Revell

Sd.Kfz.164 Nashorn

Introduction

Nashorns had a lot in common with the Hummel SPG. Whereas the Hummel carried a 150mm howitzer, the Nashorn wielded an 88mm anti-tank gun. A total of 494 Nashorns were produced from February 1943 to March 1945, and were used to equip independent Pz.Jg.Abt., according to [1].
Most (345) of those were produced in 1943, with smaller production runs continuing into 1945.
Originally, they were called Hornisse, before a name change to Nashorn in 1944. Modelers often use these names to distinguish early from later vehicles. As the name change was applied retroactively by the Wehrmacht, only Nashorn will be used in this article.

Modelers looking for diorama options should know that none were used in Afrika, in the battle of Kursk, Normandy or the Ardennes. Actually, on the Western front they first appeared in the Alsace campaign.

The evolution of the Nashorn was as follows [1,3]:

• An armored shield on top of the gun was added in February 43.
• Very early vehicles had armored covers from the PzKpfw III for the brake vents. These were replaced by larger items in March 43.
• Aiming stakes were omitted in March 43.
• A heating vent for the crew compartment was added in March 1943. I believe this is Part 32.
• Early vehicles had the drive sprocket of the Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E, with round holes, rubber return rollers of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. D and idler of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F. Starting in March 43 the drive sprockets came from the Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. J, with trapezoidal holes. At first, this was only partially implemented.
• The tow cables were repositioned in March 1943 and again in August 1943.
• Very early vehicles had a slit in the gun shield for a sighting device. This was omitted in April 43, but only partially at first. The flap was welded shut on some vehicles between April 43 and August 43 and later totally omitted.
• Initially a rear-fitted muffler (like the Panzer IV) was installed. In April 43 this was removed. The exhaust pipes now ran below the fenders and the muffler was moved to the inside of the hull.
• In April 43, the spare roadwheels were moved from the front to the rear of the hull (using the space freed up by the new exhaust arrangement). It seems that before this date, spare roadwheels were not a factory feature, but many units added roadwheels to the armor at the front of the fighting compartment (at slightly different positions) or to the sides of the driver's compartment.
• In April 43, the box below the rear fender was removed. It seems that the mudflaps disappeared at the same time, although pictures can be found of vehicles without boxes, but with mudflaps.
• In April 43, tow hooks were added to the rear and the internal lifting eye moved forward.
• Initial vehicles had two Bosch headlights. In May 43 the right headlight was removed.
• A new barrel clamp appeared in May 43. The initial one had been styled after that of the Hummel. At the same time the travel lock inside the fighting compartment was dispensed with [3].
• A loop was added over the recuperator cylinder just behind the gun shield in May 43. (This is Part 76 in the kit, I assume.)
• For other minor changes, I refer to [3].
• Befehls (command) versions had an extra antenna on the right rear corner of the fighting compartment.
• Some vehicles had a prominent frame around the driver's front vision flap.
• Some units (like s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt. 560 and 655) sometimes added appliqué armor to the gun shield.

Many vehicles featured a mix of early and late characteristics.

The Revell kit has the features of a Nashorn built from May 1943 onwards. In that respect it is almost identical to Dragon kit 7292.
Modelers who want to go off the beaten track might be interested to learn that a few were fitted with Ostketten [1,4]. Extra armor was also sometimes fitted to the gun shield. An interesting option to build might also be the Nashorn captured and used by Canadian troops in Italy, 1945 [2].
The wide compartment covering both driver and radio operator that was a feature of later Hummels was never installed on the Nashorn, neither was a switch to three return rollers implemented. Worth noting for people who are considering a diorama setting is that the Pak43/1 of the Nashorn used the fatter round from the Flak 42 (Krupp), not the one of the Flak 41 (Rheinmetall) [3].

Construction

The first thing I noticed was that the construction sequence is somewhat weird, at least in my opinion. Installing the complete running gear on the lower hull before even starting to add parts of the upper hull is not what I consider the easiest approach. I also decided to build the whole gun assembly before fitting it to the completed fighting compartment. It’s a tight squeeze, and it almost worked as planned (more below). Following the instructions has you fit the gun before certain armor plates of the fighting compartment are added, making it almost impossible to paint the interior, I believe.
Even so, the parts go together rather well, in general.

Pictures from Henk of Holland website, used with permission

Some further random thoughts regarding the construction.

The hull:

• Very important, in my opinion, is to note that Parts 42 and 43 are not to be glued to the fighting compartment, but serve as a jig to install Parts 32 in their correct position. I don’t think this is mentioned in the instructions at all, and I missed it. (Actually, the top left of Step 13 clearly says to use glue...)
  
