Time out: Tamiya M1046 HMMV

A vehicle I have been yearning to build for a long, long time.. 

The High Mobility Military Vehicle (HMMV) is an interesting kit project. There are a few choices in terms of accurately molded kits in 1:35 scale out there. Leading the pack is Tamiya and companies like Academy from South Korea and Hobby Boss (China) are producing the latest incarnation of the HMMV. These include the up-armored HMMVs or better known as Humvees.

The Tamiya M1046 HMMV

My choice: Tamiya

Hands-down, Tamiya has the best fitting kits in the world.

I can't say for other brands because nothing comes close to Tamiya's attention for detail.

So, having said that, I narrowed down my choice for a 1:35 kit.

I found the Humvee at Katon Tomodachi in Atria shopping mall. There was not a single moment of hesitation when I bought the kit.

Assembly and painting

The first thing I did, was to spray the parts on its sprue with a priming coat.

Tamiya has this on a spray can and you can either choose light or dark gray.

Never mix the bottled priming solution into your airbrush because the mixture will gunk up in your airbrush handpiece.

The parts sprayed with an acrylic water-based paint

The upper chassis fitting

Spraying the body

After adding the primer coat, I began to build the undercarriage and suspension system. There are many small parts and it had to be picked and placed onto the undercarriage with a pair of tweezers.

The completed undercarriage

It took me about two days to complete the undercarriage and some touch-ups were needed to conceal the cement stains.

With the Tamiya single-action High Grade airbrush, working concealment is a breeze.

I painted the undercarriage with the Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron acrylic paint. This gives the part a nice coating and with weathering applied, it looks excellent.

The clear parts with its paint

Achieving that "coated glass" look

As for the upper body of the Humvee, I chose the Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. I was told that a mixture of Matt White and a drop of black would give a really nice "washed" look on the kit.

But I prefer the bare-minimal approach and kept the kit basic. (The Tamiya M1046 HMMV came with a TOW missile launcher).

For the clear parts, I mixed the Tamiya Clear Blue and Green to give the windshield and windows that "coated glass" look.

And I achieved this by spraying the clear parts. It looked convincing enough as I continued to finish the kit by building the door and roof.

Chassis and body

Adding the small parts

Gluing the brake lights

The nearly-completed kit

In-between going to work and coming home, I spent and average of two to three hours building the Humvee.

After completing the chassis and upper body, I glued together the halves by adding a few dabs of super glue.

Once the kit is set, I worked on weathering to give the Humvee that "worn out" look.

Later, I applied a set of decals on the vehicle's rear doors and left it as it is.

To sum it up, the Humvee is a decent kit to construct and being a beginner like me, there were no major issues with putting together this awesome kit..

Damansara's hobby shop returns..

"Katon Tomodachi"...

Frankie Lim, a friend of mine whom I came to know through master Lee Hong Leng (another old friend who is a Wushu exponent), told me about a new hobby shop in the newly refurbished Atria shopping mall in Damansara Jaya.
I was told that the owner of the store used to operate in SS2 Mall, which is about to be torn down for a new residential project.
As far as I know, there was a small stall in the mall and there was a guy who runs it. He sold an assortment of hobby kits. 
At the time I made contact with the dude, he wasn't too friendly. But, then again, I could be wrong or be too quick in summing up my first-impressions.

The timeless B-29 bomber kit shown at the store's window

Some assembled armor for sale

Once regarded as a nuisance, China's Trumpeteer is now highly sought-after

A selection of warships

Fully-stocked

The store's facade.. 

So, fast-forward to the new Atria mall... I made a beeline to the refurbed building and found parking at the upper-levels of the mall.
Took me a while to locate the store, and I finally found it. It was on the far South-end of the building. 
Katon Tomodachi is located on the second floor. It's a small shop with just enough space to move around. 
There, I met Vincent Leong, the owner.
I found the guy to be very friendly and enthusiastic. There, I engaged in a conversation and learned that he has been in the business for more than 13 years.
"My shop was in the old Atria until I moved to SS2 Mall," he elaborated.
The selection of kits at Katon Tomodachi is quite impressive. 
To sum it up, they have more Tamiya kits compared to the Tamiya Underground. 
And when it comes to prices, I would say it's pretty decent. 
With inflation in mind, there are a lot of kits that can be considered as "overpriced". But I found the rates at this shop pretty reasonable. 
This store has potential to grow as long as people are willing to spend their money there. Apart from retailing, Vincent is also a master-modeler. His craft can be found on display at the store's showcase.
Katon Tomodachi is at lot S05, Second Floor, Atria Shopping Gallery, Jalan SS22/23, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor and opens from 10am - 10pm.