RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Hi,
As the parts needed to finish the Stug build will likely not make it before the holidays, I decided to start a new build with the parts at hand.
This will be a 1/16 scale WW2 German Hummel self-propelled howitzer, full name is Panzerfeldhaubitze 18M auf Geschützwagen III/IV (Sf) Hummel, Sd.Kfz. 165. It will be a Late production model.
Like many modelers, i already have a Bandai 1/15 Hummel. I built it 30 years ago. lt's one of Bandai better offering from the 1970s. It shows it age and would need a full rebuild. But it is designed to fit their unmodified Panzer IV chassis and is therefore inaccurate to the German armor experts. The Hummel was based on a hybrid Panzer III/IV chassis and is a bit longer. Lack of commonality with 1/16 parts on the market is also in incentive to build a new 1/16 scale model. But what does 1/16 mean. What i thought would be a simple calculation by extrapolating 1/35 references turned out to be complicated.
Of my three reference books, two of them have 1/35 graphs, "Panzer in Saumur Volume 3" and the "Militaria no 178 Hummel" books show major differences in their advertised 1/35 graphs as shown below. So, which one is right...
To help me with this build, i also have a Tamiya and Dragon 1/35 kits.
Shown here is the Tamiya 1/35 chassis next to the Panzer at Saumur book. The graph advertised as 1/35 is too small.
The same Tamiya chassis next to the Militaria Hummel graph. The 1/35 graph is too big...
When comparing the Tamiya and Dragon 1/35 chassis next to each other, they are equal. I will therefore use the 1/35 kits as references and look at any Hummel graph in books with great skepticism.
Both Dragon and Tamiya have excellent instructions, pictures and graphics will be a great help for the build.
As the Hummel will be a Late production model, the main difference is the frontal driver and radio crew compartment. The Late model has a wider cabin.
I did build a Dragon1/35 Hummel in the 90s, and modified it with a Commander resin kit to represent the Late production model.
Continuing on following post
As the parts needed to finish the Stug build will likely not make it before the holidays, I decided to start a new build with the parts at hand.
This will be a 1/16 scale WW2 German Hummel self-propelled howitzer, full name is Panzerfeldhaubitze 18M auf Geschützwagen III/IV (Sf) Hummel, Sd.Kfz. 165. It will be a Late production model.
Like many modelers, i already have a Bandai 1/15 Hummel. I built it 30 years ago. lt's one of Bandai better offering from the 1970s. It shows it age and would need a full rebuild. But it is designed to fit their unmodified Panzer IV chassis and is therefore inaccurate to the German armor experts. The Hummel was based on a hybrid Panzer III/IV chassis and is a bit longer. Lack of commonality with 1/16 parts on the market is also in incentive to build a new 1/16 scale model. But what does 1/16 mean. What i thought would be a simple calculation by extrapolating 1/35 references turned out to be complicated.
Of my three reference books, two of them have 1/35 graphs, "Panzer in Saumur Volume 3" and the "Militaria no 178 Hummel" books show major differences in their advertised 1/35 graphs as shown below. So, which one is right...
To help me with this build, i also have a Tamiya and Dragon 1/35 kits.
Shown here is the Tamiya 1/35 chassis next to the Panzer at Saumur book. The graph advertised as 1/35 is too small.
The same Tamiya chassis next to the Militaria Hummel graph. The 1/35 graph is too big...
When comparing the Tamiya and Dragon 1/35 chassis next to each other, they are equal. I will therefore use the 1/35 kits as references and look at any Hummel graph in books with great skepticism.
Both Dragon and Tamiya have excellent instructions, pictures and graphics will be a great help for the build.
As the Hummel will be a Late production model, the main difference is the frontal driver and radio crew compartment. The Late model has a wider cabin.
I did build a Dragon1/35 Hummel in the 90s, and modified it with a Commander resin kit to represent the Late production model.
Continuing on following post
Last edited by lmcq11 on Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:26 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Close up of the 1/35 Late model frontal crew cabin.
Some of the assembled parts for the build, accumulated over the years. The build will use the Ludwig Nashorn base kit in Polystyrene which is definitely not a kit for the beginners. It is just now, in the middle of a pandemic and with nothing else to do during the holidays that i summoned the courage to build it. I build the Juckengurg Nashorn a few years ago, which also offered a Hummel. Juckenburg was retaken by MK Modellbau but they never issued both. The Nashorn kit was not very good.
