Introduction

The role of the Daimler Scout Car was expanded in 1942 to include scouting, liaison, and forward reconnaissance and so the production of the little vehicle could not keep pace with the increased demand. Humber was asked to build scout cars to fill the need, but instead of copying Daimler, they produced their own slightly larger vehicle using many of the same components in production. The result was the Humber Scout Car Mk.I. which appeared in 1943.

The Humber was powered by an 87 BHP Rootes 6-cylinder engine, which gave a top speed of 104 Km/H on the road, and a range of 320 Kilometers. Armor was 14mm thick and the weight was just shy of 4000 Kg. It was normally armed with single, or twin, .303 Bren light machine guns, on a PLM remote mounting on the roof of the car. A number 19 Radio set was used for communication and the Humber had a normal crew of 3. The Humber was highly prized by its crews, it was fast, reliable and it had much better weather protection than the Daimler. It was mostly issued to the Tank and Armoured car regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps, but was also used by infantry, signals, and engineering and artillery units. A total of 1,698 Humber cars were produced before being modified to the Mk II in 1944. They were widely used during the D-day landings and also saw action in smaller units in Italy, Greece, and Palestine. They were retired by the British Army in the 1960’s.

Review

Bronco has accurately produced a nice little armored car that will be very useful to the modeler, whether it be to be built as a stand alone or as part of a diorama. Upon opening the box one will find 4 sprues, a separately molded roof, lower body, two sets of wheels, and two small photo etch frets. There are also markings for 6 units encompassing the D-day landings and later operations. The 15 page instruction booklet is very well laid out and easy to follow with large and clear pictures. So with that let’s see what we get for our money.

Sprue A: This contains mostly body components and the chassis. The parts are cleanly molded with very small traces of flash on a few parts. Rivet detail is nicely done as are several weld seams. The body also has some nice texture molded to capture the roughness of the steel. There are also no pin marks located in bad spots with all being limited to non visible areas on the parts. No sink holes are also evident.

Sprue B: Moving on to sprue B we see the engine details as well as suspension parts and the hubs. The engine parts are very cleanly molded with good detail and should build into a nice representation of the 6-cylinder Rootes engine, just add a few spark plug wires and you are set. The wheel hubs are nicely cast with very good details throughout. The rest of the parts are beautifully molded with no flash or sink holes noted on this sprue.

Sprue C: Moving along with Bronco’s theme here Sprue C is the Interior parts. I really like how they thought out the layout of the sprues. Overall the the molding on this sprue is good as well, with only a few minor sink holes but again no flash, remarkable considering the size of some of the parts.

Sprue F: This sprue has the twin Guns and also the radio. Also included on the sprue are a couple of helmets, a Tommy gun, two M-1’s, and a few other stowage accessories. The Details on the guns are good, as are the pack details. The face of the radio is a little soft in its molding but nothing a little time and careful painting can’t remedy.

Tires: When looking in the box I was surprised to see two sets of tires included. They have two very different tread patterns and one set has no writing while the other says "Dunlop". They are soft vinyl and are very cleanly done. With a little weathering they should great.

Roof and Body: Both are very well molded with subtle texture and good weld seams molded in. There is also once again no sink holes, the use of putty on this kit I believe will be very little no none.

PE frets and Decals:They consist of various latches a small cover for the radio as well as a few other goodies. The decals are printed clearly with good color, they do not appear to be too thick and already have a dull tint too them. Markings are provided for six vehicles.
1. 31st Tank Brigade (Operation Epsom June 1944)
2. 30th Armoured Brigade, 79th Armoured Division, Caen, July 1944
3. Polish 10th Dragoons, N.W. Europe 1944
4. Polish 1st Signal Battalion’s HQ Signal Squadron, N.W. Europe 1944
5. HQ 34th Army Tank Brigade, N.W. Europe, 1944-45
6. 59th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, Dreierwalde, April 1945

Conclusion

Overall this is a beautifully molded kit with crisp detail and sharp edges. The only drawback is a lot of the great detail will be hidden inside once completed but we will know it is there. The effort that was put into this kit is excellent with obvious care taken to minimize flash and sink holes. There are a number of decal options setting one up for many possible builds and diorama options. A Build Log will be available via the forums to evaluate part fit and assembly.