I have been trying to find out what color the powder charge containers for a Hummel SPG should be. Dragon's instructions do not have any color listed. Are the containers that store the individual powder charges brass, or would they be metal painted gray or something else? Any help would be appreciated.

Art, period photos that I've seen for another SPG, the Grille, show the charges to be unpainted brass (as far as I can tell from 60+ year old b&w photos). I'd assume the same for the Hummel, but hopefully someone with more knowledge on this will chime in.

Gents:

Best I know; the Hummel carried the long-barrel 15cm howitzer schwerer FeldHaubitz 18 L30, while that Grille (and its similar beasts, Bison I and Bison II) carried the much smaller 15cm s.IG 33 field gun. Both weapons used "cased - separate-loading ammunition" with a big HE projectile and a separate shorty brass shell-casing which held bagged propellant charges.

The big difference, aside from the projectiles themselves, appears to have been that the s.IG used much smaller propellant charges. In the case of the s.FH 18 /Hummel, the bagged charges were carried separately from the base casings and folks assembled and loaded the charges, followed by the shorty base, as called for by the gunner per mission, whereas those smaller s.IG charges assembled into their shorty case and loaded behind the projectile as a"unit"?

This is probably all "background" and "FYI" - both cases were BRASS. (I THINK in later war, probably the Hummel guns received some painted steel casings like those used for late-war 7.5cm and 8.8cm AT gun and tank rounds, as brass became shorter in supply). Which suggests to me maybe an interesting idea...

As the Hummel was mid - later war and served right to the end, a Hummel build with some brassies and some painted (olive or dark green) might be kinda different and interest! Just a hair-brained idea for you!

Bob

Gents,
Thanks for the replies. That is interesting about the brass and painted steel cases- I may load the charge locker with some brass and painted steel cases! I remember in the mid 90's firing 81mm Illumination mortar rounds that were from 1966, so I think it would be possible for a Hummel crew to have a mix of brass and painted steel charge cases. Thanks for the idea!