I will be using a set of Taigen metal suspension. These have flaws. Although each unit can be made to swivel easily on its main axel, the leaf spring between the two arms is too strong and barely move. But as they were available on the parts shelf and the Hummel is not exactly a main battle tank where suspension is important for high speed maneuvers, the Hummel is the best candidate to finally make use of them. Let's see what i can do to make them look good and functional as best as possible.
Instead of a 88mm anti-tank gun of the Nashorn, the Hummel will be mounted with the powerful 15 cm sFH 18 L/30 howitzer from Trumpeter, now somehow with a "I love kit" branding. I must have missed the renaming of the brand. The plan is to give the howitzer servo elevation and some rotation. It is un-determined if recoil can be provided without damaging the look of the howitzer. Space is also very limited inside the hull for any electronics than bare essentials. On this build with open crew compartment, accuracy is more important to me than recoil. This very detailed 1/16 scale model howitzer should look very good. The plan is to provide crews for the howitzer., a moving diorama...
A set of Mato metal Panzer III gearbox will be used. After the bad experience with the Mato Sherman M4A1 plastic gearbox on the M3 Lee build, i will stick with them.
Looking at the Ludwig kit, i cannot find any reason why Chris created these crater like location holes for the suspension dampers and return rollers. If anything, the plastic underneath them should be made stronger, not thinner. There is barely any plastic left for support. Maybe the thinking is that these parts can be made by cannibalizing a Heng Long Panzer IV chassis, and insert the HL chassis root of these parts into these holes. There are no instructions to indicate the intent. The pictures on the Ludwig website do not cover all the construction steps and parts...
My first task was therefore to fill these with plasticard and superglue as i have better plans.
And i installed the side armor reversed so that the flat surface side is shown externally. This is a quick remedy for the situation.
The main parts for the chassis are assembled in no time.
As with any Ludwig kit, the holes, interlocking joints and gaps between parts need to be taken care of.
Some of the assembled parts for the build, accumulated over the years. The build will use the Ludwig Nashorn base kit in Polystyrene which is definitely not a kit for the beginners. It is just now, in the middle of a pandemic and with nothing else to do during the holidays that i summoned the courage to build it. I build the Juckengurg Nashorn a few years ago, which also offered a Hummel. Juckenburg was retaken by MK Modellbau but they never issued both. The Nashorn kit was not very good.
I will be using a set of Taigen metal suspension. These have flaws. Although each unit can be made to swivel easily on its main axel, the leaf spring between the two arms is too strong and barely move. But as they were available on the parts shelf and the Hummel is not exactly a main battle tank where suspension is important for high speed maneuvers, the Hummel is the best candidate to finally make use of them. Let's see what i can do to make them look good and functional as best as possible.
Instead of a 88mm anti-tank gun of the Nashorn, the Hummel will be mounted with the powerful 15 cm sFH 18 L/30 howitzer from Trumpeter, now somehow with a "I love kit" branding. I must have missed the renaming of the brand. The plan is to give the howitzer servo elevation and some rotation. It is un-determined if recoil can be provided without damaging the look of the howitzer. Space is also very limited inside the hull for any electronics than bare essentials. On this build with open crew compartment, accuracy is more important to me than recoil. This very detailed 1/16 scale model howitzer should look very good. The plan is to provide crews for the howitzer., a moving diorama...
A set of Mato metal Panzer III gearbox will be used. After the bad experience with the Mato Sherman M4A1 plastic gearbox on the M3 Lee build, i will stick with them.
Looking at the Ludwig kit, i cannot find any reason why Chris created these crater like location holes for the suspension dampers and return rollers. If anything, the plastic underneath them should be made stronger, not thinner. There is barely any plastic left for support. Maybe the thinking is that these parts can be made by cannibalizing a Heng Long Panzer IV chassis, and insert the HL chassis root of these parts into these holes. There are no instructions to indicate the intent. The pictures on the Ludwig website do not cover all the construction steps and parts...
My first task was therefore to fill these with plasticard and superglue as i have better plans.
And i installed the side armor reversed so that the flat surface side is shown externally. This is a quick remedy for the situation.
The main parts for the chassis are assembled in no time.
As with any Ludwig kit, the holes, interlocking joints and gaps between parts need to be taken care of.
