Bronco Model's Humber Scout Car Mk. I
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Humber Scout Car Mk. I
As stated on the the kit box, the Humber Scout Car entered service in 1943. It was widely used in Italy and Northwest Europe. This lightly armored car was used in different branches of the British Army including the Armoured Corps, Engineers and Artillery units not to mention Formation Headquarters. They could be mounted with one machine gun but some had two. Production stopped in 1945 as the war in Europe ended. It was decided that the use of the Dingo scout car would be of more use for the postwar British Army. Most of the Humber Scout Cars were scrapped or sold off. They served other countries such as Malaysia, Belgium, Denmark, Holland and France.
The
Kit
The boxart depicts Humber Scout Car Mk. I in overall olive drab from the 11th Armoured Division in action. Initial view of the contents of the box includes a nicely detailed resin figure in a standing pose. There are several bagged styrene sprues molded in olive drab, five hollow black vinyl tires, sprue of photo-etch, decal sheet, clear acetate and the 15-page instruction manual.
Initial
viewing of the instruction manual shows that this open-top vehicle model
also includes a detailed engine assembly. The nicely illustrated instructions
are well referenced assembly symbols for drilling, gluing, sanding, etc.
during the assembly process. All parts are documented in a parts diagram
but their numbering is very small and somewhat difficult to read especially
for the photo-etch sprue. Get your magnifying glass out.
Assembly
begins with the two crew seating positions and rear fire wall detail as
well as floor detailing. Next you will add details to the side wall of
the crew compartment which includes nicely detailed radios, ammo and fire
arms stowage. It looks like you will have to add a set of head phones
as the only missing detail of note. An added bonus in my opinion is the
nicely detailed engine compartment in this kit. I can't vouch for its
accuracy but it does resemble the typical British petrol engines used
in light armored cars at the time. The engine assembly appears straight
forward with painting references as you build it.
The
next step you will finish the interior by adding the fuel tank and mate
the chassis with the body. The nicely detailed suspension is added to
the chassis including front and rear drive axles as well as leaf springs
and steering arms. Once this is done you will add the wheel hubs and bottom
armored plating. The roof of the fighting compartment is next with inside
detailing and access hatches as well as the dash board. Again the detail
is consistent and nicely done.
The
final three steps involve mating the compartment roof to the lower complete
hull, adding stowage detail and antenna bases, fenders, machine gun mount,
rear deck and tires.
When you are ready to paint your Humber Scout Car Mk. I you have a
paint reference table for various paint manufacturers including Tamiya
and Humbrol to name a couple. This is nice if you have a preference. You
will also choose one of six marking schemes, four of them are late World
War II units and two postwar units. The decals are of excellent quality
as they are from Cartograf. They are thin and well-registered. You should
have no problem applying them to the 
angular
surfaces on your Humber.
Lastly, as a bonus I believe, you have a resin crew figure of fine quality to paint and place in your scout car. Unfortunately, there are no painting references anywhere in the instructions for said figure. That should pose too much of a problem as it is and Allied figure which mean some form of khaki or olive drab of some shade should be just fine.
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Conclusion
This is an excellent choice for Bronco Models to pursue. British armored cars have been mostly ignored as subjects for injection molded kits. I see on the boxart that there will be more like the Staghound Mk. I (late). This new tooling by Bronco is a very good one at that. I give this kit two thumbs up. I would like to thank Stevens International for the review kit.
