Building the Humber A/C Part 2 - Research

In my recent blog, I looked at converting a Warlord plastic Humber armoured car into a Mark III version. The kit provides the parts for a Mark II and a Mark IV and the conversion is a relatively easy process. However, when I looked at photos of the Mark III, the converted turret model wasn't quite right. 

As you can see in the photographs, the turret has two unusual 'bumps': an inverted U on the lower left-hand side and a small rectangular protrusion on the right-hand side. Should I recreate these features, and would anyone notice? Of course, I should, as I would notice! So, my conversion work wasn't quite done. 

So, what were these mysterious 'bumps' on the vehicle's turret? Thankfully, a little Google-fu and research later, I found a low-resolution video on YouTube. This video came in two parts and contained a complete tour of the Humber Mark III. Part 1 can be seen here and part 2 here. Perfect! I can now confidently say that these are both air vents—probably a necessity when firing either the Besa 7.92mm machine gun or Besa 15mm cannon. The ventilation of a gun's fumes is an important consideration in any armoured vehicle design to avoid incapacitating the crew. 

So, how would I make the necessary parts for the turret? Thankfully, I had all the parts I needed from the unused Mark II turret in the model kit. The left side air vent was identical on the Mark II, so this was simply cut off and reglued in the correct position. Other parts of the turret were used to make the other ventilation port for the right side. So far, so good!

I decided to look at Humbers in use by the Desert Rats to see what sort of equipment and stowage they would have carried. It was interesting to note that some carried their spare wheel on the right side of the vehicle. 

There was also little regulation on what additional storage was carried, although all the vehicles I saw avoided putting baggage on the rear engine deck. I'd learnt from the video that the driver could open the engine deck cover to see what was directly behind him when reversing. Having the cover open would have been helpful for aerating the vehicle, so no baggage would have been placed there to weigh it down. I quite like the string of satchel bags on the front and the spare tyre on the side. 

Now, before I begin working on painting my Mark III, I have decided to do some research on what colour the vehicle should be. There is a large variety of guides out there to follow recommending an almost ivory colour such as Vallejo Iraqi Sand to darker ones like Vallejo Middlestone. I think I will have a good read. In the black & white photographs, the vehicles look almost white, so I will probably opt for a lighter tone.  

Finally, there was the question of camoflage. I quite liked the idea of a green or black camouflage stripe in the Desert Rats style, but none of the photographs of Humbers or other Desert Rat recce vehicles had any that I could find. So I am probably going to leave the vehicle one colour and let the dirt and stowage do the 'work' for making the vehicle 'pop'. In my next blog, I'll paint the vehicle.