Last edited by lmcq11 on Fri Dec 25, 2020 3:16 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Plasticard residue strips and superglue are thrown in every gaps. The modeler must resist the temptation of emptying tubes of putty in these gaps. They will take an eternity to dry and won't be solid, they will break. These superglued strips can be sanded and levelled with the main parts even while the glue is still soft, creating a good bond. Superglue mixed with sanded plasticard particles is actually the best hull putty available. Just need a good reserve of MAKARTT nail files in 100, 180 and 240 grit, cheaply available by the dozen on Amazon.
Testors putty is only used in very thin layers or small holes. Application will take a few layers to get it smooth.
The chassis is thoroughly sanded, and dimensions are close to the extrapolated 1/35 references, with a tolerable couple of mm of differences in length compared to Tamiya. Its a bit too long.
I had a Tamiya 1/16 Panzer IV sprue leftover from a conversion build many years ago. The plan i have is to reuse the mounting bars for the suspension.
Showing how the Tamiya suspension mount parts compare to the provided Ludwig parts, no contest.
The Ludwig chassis has more distance between the suspension unit mount faces. I decided to cut these.
The distance between the Tamiya 1/16 Panzer IV part matched the equivalent distance on the Tamiya Hummel 1/35 kit. I therefore decided to go with the Tamiya part and distance. Here being dry fit for calculations and placement.
Showing how the Tamiya mount size compared to the Heng Long chassis. There are the same. It is therefore an excellent option to cannibalize a Heng Long Panzer IV chassis for parts for this built, with lots of cutting... Each of the HL running train component (whole suspension, dampers, return rollers and mount) can technically be cut, sanded and prepared for transplant on the Ludwig flat hull. This would be a cheaper option for modeler going with plastic tracks.
The Tamiya part is modified to accept the Taigen suspension screw for mounting .
And installed on the Ludwig chassis.
Testors putty is only used in very thin layers or small holes. Application will take a few layers to get it smooth.
The chassis is thoroughly sanded, and dimensions are close to the extrapolated 1/35 references, with a tolerable couple of mm of differences in length compared to Tamiya. Its a bit too long.
I had a Tamiya 1/16 Panzer IV sprue leftover from a conversion build many years ago. The plan i have is to reuse the mounting bars for the suspension.
Showing how the Tamiya suspension mount parts compare to the provided Ludwig parts, no contest.
The Ludwig chassis has more distance between the suspension unit mount faces. I decided to cut these.
The distance between the Tamiya 1/16 Panzer IV part matched the equivalent distance on the Tamiya Hummel 1/35 kit. I therefore decided to go with the Tamiya part and distance. Here being dry fit for calculations and placement.
Showing how the Tamiya mount size compared to the Heng Long chassis. There are the same. It is therefore an excellent option to cannibalize a Heng Long Panzer IV chassis for parts for this built, with lots of cutting... Each of the HL running train component (whole suspension, dampers, return rollers and mount) can technically be cut, sanded and prepared for transplant on the Ludwig flat hull. This would be a cheaper option for modeler going with plastic tracks.
The Tamiya part is modified to accept the Taigen suspension screw for mounting .
And installed on the Ludwig chassis.
Last edited by lmcq11 on Fri Dec 25, 2020 3:28 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
I wanted to use Asiatam metal suspension housing but it looks like they will take months to make it from Germany to America, so i decided to use Trumpeter plastic Panzer IV instead that i had on inventory. They are very nicely detailed. These were purchased separately on ebay for a few dollars for replacement on a planned Heng Long based Jagdpanzer IV but used here instead... It is actually possible to get a Trumpeter Panzer IV for between $160-200 on ebay or on sale elsewhere. Buying a whole Trumpeter kit for RC conversion or parts can be cheaper than buying specific components from sellers that resell individual sprues at a premium.
They need modifications for use in RC operations.
They replaced the provided Ludwig parts with much less work and better results.
They are mounted on the chassis at the right calculated height.
The Taigen suspension units are installed in no time.
Close up view of the Trumpeter Panzer IV suspension housings.
One of the metal cap is put on for testing purposes. These will be installed only after running trials.
Sadly, the set of metal roadwheel with rubber bands i had on inventory do not have ball bearings. Not wanting to throw these away or keep them on shelves for more years, they are used on this build. They are ok but require a lot of fine tuning, and a washer.
The metal road wheels are installed. The Hummel will run Mato metal tracks.
They need modifications for use in RC operations.
