Bronco Models 1/35 Humber Mk.I Scout Car w/Twin K-Guns Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Humber scout car was a combination of Karrier KT4 artillery tractor chassis and an armored body produced by Guy Armored Car. Production of the type started in 1941, with deliveries later in the year to support the 11th Hussars in North Africa. This first variant of the Humber was with one 15mm and one 7.92mm machine guns.

The Mark IAA version of the Humber allowed for the elevation of the quad 7.92mm machine guns fitted to this variant to the near vertical for air defense.

Later Marks of the Humber were equipped with a turret to enclose the armament as well as to facilitate larger caliber weapons. The Mk.IV was the last variant which was armed with a 37mm high velocity gun.

Bronco Models has released a second version of the Humber Scout Car, this time representing the Mk.I armed with twin 7.7mm K-Guns. As before, the kit is molded in olive drab styrene and presented on four parts trees, plus the car body and upper body. The kit also includes two sets of five rubber tires, and two frets of photo-etched details.

The Humber is a two-place scout vehicle (three people can get inside under duress) and in 1/35 scale, is not at all very large. Nevertheless, Bronco continues to provide a wealth of detail in this kit.

The crew compartment includes crew seats, stowage containers, radio equipment, road mines (never leave home without them), personal sidearms, and applicable vehicle controls.

The kit also has a very nicely detailed engine that sits behind the crew compartment firewall and this engine is complete with intake and exhaust manifolds, starter, radiator and hoses, fan and fanbelts, and even a radiator cap. A fuel tank is also provided inside the engine compartment. The chasis is also well detailed with suspension and powertrain to represent the four wheel drive.

The instruction sheet is bi-lingual (Chinese and English) and is well illustrated. Take a few extra minutes to study where everything goes as there is a lot of detail going on in this build. The kit is beautifully detailed and yet not comprised of hundreds and hundreds of detail parts that hint at over-engineering.

With all of the detail inside that crew and engine compartment, you might want to see how well the covers for the engine and crew compartment fit without glue to allow you to show off your interior details at will.

Markings are provided for some number of Humber examples, but unfortunately the color and marking guide was left out of these instructions. You'll have to match these markings up to published and/or online references.

This is a very impressive kit considering all of the detail that fits inside that little hull. If you're an AMS modeler, you won't lack for detail in this offering and about all you'll need is a driver and radioman figure to accompany that nice commander figure.

This kit is highly recommended!

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!