Workbench Review of the Tamiya 1/48 scale Nashorn

I built and painted the Tamiya 1/48 scale Nashorn over a weekend while watching Halloween movies with my family. The lower hull builds from four major parts — the belly, two sides, and fighting compartment floor. Like Tamiya’s other 1/48 scale armor kits, steel plates glued into the lower hull adds heft to the model. Although they are molded in place on the hull, the suspension arms are crisp; little touches like this speed the build. I attached the link-and-length tracks to the running gear, but left the wheels loose on the hull to make painting easier.

The upper hull and fighting compartment build simultaneously, and, as with the rest of the kit, feature good engineering and smart part breakdown. The only, relatively small issue I ran into was the presence of ejector-pin marks on the walls inside the fighting compartment. I spent time removing them. It’s possible some or all of them would have been hidden by other parts, but I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to take the chance. A well-sculpted figure is included.

I base-coated the tank destroyer with Tamiya Dark Yellow and hit it with hairspray as a release agent to distress and chip the Tamiya Flat White winter camouflage. The kit offers two marking options, but the whitewashed paint scheme seemed best suited to the figure in German cold-weather gear.

If you haven't built one of Tamiya's 1/48 scale armor kits, you should give one a shot. They are smartly engineered and, although I hate to use the expression, they virtually fall together. The Nashorn is a great example. Give it a try!