Dragon 1/35 Sd.Kfz.165 HUMMEL LATE PRODUCTION (SMART KIT) [6321]

Barcode: 0 89195 86321 8
Case pack: 20 pieces per case
Box size: 9.6 x 15" x 3.1"

Features

Fighting Compartment:
- New scale-thickness fighting compartment armor has extra-thin top edge
- Fighting compartment armor detailed both inside and out
- Photo-etched parts for fine detail on reverse armor surfaces
- Side ventilation louvers made as fine as possible.
- Fighting compartment rear door can be assembled open/closed
- Slats positioned at correct angle
- Fighting compartment rear plate is slide molded with delicate bolt detail.
- Additional photo-etched parts to represent undercut bolt detail
- Fighting compartment interior arrangement realistically represents original vehicle
- Newly tooled storage box for propellant charges realistically reproduced
- Ammunition box is new with photo-etched detail
- Ammunition box can be assembled open/closed to reveal interior detail
- Fighting compartment interior equipped with Gen2 MG 34 MP 40 & Kar 98K
- MG 34 ammo canisters included photo-etched strap
- First-aid kit with photo-etched mount
Soft-plastic air hose

Gun & Interior:
- Newly tooled extra-thin gun shield authentically replicated
- Supporting arms for gun shield are newly made
Gun recoils like the real one
- Slide-molded recoil system for bolt detail
- Fully detailed gun cradle mount is slide-molded
- Aluminum gun barrel with hollow end
- Gun can elevate to different angles
- Gr.19 and Gr.19 Schwere Betongranate (concrete-piercing) rounds included as bonus
- Propellant charges included
- Gun breech and breechblock represented in detail
- Hand wheels reproduced in detail
- Periscope gun sight in clear plastic
- Lathed brass parts to upgrade details
- TraveL lock realistically represented

Front and Driver Housing:
- Driver's housing newly reproduced
- New glacis plate given extra detail
- New visor made from clear plastic can be positioned open/closed
- Driver's vision port with interior detail
- Warm-air vent is slide molded
- New triangular supports rendered with fine detail
- Newly tooled fenders with tread pattern on upper and lower surfaces

Lower Hull, Wheels and Tracks:
- New lower hull made by 2-directional slide molds
- Slide-molded exhaust pipes have hollow ends
- New road wheels and return rollers with realistic detail
- Sprocket is newly tooled specifically for Hummel Late Production. Crisp bolt detail realistically reproduced
- Magic Tracks are newly tooled

Bumble Bee might seem an unusual name for a self-propelled howitzer, but that is what the Germans initially called their 15cm s.FH.18 L/30 howitzer mounted on a Panzer IV chassis. The Sd.Kfz.165 Hummel was produced from late 1942 onwards because of an urgent need for artillery that could keep pace with Germany's panzers. Its combat debut occurred during the titanic Battle of Kursk. Interestingly, the Hummel combined a Panzer IV chassis and engine with the drive and steering system of a Panzer III. Operated by a crew of six, the self-propelled howitzer could also carry 18 rounds for the main armament. A total of 714 Hummels had been built by the end of WWII.

One of Dragon's earliest ever WWII AFV kits was a Late Production Hummel (Item No. 6004), but obviously technology has come a long way since then. Dragon has been revising some of its oldest releases after investing them with the very latest technological know-how, and the Hummel has now been reborn more than a decade later with an astonishing level of detail and accuracy. The Hummel Late Production has been long awaited, and this reincarnated kit is now here to meet this demand. This new 1/35 scale kit includes a newly tooled driver housing, one of the most characteristic features of the Late version. The armor plates of the fighting compartment have been made using Dragon's Razor Edge technique to give a true-to-scale appearance. This also allows the interior fittings to be accurately sized and shaped. The entire vehicle has been upgraded with new parts like Magic Tracks, 15cm gun from the s.FH.18 artillery piece, and an assortment of photo-etched parts. It just goes to show how far Dragon has gone in recent years the flight of the bumble bee is soaring to new heights!

Sd.Kfz.165 Hummel, Late Production will reproduce in 2013. Stay tuned!