A Facelift and Refit For a Bandai Hummel

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Dear Fellow Travelers,

I was in the midst of a minor facelift of my venerable, old Bandai Bumble Bee when Trumpeter announced their upcoming release of their Hummel in two variants (and the Nashorn). The news didn't take the complete starch out of my efforts to see things through, though I admit it somewhat curtailed them. Still, the old girl did receive a new drive system (though she's a static model) to include new drive axles, sprockets, road wheels, idlers and tracks, some other exterior detail to include a 3D generated muffler and exhaust, other exterior detail and a lot of oil paint pin wash. Interior-wise, Value Gear came to the rescue with their beautiful crew gear. Other 'upgrades' included the gasoline fillers, frame for the gasoline hose (have to figure out how to make the hose itself (preferably, buy one), camo frame (have to figure out how to make the canvas tarp--I hope Uncle Night Shift has a primer on the topic) and again, a heavy dose of oils which are so forgiving and easy to work with. Awaiting are the very well done 3D printed ammo packages from Werk 16, and foliage. Hope the old Bandai guys like it. Here's where things stand at the moment

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Cheers

[Herr Dr. Professor]

That is remarkably realistic detail and weathering! Is this the Bandai 1/15 RC model? Or is this a static version?

[HERMAN BIX]

Now listen here you
Taking pics of real vehicles and photoshopping the fake background in is cheating !!
Your Mum not teach you that ??

[TIGER76]

outstanding work SCHWEREPANZER insane levels of detail

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Gentlemen All;

Thanks for the nice comments. I know the old beast is much maligned as being out of scale, somewhere between 1/15 and 1/16, but somehow I've always been drawn to this one. Interestingly, when replacing the original, somewhat clunky, road wheels with those of the Tamiya Panzer IV (Jagdpanzer IV), they were a 1:1 size-wise exchange. So, at least in that respect, there are some 1/16 aspects to the Bandai.

Herr Dr. Professor: This one did start out as a motorized version, but since I don't run it, all that has been removed. The original gear boxes (very heavy they are) had to be changed to accept the Taigen 1/16 scale sprocket. I did not know that Bandai made a non-motorized version. One is always learning on this forum. Thanks for the information.

MG Bix: Yep, mum always taught me not to cheat. So, rather than create an elaborate, but fake, backdrop, I simply put a bit of poster board between my subject and the junk on my work bench, so there! Thanks Bix.

Tiger: Thanks. It's an OCD problem more than anything else.

Thanks chaps

[John Glover]

That is a work of art. What oils do you use. Regards John.

[Panzermechaniker]

Yea that's a beauty. Half tracks and self propelled guns are the direction I'm headed for my future builds the more I see of these great builds

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Sorry for the delay in responding, John. The price we all pay when our lives are never quite our own. Thanks for the kind comments. The oils easiest to use, at least for me, are the Mig Oilbrusher line. No waiting around for the oils to ooze out of a tube. Just shake the small tube they come in, and they are ready to use with a little white spirit. The color pigment is almost as dense as the Abteilung 502 oils. I'm no expert on oils , but I do know they are very forgiving if you may a mistake and want to remove what you've already laid down.

Thanks again...

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Hey Panzermech,

I too got hooked on these half-tracks, but it's almost like building two models at once, the exterior and then an almost separate interior which, for me, is almost a greater challenge than the exterior. But, on the other hand, the variants are almost endless. Good luck in you endeavors in this direction.

[MrChef]

Exceptional, just Exceptional!