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Modeller Build Logs
Building the Dragon 1/72 Sd.Kfz. 164 Nashorn |
| By Christopher Wilson | | Started: | Oct 20, 2005 | | Updated: | Dec 26, 2005 |
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Recently Dragon has done a brilliant job in expanding their line of 1/72 armor and giving braille scale fans some of what they want, a range of interesting subjects with increasingly impressive detail at a very reasonable price.
However, some of this comes at a cost. We still have vague instructions and one piece tracks when most braille scale modelers will tell you straight away what we want is link and length tracks.
I've watched Dragon's new kits steadily increase in quality from the coldly received Model 1940 T-34 through the Late model StuG IV.
This is my first look at Dragon's Nashorn. I've seen some controversy online in various forums as to the accuracy and buildability of the this kit.
The purpose of this blog will be to build the Dragon Nashorn as close to OOB as possible while pointing out any errors I find along the way. These include error in instructions and accuracy of the kit as well as fit of parts.
I plan to concentrate most on the buildability and what's in the box. There may be some accuracy issues that get overlooked and please feel free to point them out to me, I am no expert on the Nashorn and will not pretend to be. I will use my references to the best of my ability and point out what I find as I go through the steps of building this kit.
So let's build a 1/72 Nashorn.
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| Chapter 15 - Tracks and Roadwheels | Dec 6, 2005 |
Well it is finally time to see if these tracks are going to work or not and how.
First I took all the road wheels and separate hubs and assembled those and glued them onto the suspension, using a piece of glass to make sure all was level.
Then I took the completed idler wheel and fit it to the adjuster part A19. I mentioned before this part is notched and so it can be placed in a variety of positions. Before deciding on one, I wanted to get the tracks together and test fit them.
It has been said these tracks are too short so I was a bit worried. I compared them to some other Dragon tracks for the StuG thinking if I had problems I'd switch, but the pattern is not the same.
First off my tracks were badly kinked at the ends where they need to be glued together. This is pictured below along with a little track detail. I did the best I could and glued them anyway, but the result was not acceptable at all.
I will never understand Dragon's reluctance to make length and link tracks, especially if this type of track is the best we can expect from them. It seems the trouble is caused from popping them from the molds too soon, but this is only an educated guess.
Anyway suffice to say I had to cut two links out of my completed tracks. This is also pictured below. Now I was really worried about length.
The one good thing about the DS tracks is they can easily be glued using regular cement so a simple butt join was possible. I strengthened this with a small strip of styrene behind the guidehorns.
Using my references as a guide I placed the idler wheel where it looked right, with part A19 slightly pointing to the rear of the vehicle, but only by one notch. A test fit of the tracks showed this would work. I tried 90 degrees down, but it was too loose, however, if you want sag in your tracks this may be a good place for you.
I had a lot of trouble with the idler wheel in my kit. I thought the pin on A19 was too long, but in reality the hole in the hull that you fit A19 into is too deep and sticks too far out. This creates a problem when you go to line up the guidehorns as it throws them off to the outside and the track looks funny when fit. The simple solution is to sand a little away from the hull locator and cut a touch off the pin on A19 and assemble as normal. This is what I did.
I also found the join to be weak for the tension on the tracks. I thought about drilling through the hull and using some rod for strength, but after the third try and resorting to MEK for the join I was able to get a bond that would not move under tension.
So now I have tracks with two lengths removed that were rumored to be too short to begin with which fit fine.
I even have a little play for some sag if I want it but most pictures of the Nashorn show the tracks to be tight and I personally think track sag is overdone in the hobby. Granted some vehicles seem to always have a little, but the Nashorn isn't one of them. The few pictures I found with a lot of sag would, IMO, be after a day of running and before the crew serviced them.
So pictured below are the fitted tracks, though they are still test only. In the top view you will notice that the guidehorns are not positioned right in the return rollers, this is because of my styrene and I meant for this to be on the bottom under the roadwheels so I need to move them. I will likely also add some minor sag between the idler wheel and last return roller before I call then finished. You tend to notice a lot of things in pics, eh?
You can also see here the travel lock fitted and weathering has begun.
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