Sd.Kfz.164 Hornisse |
| By James Tainton |
| Started: | Jun 28, 2003 | | Updated: | Dec 30, 2003 |
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This is my second go round with this kit from Dragon, catalouge #6165, released earlier this year. The first attempt was done out-of-the-box, to become familiar with the new tooling of this interesting tank killer.
The Hornisse is the Early version of the Nashorn Panzerjäger. The main differences being the drive sprocket (Pz.Kpfw III E), the gun brace (from the previously developed Hummel), and the exhaust systems (Hummel). Other items on the early Nashorns where rubber return rollers from Panzer IV/D's, two Boshe headlights and mud flaps at the back. Both versions used the 8.8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 43/41.
Previous antitank guns developed by the German military after the start of W.W.II included the 4.7cm Pak(t) mounted onto a Panzer 1B chassis,the Russian 7.62 Pak36(r) placed on the Panzer II/D chassis and the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) tank chassis from invaded Czechoslovakia. Other tank hunters included the 7.5 cm Pak 40/2 used in conjunction with the Panzer II chassis,and the 7.5 cm Pak40/3 mounted on a Pz.Kpfw.(t) Ausf.II.
While these Panzerjägers were fairly good in defending against the Russian T-34 and other main battle tanks,a more devastating tank killer was asked for by the Panzertuppen.
Thus the emergence of the 88 heavy anti-aircraft gun mounted on a combination of Panzer III and Panzer IV chassis. |
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| Chapter 45 - Hats and Helmets | Dec 30, 2003 |
| More "goodies". I'm not positive but I think the helmets with the liner are from Warrior and the straps and decals are from the Aber soldier equipment PE set. |
| Chapter 44 - More Details | Dec 29, 2003 |
| More shots of the detail bric-a-brac. |
| Chapter 43 - Wire in Place | Dec 23, 2003 |
| These shots show that the assembly of this Dragon Hornisse is nearing completion. The "goodies" are starting to find their homes and the final look is coming together. |
| Chapter - 42 Towing Cable & Extras | Dec 22, 2003 |
| Pictures #1. - 4. show the creation and mounting of the towing cable. I used a couple of end pieces from the Elephant set for Panzer IV's and some soft wire cable bought at a local show. I tried doing it at first by gluing the mounting brackets to the models glacis plate then wrapping the cable... more |
| Chapter 41 - Range Finding Poles | Dec 21, 2003 |
| The first couple of photos show the scratch built range finding poles I made to replace the kits set. I used tips cut from wooden tooth-picks glued to plastic rod cut to the right size. I made three only whereas the kits set has the incorrect number of four.I mounted these on the rear hull using the... more |
| Chapter 40 - Cammo Wire Holders | Dec 17, 2003 |
| Here one can see the wire loops that were welded to the side armour of this Hornisse. I've fashioned mine quite easily from some scrap wire and glued to the side with CA glue. |
| Chapter 39 - Abandoned Radio | Dec 14, 2003 |
| Here are some shots of the receiver and transmitter I attempted to scratch-build. In the end I never used it - just wasn't up to snuff. |
| Chapter - 38 The Back Plate | Dec 7, 2003 |
| Here can be seen the back plate with the Lion Roar additions -the MP 40 holders. I also added some bolts on the inside edge of the doorway for a sprue in the DML Panzer IV/F kit.I have also cut off the original triangle shaped armour pieces and replaced with more to scale plastic card. The flare box... more |
| Chapter - 37 Paint and Decals | Dec 4, 2003 |
| A couple of straight forward shots that show assemblies such as the Boshe lights (scratch built detail), barrel clamp attached. The paint and decals ar starting to come together. Some weathering washes have been applied. |
| Chapter - 36 Right Hand Ammo Box | Dec 2, 2003 |
| Here is the right hand side ammo box- this is in the stowed configuration. Images #1.- 3. show the PE folded and assembled. Again I used solder where possible, although things like the wing nuts and the wire handles for opening the cover are attached with CA. Pictures 4. and 5. show the painted and weathered... more |
| Chapter 35 - Decals and Balken Cross | Nov 30, 2003 |
| Here I am using the photo-etched brass stencils included with the Lion Roar PE set, (first time I've done one of these). It is very straight forward and I like the result. Picture #1. shows the white portion of the cross symbol's stencil, already in place in the registration jig. This has masking... more |
| Chapter 34 - Dunkelgelb und Dunkelgrün | Nov 28, 2003 |
| Here I am attaching the fragile u-shaped fastening points that are welded on the real item. I have then finished painting with the Xtracolour #809 base yellow- andthen I have applied the Tamiya XF-5 green for the dunkelgrün shapes. |
| Chapter 33 - Fender Spring, Tow Cable Mounts, Seat | Nov 13, 2003 |
| Picture 1. shows me making a small spring to replace the kit provided item. This is made by wrapping thin wire around an appropriately sized drill bit in a pin vise. Picture 2. shows the result. The location of the spring is indicated by the red arrow in image #3. Picture #4. shows the gunners seat... more |
| Chapter -32 The Gun Barrel Bracket | Nov 6, 2003 |