  Removing Parts 42 and 43 and cleaning up the glue marks was not the most amusing part of this build. Moreover, having assumed that Parts 42 and 43 were there to stay, I didn’t bother to fill in the holes on the inside of the fighting compartment that are directly opposite the return roller mounts. Filling them in on the sprues would have been easy. Doing so once partially assembled and close to the delicate ant-slip pattern on the floor plate, well, not so much.
  As this dis- and re-assembly process is not the best way to approach building this kit, my assessment is probably skewed a bit. If I ever build the second kit in my stash and come to different findings, I’ll let you know.
• The inside of the fighting compartment has some ejector marks that need to be cleaned up.
• I am not sure if Part 44 (a storage box) was really beveled in reality, but this is almost invisible in the finished kit. What it does well is hide ejector marks on the rear armor plate, though.
• Strangely, the triangular support for the left armor plate of the fighting compartment (Part 39) is molded in situ, while on the right side it’s a separate part (Parts 38 and 51). Part 51 also has rivet detail and a small peg that the fixed triangular plate on Part 39 lacks. I don’t know if this is correct.
• Note that many vehicles had a mount for an (AA) machine gun inside the fighting compartment. The kit doesn’t provide one and the vehicle that I wanted to depict doesn’t require it.
• In my opinion, the angle of the rear plate is too steep compared with drawings and pictures. I angled the rear plate inwards a bit and sanded down the edges of the side plates to match.
  
  Rear plate canted inwards; side plate not yet modified
  
• It is correct that the sides of the fighting compartment (Subassembly 15 and 16) are a tad higher than the rear (Subassembly 17). The corners at the rear of the side plates should be a bit more rounded, though.
  
  Original kit part on the left; after sanding on the right
  
• I spent a disproportionate amount of time on the joint between the sides of the fighting compartment, the front of the fighting compartment (Parts 86 and 87) and the driver’s compartment, especially when it came to the small reinforcement strips in the lower corners. I managed to achieve satisfaction but couldn’t muster the courage to add tiny rivets to these strips. This is one of the reasons why I think it is better only to install the front fenders (Parts 24 and 25) after finishing all the armor plates.
• Another area where time was lost, was the joint between the upper half of the rear plate and the lower half. I am not giving advice here, as my method can surely not have been the best one.
  
• The deflector (Part 85) also gave some trouble as managing a clear joint is difficult due to the presence of rivets. Adding insult to injury, it popped off when installing the complete gun assembly, forcing me to do it over again, but now with a long-barreled gun poking around as well.
• I modified the front fenders by adding small strips to the edges to create the typical step between fenders and the armor of the fighting compartment (cf. box top and pictures below). While this works, it creates interference with the tracks (of which more below). I wonder if raising the sides of the fighting compartment a bit (Parts 38 and 39) wouldn’t have been easier.
  
  Original fenders
  
  Modified fenders
  
• Do not install the tow hooks the way they are shown in Step 3, but with the opening upwards (as correctly shown in Step 14 and in the marking options in Step 41 and 42).
  
• An easy improvement is to hollow out the exhausts.
• Part 53 (cleaning rods) was a short shot in this kit. (I have another kit, and there the part is flawless.)
• The spare roadwheels mounted on the rear of the hull are supported by hangers, which I fabricated from soldering wire. Since the vehicle I intended to depict belonged to a unit that also carried an additional spare roadwheel to the left of the driver’s compartment, I added a corresponding extra hanger. Initially, I went a bit overboard and prepared two additional spare roadwheels -one for each side- only to realize just in time that only one was actually required. Looking at pictures of vehicles of the unit I wanted to represent, it might have been better to install it a tad lower.
  These spare roadwheels were sourced from separate Revell PzKpfw IV Ausf. H or J sprues purchased from Revell’s Department X many years ago and feature the later, pressed-type hubcaps. Having already prepared both wheels, I ultimately decided to install them on the bogies to introduce some visual variation. This choice is supported by historical evidence: the pressed-type hubcaps were introduced in September 1943 [5], and period photographs show Nashorns fitted with them on individual bogie stations. Consequently, they are entirely appropriate for the vehicle I aimed to represent, dating to the winter of 1943–1944.
  
