Humber MkII Scout Car Diorama by Rik Thistle - FINISHED - Revell - 1:76 - WWII

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Continuing my Beginner's journey in to the world of plastic modelling, I bought the kit below, a British Army Humber MkII Scout Car. It comes with a Commander and a small diorama base. It was less than £10...no paints, glue or brush were included in this edition. I visualise it being used in North Africa.

 

A quick look at the box contents - the manual, transfers and the plastic bits. There are 65 parts in the kit - 'Level 4' on the box refers to the approximate number of parts, rather than the skill level required.

 

Below, the parts painted with a matt Black undercoat, and a different type of glue from the last kit (...Sherman tank) -  I had hoped this glue would be less smelly than the Revell glue, but it wasn't - I now have Tamiya Extra Thin glue on order...3rd time lucky?

 

The kit really is quite small. Parts can be tiny, and painting of fine details will be a challenge.

 

Below, the underside of the Humber with both wheel axles about to be fitted. The grey plastic showing through the undercoat is where I scraped off mould lines and/or removed paint for gluing.

 

My fingers found it difficult to position small parts for gluing. I tried tweezers but parts can ping out of those, so I ended up using some BluTack on a cocktail stick - that was a decent improvement on fingers.

 

Starting to think about the composition layout of the diorama, plus the Commander getting ready for the paint shop. And the spare wheel which will be mounted on the front of the vehicle.

 

Now using up what was left of the tube of smelly Humbrol Filler putty to fill in the diorama area. This time I tried a breathing mask and it was surprising successful against the Humbrol putty. I have decided to extend the 'building' as I felt it was an important part of the 'story'.

 

Where I've got to so far. Some colours added, plus some dirt. From my visits to the Middle East (...the closest I have got to North Africa) I remember desert sand as usually being close to white, and plenty of skree scattered about.  I'll just fill the crater with rubble and stones rather than with (as I think Revell suggests) water. The scout car has also been give a base colouring. And looking at it again, I may add another corner to the building.

 

Final part in a week or so,

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[DerekMc]

1 hour ago, Rik Thistle said:

I now have Tamiya Extra Thin glue on order...3rd time lucky?

Probably not. I use Tamiya Extra thin and find that it smells. Still, it's an excellent glue.  A couple things that can help with the odor.  Minimize how long the bottle is left open. I use the lid brush so I place the glue then put the lid back on the bottle without delay.  I use a small fan to move the air around a bit.  It doesn't get rid of the odor but it will minimize the direct impact.  Have a window slightly open for a bit of fresh air.  Chilly in the winter! 

 

Nice job on the Humber!

[Rik Thistle]

Derek,

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I use Tamiya Extra thin and find that it smells.

 

Darn 😞   I use a small USB fan and an open window, but the solvents in some of those glues and putties are very strong smelling. Having said that the AK Putty seems odourless.  Anyway, all part of the fun learning process 🙂

 

Richard

 

 

 

[Egilman]

Testors Liquid glue is Acetate and Methyl Ethyl Ketone, about a 50/50 mix... 

 

I believe that Tamiya Ultra thin is the same stuff but a little heavier on the Acetate... (which is the drier/evaporative component)

Tamiya's airbrush cleaner is the same stuff just a bit heavier on the Ketone... (The plastic melter component)

I suspect that off brand glue you already are using is the exact same stuff...

 

There are other glue formulations that use Acetone as their active ingredient, they smell like nail polish remover...

 

Aside from the smell, in the quantities we use them they are of no danger to human life...

 

You can buy them in various sized containers (up to a gallon) at most big box hardware stores.....

 

As far as the getting high off the fumes component, the government mandated that a chemical be added to them which will give you a headache long before they get you high way back in the late '70's...

 

For general gluing I use the cap brush and place the cap over the bottle when not gluing, pretty much standard practice... For fine gluing, I put the cap back over the bottle after dipping my fine pointed gluing brush in it....

 

Anyway they are completely safe, with or without a mask.. (although I wouldn't drink the stuff, {chuckle})

[Rik Thistle]

Egilman,

 

Thanks for all that.

 

Yup, the Govt mandate for headaches works... for the past fortnight I've had mild headaches - I generally don't suffer from headaches, so I'm putting it down to the new 'substances' I've been playing with.

 

I've used CA glue extensively in the past without too much issue, but the Revell glue fumes were bad, as was the Humbrol putty's. The problem with the Revell glue container was that re-fitting it's long nozzle cap was a two handed job whereas a cap brush, as you mention, is quickly replaced with only one hand back onto the bottle. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

My drinking days are long behind me so there will be no temptation to guzzle the stuff 😉

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

A short finale to the Humber build.

 

I added a bit more structure to the damaged building. Dried and micro-waved garden earth and small stones were liberally sprinkled over quite a number of areas, and held in place by watered-down PVA glue.

 

Positioning the Humber in the setting to get a feel for composition.

 

And the final scene. Part of the building has collapsed in to the crater, along with some other debris. Plenty skree all around. I added an antenna to the vehicle...I used 0.35mm wire (...the smallest wire I could put my hands on) , but probably half that diameter would have been more in keeping with the scale.  I've deliberately driven the scout car up onto the bank to give the Commander a slightly higher viewpoint.

 

Edit: Transfers added. Only 4x small ones ie 2 white registration numbers at front and rear, and two ident numbers on mudguards.

 

Edit: Repainted the ruined building brown, and added some vegetation.

 

My 'weathering' has a long way to go, but from a distance I don't think it is too bad.  It was an enjoyable little build, which filled in an hour or so each day....I could see myself doing another similar build. As with all builds I learned a good bit more about the vehicle than I had previously known, which is a big part of the enjoyment.

 

As for 'glues', I only used CA and PVA. The Tamiya Extra Thin cement only arrived today and it certainly has a strong smell. The other glue I bought about 10 days ago is Plastic Magic 10 Second cement, which doesn't smell as bad. I believe both melt the plastic to form joints. I did a quick couple of test joints on some scrap plastic with both but neither held - more tests required. (Edit: The Plastic Magic glue seems to work fine on the Churchill tank, although it has about 3x the cure time of CA).

 

Thanks for all the Comments and Likes.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

PS: As I was finishing the Humber I heard a loud rumbling at my door...this was sitting outside.... gulp!

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[Canute]

I like the PlasticMagic cement. It doesn't evaporate too fast, letting me apply it where I need it. And it holds quite nicely.

 

Good plastic cements melt the styrene, effectively welding the parts together. However, with thinner styrene pieces, say under .010 inch, I'd superglue them because of the melting action of the Ketones used. You end up with dimples where ever you apply the glue. There are other plastics out there, such as ABS. They require a different glue, since the plastic cements you mention have little binding effect on them..

[Rik Thistle]

Ken,

 

Thanks for all that.

 

There are other plastics out there, such as ABS....

 

I'll double check what the plastic pieces I did the tests on are made of...they were offcuts from the Humber model sprue....apparently the plastic type should be stamped on it somewhere.

 

Richard

 

[Old Collingwood]

Really liking what you are  doing Richard   -  looking very  realistic  - loving the  scenery.

 

OC.

[Rik Thistle]

OC,

 

Thanks for that.

 

I've got the model now sitting on a shelf to my right in the Study. I'm happy with it, but I feel it is missing an extra feature like a dried tree or shrub...or something (?) to give a bit more height to the overall scene. If inspiration arrives I'll post a pic of the mod.

 

In the meantime I have a Churchill tank entering the production line 🙂

 

Richard