| Here I have replaced the kits offering with a scratch built version of my own. Picture #1. shows the bracket that I made using spare brass and solder. It is mounted to the hull in the front were the old ones have been cut off. The reason I did this, other than to practice the soldering thing, is the... more |
| Chapter 31-Gun repainted, Gun Sight Installed | Nov 5, 2003 |
| Images of the repainted gun assembly with the gun sight in place. I still have the gunners seat to render and attach. |
| Chapter 30 - Corrections to the Lion Roar Fenders | Nov 3, 2003 |
| In this chapter you will see were I have had to fill in some holes in the front of the fenders which purport to be the location of the headlight mountings. They are too far forward. These location holes are wrong from what I can make out, (a bit late in the game unfortunately). The red circles show the... more |
| Chapter 29 - Dunkelgelb | Oct 30, 2003 |
| Just some more images of the repaint and some oil washes.You can see the difference in hues when you look at the air intake grates-that the dark yellow of Vallejo. |
| Chapter 28 - Storage Box Lid and Warming Tube | Oct 28, 2003 |
| Picture 1 and 2 show a homemade warming tube that replaces the kit's offering. It's a piece of plastic rod drilled hollow and then a wire is placed bisecting the diameter of the tube. I've added the kit's butterfly nut to the side. It was treated as a raw piece of metal-that is exposed... more |
| Chapter 27 - Gun Sight. | Oct 27, 2003 |
| Here is Dragon's gun sight for the 88. I've hollowed out the front end of the lens and will be placing a Grief resin lens in the recess to reflect the light and give the illusion of a real lens inside there. I have painted it flat black and rubbed graphite all over it. This is installed into... more |
| Chapter 26 - Repaint with Xtra color #809 | Oct 24, 2003 |
| Here are some shots where I have repainted over the Vallejo Yellow base coat, washes and all. I have also added the ammo box on the left side and the ammo basket on the right int. wall. |
| Chapter 25 - Some Oil Washes | Oct 20, 2003 |
| Here are two shots showing the application of oil washes applied to the Vallejo yellow interior, (which was protected with a coating of Future). A couple of the Lion Roar storage boxes can be seen installed on the left side as well. |
| Chapter 24 - Little bits | Oct 10, 2003 |
| Picture #1. shows a number of the little pieces that will be added to the Hornisse after the major weathering is done. This is done because with the paint thinner washes I do the plastic and glue joint are somewhat damaged and can the pieces would most likely get knocked off during the wipe back process.... more |
| Chapter 23 - Ammo loaded in box and interior. | Oct 7, 2003 |
| I'll just let the photos speak for themselves here. It's pretty straight forward. |
| Chapter 22 - Tracks slipped on | Oct 6, 2003 |
| Here are some pictures showing the Fruil links added on to the chassis. The high parts of the tread, the area that comes in contact with the ground, has been gently sanded to reveal the natural metal look of the white metal underneath the paint and rust - another advantage of Fruilmodel over ModelKasten.... more |
| Chapter 21 - Tracks | Oct 1, 2003 |
| Here you can see I'm starting to put the Fruilmodel tracks together. The links required no cleaan-up and went together beautifully. There are definite hands, (left side, right side.) so that is accurate as well. Picture #3. shows the tracks based out in flat black and then in #4. I have applied... more |
| Chapter 20- Painted Ammo Box | Sep 30, 2003 |
| This is the completed ammo box painted out In Vallejo Model Air #025 Dark Yellow. Later on in this build iI ended up covering up this colour with Xtra color #809 Afrika Korps sand grey, as I did not like this hue of yellow for my Hornisse. |
| Chapter 19- mud and crud | Sep 29, 2003 |
| Here you can see that I have come near to finishing the oil washes and drybrushing. The pictures I had for the construction up to this point unfortunely were lost in a computer mishap. Let me just say there were several steps involved here! The muffler has been built and mounted on an previously mudded... more |
| Chapter 18- The Ammo box finished | Sep 28, 2003 |
| Here are some images of the finished Lion Roar ammo box which I've soldered together. It went together pretty easily and it really adds to the accuracy of the interior of the fighting compartment. Now to paint, wash and load the shells before placing it onto the inside fender. |
| Chapter 17- Ammo box amd other items | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Images of the construction aftermarket ammo box and a couple of other items. Picture #1. shows you the different stages of folding one side of the ammo trays. #2. is the tray attached to its bracket with solder. Four of these are required for each box #3. shows the unfolded box and the assemmbled part... more |
| Chapter 16 - Fenders attached and rivets added | Sep 14, 2003 |
| Here I have attached both sides of the after market fenders, (pictures #1. - 2.), which include the scratch built metal pieces on the inside. (I used the Aber photo etch fender set for a template.) The driver's side fender did not stay on, (picture #4., not enough 2 part epoxy), which was a good... more |
| Chapter 15 - Giving the model some weight | Sep 13, 2003 |
Sometimes I use two part resin poured into the hull of my model tanks to give the thing some weight. Careful if you do this not to overfill.