• Having prepared for this extra roadwheel, I discovered that it got in the way of the jack. Looking at pictures of the real vehicle, I decided to move the jack outward. However, I dreaded the prospect of having to fill in the mounting holes on the fender and having to restore the anti-slip pattern. Fortunately, I had decided earlier on to add a crew to my tank hunter, which meant that I could place one of their feet strategically to cover one of them, the other hole being (partially) hidden by the roadwheel.
• The holder for spare tracks on the nose (Part 29) doesn’t touch the hull. Shims of plastic were added.
• The antenna mount (Part 28) interfered with the wooden block for the jack on the right fender. The mount was raised a bit and was also drilled out, awaiting its antenna (which is mentioned nowhere in the instructions).
• A cable was added running to the left headlight.
• A cable was also added for the barrel clamp release mechanism.
• A tow cable is missing on the bow. I didn't add one.

Lower hull ready for the gun

The gun

• The gun mount is very detailed, but the way the kits is packaged means that the gun shield (Part 82) is easily damaged. In this kit it was broken in two, in the other kit I have in my stash it is just slightly bent.
• I replaced my gun barrel with an exquisite metal one from RB Models (#72B22). This needs to be attached to the breech provided in the Revell kit, and it also needs a small ring over the barrel where the travel lock meets the barrel. This was made from thin metal foil. The metal barrel also lacks the cut-out that matches Subassembly 21 to Subassembly 22 in Step 23. Some cutting and sanding were applied to Part 61 to remedy this.
• There is a minor sink mark in the breech block (Part 56). I filled it in, but I don’t know if it would have remained visible once installed.
• I have no idea what Part 67 is and as it interfered with the gun assembly, I left it off. (It is also notoriously absent in later assembly steps in the instructions.)
• There were a number of dimples on the inside of Part 65, which I initially took for a feature. I now believe they are a casting defect (also present in the other kit in my stash), so I sanded them off when I discovered that they also interfered with assembly.
  
  The same can be said for Part 77.
• Speaking of interference. Part 57 and Part 64 also bumped into each other, which might be due to clumsy assembly. It is better to install Part 57 later in the sequence.
• Mounting the gun shield to the supports and the supports to the gun mount is a fiddly affair, requiring trial and error and copious amounts of self-restraint. Having a gun shield that was already broken in two pieces at the narrow joint, didn’t help at all.

Dry-fitting the gun to the hull

Partially painted gun before mating it to the hull. Fragile parts omitted.

Gun mounted. Splash guard popped off. Gap (red arrow) fixed later.

Splash guard reinstalled. Gap (red arrow) fixed later.

The running gear

• I built up the running gear after finishing the hull and gun, contrary to the instructions, which would have you assemble the tracks first. I stand by my choice.
• What is shown in Step 7 doesn’t correspond to the kit parts. The axle is on the drive sprocket, not on the hull. This doesn’t matter too much, and I actually only noticed it when writing this review.
• Having modified the fenders before installing the running gear (vide supra), I stumbled upon some interference problems between the tracks on top of the drive sprocket and the new fender edges. The drive sprockets were very slightly lowered and moved inboard by sanding down the final drives while creating more play for the axles at the same time allowing minor adjustments.
• I didn’t use the lengths of tracks in the way that is indicated in the instructions, partially by design, partially by neglect.
• As with many kits that offer link-and-length tracks, the completed track run didn’t end up as a multiple of whole track links. Moving the idler backwards a bit (track tensioning, if you want) solved the issue but left me with a weak idler mount.
• I might have lost track [pun intended] somewhere along the construction sequence, but I believe I used one track link less on the right side compared with the left. What is sure is that I have one left-over link.

Accuracy

Apart from the minor issues already mentioned above (the step between the fenders and the fighting compartment, the angle of the rear plate, and the upside-down tow hooks), I believe the only potentially major accuracy issue with this kit concerns the rearward extent of the fighting compartment relative to the idler wheel position.
I have not been able to determine this conclusively, and I actually doubt the kit is inaccurate, but I can say the following:

• Reference [2] states: “Some early production vehicles had standard position of idler wheel (see photo), but the production vehicles were finished with extended position of idler wheel.” This point is not mentioned in any of my other references. The same reference also explicitly refers to a "short" hull in some of its drawings, but doesn't show any drawings marked as "long" or that otherwise differ in this area.
• The drawings in references [1] and [2] depict a hull that extends significantly farther to the rear than those in reference [3]. However, in all three references, the idler wheel appears to occupy the same position relative to the road wheels; the difference lies in the amount of hull structure extending behind the idler.
• Based on a comparison with available photographs (e.g. here), I believe the drawings in reference [3] are the most accurate. These also correspond most closely to the kit’s dimensions. Note, however, that due to the variable position of the idler (to allow track tensioning), there might be variations between vehicles.
• I chose not to modify this area on my kit, as I considered the necessary changes too complex to execute convincingly.

