelf as I'm completely fed up with it.

Next will be something not Tamiya and not WW2, but I haven't decided what yet... maybe a Merkava, but who knows.

Nothing that can't be fixed with a camo net.

[digger303]

it's a real shame after all the effort, but totally understandable. Need some rum after that then choose something easy and fun.

[Oddball007]

Very unfortunate CygnusX1, there's always next time.

[CygnusX1]

Nothing that can't be fixed with a camo net.

That would be a large camo net - in fact that would be all you can see.
It's on the shelf of shame right now; one day I'll get around to "fixing" it one day, but not right now, as it almost got thrown in the bin.

[digger303]

Nothing that can't be fixed with a camo net.

That would be a large camo net - in fact that would be all you can see.
It's on the shelf of shame right now; one day I'll get around to "fixing" it one day, but not right now, as it almost got thrown in the bin.

Could do a bridge diorama with it in the water mostly submerged or damaged on rail heading back for major rebuild.