As can be seen it these photos I have attached both sides of the metal fenders and the fighting compartment armour.
Again I must warn you that if you try this... more |
| Chapter 14 - Air Intakes Installed | Sep 11, 2003 |
| Here can be seen in Picture #1.the interior side of the plastic side armour part with the many knock-out divots filled with GreenStuff and the kits air intakes being cut out. This is all prep work for the installation of the photoetch. The photoetch part fits quite nicely into the space I created and... more |
| Chapter 13 - Lion Roar air intakes built | Sep 7, 2003 |
| Here we can see the differnt parts that make up the replacement louvers, and the soldered, final product. The lines on the side of the metal boxes that seem to be for lining up the slats don't really line up that well. A design fault with the set or maybe I'm missing something. At any rate... more |
| Chapter 12 - Both fenders attached | Aug 26, 2003 |
| Here you can see the other side's fender completed and glued with two part expoxy. Unfortunetly, or fortunetly as it would turn out, the the left hand fender came off at a later point in construction. In the front veiw you can see the metal piece from the Lion Roar set that represents the metal... more |
| Chapter 11 - Fender part deux | Aug 21, 2003 |
| I have added the front mud flap on the right hand front fender. Pictures #1. and #2. show the final look, with the wire in the hinge attached as well. Picture #3. shows the fender part from the kit glued to the body . I have also attached a front piece of armour to assure the alighnment of the metal... more |
| Chapter 1 - The First Attempt | Aug 4, 2003 |
| Here is a picture of the first Hornisse I assembled strictly out-of-the-box. After having the experience of simply assembling the kit as Dragon has set out, (except for some errors in the instructions, information that can be found in the review section of TL). I can tell one and all that the quality... more |
| Chapter 2 - The Lion Roar Set & Friulmodel Tracks | Aug 4, 2003 |
| These are the original upgrades I was going to use. The Lion Roar PE set is better than the Eduard one that is for the older generation Nashorn. I used the Eduard one on my old Nashy and it was one of the better detailed sets from Eduard but like I say this Lion Roar is about 50% better still. It includes... more |
| Chapter 3.- Aftermarket barrel afterall | Aug 4, 2003 |
So, after an abortive attempt at using the kit's barrel, I opted for the new release Lion Roar metal barrel.
Picture 1. shows the three components that make up the Hornisse gun barrel.
2.The breech block is prepared for the insertion of the large pin on the end of the metal barrel.
3. & 4. shows... more |
| bodywork | Aug 1, 2003 |
| The body for the new Hornisse is a one piece tub to which all other bits of armour structuer is attached. This is a new tooled chassis which even has the correct shape for the shock absorber pads around the suspension parts. In picture #1 you can see I have filled in the two holes on each side that... more |
| fixed up fenders | Jul 26, 2003 |
| Here is a series of images showing my scratch built frame of the front fender, combined with some of the plastic kit part and the bits of tread plate from the Lion Roar detail set. I did it this way because the fenders in the kit are just too thick to use with the Lion Roar top bit which is suppose to... more |
| Start rollin' on the wheels | Jul 25, 2003 |
| I am doing something different again here. I want to portray the primer red interior of the two part boogie wheels on this kit and to do that I have kept the parts #1 and #2 apart from one another. The armour hub caps have been placed on the outer boogie sooner to when I normally would, if I were following... more |
| Problems corrected | Jul 24, 2003 |
The error that was noted previously in the feedback to this blog, (Wed, 9 Jul 2003, 14:50:03 -0800
From: "Vincent Thelosen"
Hi James,
If I am not mistaken part d 37 (in the other new Nashorn kit no 6166) is placed incorrectly
on the gun. It's the part at the left part of the breech, next to... more |
| Repairs and replacement | Jul 24, 2003 |
| So guess what, the gun was sitting out on my balcony this past week, drying out, while I was at work , and something fell on it!!! It was on a table I use for photographing and the background piece of wood fell forward on top it. Fortunately the damage was minimal. A few broken tips off the adjustment... more |
| Gun gets a wash | Jul 9, 2003 |
| #1 shows the metal gun barrel and kit gun breech assembled.The barrel was painted with flat black and then Vallejo - Dark Yellow 025. Pictures 2.,3.,& 4. shows the main parts of the gun with the wash of artists oil paint and thinner applied after a protective coating of Future. #5. shows the parts wiped... more |
| Started with gun | Jul 8, 2003 |
I like to change things up sometimes when starting a kit to keep my interest up. Panzer IV chassis can be boring and repetitive.So to break up the monotonous pattern I started with the gun. The various components that make up the 88mm PaK 43/1L/71 can be seen in the montage below.
1. and 2. are shots... more |