Painting

I normally do not comment on painting, but I noticed that the geometry of the Nashorn, with all its nooks and crannies resulted in half-dried (enamel) paint ending up almost everywhere, and especially where it is difficult to sand, resulting in a very rough texture in my paint job. It comes as a small comfort that following the building sequence in the instructions would have made matters worse still.

Model ready for whitewash.

Markings

The kit offers markings for two “unidentified” units in this boxing.

Pictures from Henk of Holland website, used with permission

The first marking option actually contains four sub-options, with different names (“Puma”, “Jaguar”, “Panther” and “Löwe)”, but with the same whitewashed camo, which are undoubtedly vehicles from s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt.519 as the picture on page 42 and 43 of [1] shows “Puma”. Other vehicles identified, but not offered on the decal sheet, are “Büffel”, “Tiger” and “Pommern”. I decided to go for “Löwe” as I didn’t find any pictures of it (allowing me some artistic license - cf. the extra roadwheel above, for instance) but based it mostly on “Puma”.
While the features of “Puma” match a later vehicle, just as the kit, there are some differences compared with the baseline offering by Revell:

• There was a unit badge on the front armor of the fighting compartment, and probably one to the rear as well, which the kit lacks. The necessary decals were sourced from Dragon kit 7292, which has a total of four of these badges in two sizes. Incidentally, the Dragon decals didn't adhere very well, even after the use of setting solutions.
• As with all documented vehicles of this unit, it carried an extra spare roadwheel to the left of the driver’s cabin, but perhaps a bit lower than where I put it.
• The unit also often added logs to the bow, which the kit doesn’t provide. While confirmed for "Puma", I hope that "Löwe" didn't carry them. I marked off an area in the whitewash, just to hedge my bets.

The second marking option “132” looks somewhat like the one on page 30 and the color profiles in [1] from s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt.88, with the following differences:

• There was a unit badge on the front armor of the fighting compartment, which the kit lacks.
• “132” is placed slightly differently on the rear plate
• The camouflage pattern is slightly different.
• Worthy of note is that this unit often fitted a MG42 on top of the main gun, which the kit doesn’t provide.
• s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt.88 typically used playing card symbols on the side of the fighting compartment to denote their companies. The kit lacks these.

For details about other units that used the Nashorn, see [1].

Two different marking options are offered in the re-release.

• An overall dark yellow vehicle from 1./s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt.525 in March 1944, Monte Cassino, Italy. This is probably the same vehicle as depicted in Dragon kit 7292; in that case the color scheme isn't accurate while the same comments apply regarding field modifications.
• A green and dark yellow vehicle from 3./s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt.88 in 1944, Ukraine. This is the same vehicle as depicted in Dragon kit 7292; the same comments apply.

After whitewash and decals.

Diorama

I’m not sure whether I’ll ultimately place this model in a full diorama, but I wanted to bring some life to the scene by adding three crew figures and a spare ammunition container. I actually prepared several of these to hide blemishes in the lower area of the fighting compartment, which resulted from the disassembly required when discovering the true purpose of Parts 42 and 43 (vide supra), but ended up using only one. One of the figures also conveniently serves to hide a locating hole for the original position of the jack.
The container is from Tracks and Troops F003 or AC013, while the figures are from MIG set 72070; one of these figures has a binocular added from Tracks and Troops F001. These match the crews of the unit seen in the pictures quite well [1], and the uniforms are consistent with what was available at that time (early 1944).

Conclusion
Overall, this is a very nice kit, especially given the price for which you can sometimes find it. If it weren’t for those infamous Parts 42 and 43, it might almost have been an outright pleasure to build.

References
[1] Greenland, T., & Terlisten, D. (2001). Nuts & Bolts Vol. 14: Nashorn – Pz.Jäger Nashorn & 8.8 Pak 43/1 – Sd.Kfz. 164. Nuts & Bolts Verlag Gbr.
[2] Ledwoch, J. (2010). Nashorn (Wydawnictwo Militaria No. 334, Tank Power Vol. XCIII). Wydawnictwo Militaria.
[3] Jentz, T. L., & Doyle, H. L. (2006). Panzer Tracts No. 7-3: Panzerjäger (7.5 cm Pak 40/4 to 8.8 cm Waffenträger). Panzer Tracts.
[4] Feenstra, J. (2017). Panzerjäger on the Battlefield (World War Two Photobook Series Vol. 15). PeKo Publishing Kft. ISBN 978-615-5583-07-0.
[5] Ellis, C. (2011). PzKpfw IV at the front, Vol 5: Variants. 8wheels-good. ISBN 978-0-9563655-4-5.

Review sample purchased by the author.

Article Last Updated: 28 December 2025