Juckenburg Nashorn

[c.rainford73]

Hi Mr Alwyn Turner would be a very good person to take a peek at those parts of the gun assembly and give you some feedback if you get stuck since his gun was very highly engineered.

Very nice threads on it

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Louis, I've just looked again at the kit front panel joining to the side panel (the kind of diagonal one) and it looks like it's the wrong shape to me, and I think you may need to modify it. It looks too wide at the top. The trouble is that the particular panel is a devil to get right. My suggestion is to try it with some cardboard first until you are confident that it's correct. Mine took me a few attempts before I got it right.

Good luck with the next stage.

Alwyn

[lmcq11]

Hi,

I've cleaned up and detailed the interior lower panel. I did not receive yet the tread plates I ordered for the floor so I will skip the floor detailing and install the front and side panels next.

Alwyn, you are right, the front armor plate is not the right shape. When compared to the drawing in the book Panzers at Saumur no3, i can see that it is not supposed to be square with the front of the fighting compartment, it is inclined towards in interior and needs to be very tight with the gun shield with a curve. I think that part is actually designed for the Hummel and reused as is for the Nashorn kit. Looking at the instructions and kit box, it is supposed to be trimmed. I will wait for the gun and shield to be built to trim it then. I will need to study references further so that I do not make mistakes with the angles, they are tricky. Thank you for pointing that to me.

Regards,

Louis

[c.rainford73]

Very nice

[lmcq11]

Hi,

The side armor panels were installed, not without much difficulties. First, all panels spent 3 to 4 minutes in the microwave to make them flat or to be given the right angle. The front antenna cup was removed because it was badly located just where the front left panel must fit the chassis. It was placed too much at the rear according to reference and will be relocated later about half an inch further to the front.

After much dry fitting, I found the optimal position. I decided to add a 2mm of plasticard to move the front panel upfront a bit. I had to do a corresponding extension to the side panel at the front so that the fighting compartment is not unbalanced at the middle sponsor. The extension at the rear end is to compensate for the earlier 7mm added to the chassis between the sprocket and the first road wheel. Positioning the panels was difficult. I glued the side panel first, then the smaller front panel. Making them join and fit the top and side of the chassis was a struggle. It took 3 attempts. I think it looks ok. When the gun and the shield will be ready, I will adjust the front section to fit the shield. According to references, they are turning towards the inside as shown. They will be trimmed at least by half so I left that area unglued. Next task is to sand, fine tune the panels, add details to them and filling up the air bubbles. I will then install the rear section and interior details. You can see the air bubbles and warping again on the kit rear part... I will cut the doors open and see how I can manage the hinges.

Regards,
Louis

[c.rainford73]

Super job mate I'm very impressed with your ability to mend the kit and incorporate your repairs into the upper fighting compartment. I am patiently waiting for more of this build

I think the side panels look really good. Your determination and hard work are paying off

Carl

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Louis, you are doing an incredible job of somehow getting the kit to turn out the way it should. At times with this build I wonder if you might be better scrapping some of the kit pieces and fabricating new parts from styrene sheet, but then you wouldn't be building a kit. The result so far is a testament to your persistence and determination very well done.
Alwyn

[Raminator]

Stubbornness can be a virtue; consider it patience out of spite.

I know exactly how you feel about the kit Louis, I've run up against many of the same issues with my SU-152. I'm very impressed with how you've managed to rescue, repair and replace the resin parts. I think it'll turn out great, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Keep it up!

[lmcq11]

Hi,

The rear panel was installed. It is made of very fire resin. The moulding is good but weak. I did not cut the door like I wanted to because the resin is too thin and will not support any movement. It will just break. The door has nice handle details in the interior that is worth keeping for sure.

The driver compartment was also installed. It is of excellent quality. I will need to rework the weld lines I did with putty at the joints because I am not happy with them.

I started filling up the air bubbles on the parts. It will take many layers and sanding steps.

Also started on the interior. Now, this is the area where you do not want to follow the instructions. It's wrong. I wonder why Juckenburg created very accurate and nice parts like the glacis and the gun, and then invent other parts. Look at the interior picture provided on the instructions. I have never seen an interior arrangement like this. The radio is too big, it is mounted on some kind of rack and put where the support brace should be. Looks like they just got tired and botched the kit at one point, creating parts somewhat inspired but inaccurate.

I am showing the interior parts available. There are not many. Some are useless likes the boxes. The main braces for the side panels are not provided and need to be scratch built, although the mounting for them is moulded on the interior panel, weird...The 2 ammo racks are ok with option for closed or open doors, but they seem to be undersized. I am waiting for the King Tiger 88mm ammo rounds that I ordered from a dealer in Germany to determine the exact length they should be. The ammo need to fit inside... The King Tiger 88mm round used with this gun are longer and bigger than Tiger 1 88mm round. If too small, the racks will need to be reworked.

It is starting to look like a Nashorn.

Regards,
Louis

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Louis, yes the interior in the picture is pure fantasy land, I think he just got fed up and slapped any old thing together for an interior! Such a shame to spend so much time on the rest and then produce a rubbish layout for the interior. keep up the good work though, it's coming together nicely.

Alwyn