They replaced the provided Ludwig parts with much less work and better results.
They are mounted on the chassis at the right calculated height.
The Taigen suspension units are installed in no time.
Close up view of the Trumpeter Panzer IV suspension housings.
One of the metal cap is put on for testing purposes. These will be installed only after running trials.
Sadly, the set of metal roadwheel with rubber bands i had on inventory do not have ball bearings. Not wanting to throw these away or keep them on shelves for more years, they are used on this build. They are ok but require a lot of fine tuning, and a washer.
The metal road wheels are installed. The Hummel will run Mato metal tracks.
Last edited by lmcq11 on Fri Dec 25, 2020 3:33 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
View of the newly created 1/16 Hummel chassis next to my old Bandai 1/15 Hummel. They are about the same size, showing that the Bandai model is too short for the scale. Another thin application of putty was done on the chassis for later sanding and polishing.
That's it for today. Merry Christmas everyone.
Louis
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Sadly a lot of these 'plans' in books are done by people with a 'technical illustration' background, rather than Engineers / Draughtsmen - the later produces drawings of 'the thing' so that it can be manufactured, the former produces drawings so that 'the thing' can be understood - its really not the same skill set and/or approach to the problem.
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Merry Christmas !!
Here we have the installation of the gearbox and sprockets.
As the Mato gearbox comes with its own metal base plate with pre-drilled holes, a new plasticard mount at the proper height is created to support it. The Ludwig plasticard motor plate is discarded.
The Hummel and Nashorn have to be equipped with Panzer III sprocket gear hubs, not Panzer IV. These are Mato metal hubs available at Mato Mart. I moved the gearbox about 2mm towards the rear compared to the Ludwig pre-drilled holes for the shafts. Installing these hubs is important for the look because they show a lot from the front even when the sprocket is on.
I removed with a hand metal file about 1mm from the sprocket shaft in order to better align the sprocket with the road wheels.
I installed the hubs at an eyeballed angle seen in references.
The metal sprocket are put on.
The Hummel and Nashorn were always equipped with Panzer III sprockets. It would be a mistake to install Panzer IV sprockets, as sometimes seen.
Its the first time i notice the markings on those metal sprockets. I checked the web to see if they were accurate or imaginary.
I have found the same markings on one picture of the exterior face of a Panzer III sprocket on Prime Portal. The markings are the same, except its upside down and smaller. Still, not bad. There are likely much variations as i noticed PzIII sprockets without any obvious markings on the exterior face.
View of the gearbox installation. The Mato base plate is solidly installed on the plasticard mounting, with hex bolts going all the way through the hull bottom.
Overview of the model as it stands today.
Regards, Louis
Here we have the installation of the gearbox and sprockets.
As the Mato gearbox comes with its own metal base plate with pre-drilled holes, a new plasticard mount at the proper height is created to support it. The Ludwig plasticard motor plate is discarded.
The Hummel and Nashorn have to be equipped with Panzer III sprocket gear hubs, not Panzer IV. These are Mato metal hubs available at Mato Mart. I moved the gearbox about 2mm towards the rear compared to the Ludwig pre-drilled holes for the shafts. Installing these hubs is important for the look because they show a lot from the front even when the sprocket is on.
I removed with a hand metal file about 1mm from the sprocket shaft in order to better align the sprocket with the road wheels.
I installed the hubs at an eyeballed angle seen in references.
The metal sprocket are put on.
The Hummel and Nashorn were always equipped with Panzer III sprockets. It would be a mistake to install Panzer IV sprockets, as sometimes seen.
Its the first time i notice the markings on those metal sprockets. I checked the web to see if they were accurate or imaginary.
I have found the same markings on one picture of the exterior face of a Panzer III sprocket on Prime Portal. The markings are the same, except its upside down and smaller. Still, not bad. There are likely much variations as i noticed PzIII sprockets without any obvious markings on the exterior face.
View of the gearbox installation. The Mato base plate is solidly installed on the plasticard mounting, with hex bolts going all the way through the hull bottom.
Overview of the model as it stands today.
Regards, Louis
Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Wow, two builds on the go - you are very busy in the modelling dept.
Watching along.
Watching along.
- FredtheFrench
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Re: RC 1/16 Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel Late Production - Build
Woaaaahhhh!!!! Amazing job!!! Every time, each of your project is absoluty fantastic.
Sorry for my spelling mistakes, I try to do better every day...