Tamiya Hummel - Work-in-progress (1:35) by aforest

Basic construction in-progress. Tamiya's metal barrel is great, naturally. PROTIP: don’t glue the return rollers if you want to be able to fit the track after gluing the upper hull! Not visible here, but I added some little struts made from photo-etch scrap to the inside of the front hatches, so I could pose them slightly open without doing a full detail job on the inner surfaces. Most reference photos seem to show the hatches open most of the time. Top hatches are also usually open in photos, but I really didn't want to scratch-build any interior in the driver's compartment, so as a compromise one is slightly open and maybe will have a tarp or something in there.

Photo-etch sets seem to include protruding handles on the top hatches, but I can't find any period photos of these. The only reference for these handles seems to be some - but not all - surviving examples in museums, which suggests they might not have been standard, or only installed intermittently?

Noticed a towing pin in a lot of reference that the kit doesn't include, so I added a very basic approximation from copper wire. Should have a chain to attach it as well, but I don't have any to hand, and this isn't supposed to be a complex build!

Added copper wire for the front headlight. Front light cabling is shown differently in different reference sources. Top left is from pg. 73 of Panzer Tracts 10-1. Top right is from pg. 28 of Tank on the Battlefield 34. I went for the Panzer Tracts option just because it meant not having to drill or scratchbuild another connection point. Also added towing cable from twisted copper wire.

Rubber-tired road wheels get some damage via being randomly attacked with a hobby knife, followed by a brushing of Tamiya Extra Thin to smooth any jagged results

Primed pieces ready for basecoat. Primer is 50/50 Mr. Surfacer 1000/Mr Levelling Thinner for anyone interested. Lovely smooth, tough primer with a good gripping surface.

2/4 Dunkelgelb modulation layers down using the Ammo modulation set. Just want to get the crew compartment temporarily assembled before applying the last two layers, so I can get the light in the right places.

Dunkelgelb modulation mostly complete. Just want to add some highlights by brush on specific parts. Looks very dramatic, but obviously weathering will tone that down a lot.

Brush-painted highlights are what make the modulation really come together and give a lot of necessary contrast around details. Later weathering obviously tones this down a lot.

Base colours complete with some interior details painted, and crew compartment assembled. Tamiya fit is beautiful of course, so I had no real trouble putting the crew compartment together after the basic painting.

Base colours complete with some interior details painted, and crew compartment assembled.

First camo colour down. Got a little modulation in the green, which I'm reasonably pleased with. Base is A.MIG-0065 Forest Green, mixed 50/50 with A.MIG-0084 Nato Green for shade, and A.MIG-0023 Protective Green for highlights, followed by brush-painted highlights with pure Protective Green. Masking for the Rotbraun parts next.

Basic camo done, again with a small amount of modulation in the Rotbraun patches. Had to do a few small touch-ups, and the end of the barrel got stripped back to bare metal when I removed the masking tape, so that had to be repainted. Fairly happy with it now, time to move on to decals and weathering after that.

Basic filters and washes. First round of oils and chipping next.

Starting on the figures, while the wash dries. Not completely terrible, hopefully, considering they're the first figures I've painted in like 20 years or so...

First round of oils done, and a lot of chipping! Started with sponge-chipping in a light colour, then a lot of teeny-tiny brush chips with about 50/50 A.MIG-0044 Chipping (great dark brown colour) and A.MIG-0033 Rubber & Tires (excellent flat grey for basic metals).

Chipping the interior of the crew compartment. I really wanted this to look beat up and scratched to hell, because this is where the crew is constantly moving around, stomping with heavy boots, tossing shells, etc. There's no way the paintwork doesn't get scratched up very quickly under those conditions. Hence, I went for a slightly more grey chipping colour, to emphasise that these are fresh scratches.

Chipped running gear. This stuff gets constantly scraped and polished by the tracks, so paint won't last long.

Very light pre-dusting with A.MIG-0025 US Modern Vehicles over 2 layers of chipping fluid.

Added a bunch of rust and mud and dust. Wheels are now on, ready for the tracks to be finally attached. Just want to add a couple little extra scenic items before it's done.