Thursday, September 1

Amusing Hobby - true to form with their latest three release. Sprues, boxes and built models in our preview

Amusing Hobby are no strangers to obscure subjects – and their next three scheduled releases are in a similar vein. A rare AA German Rocket and two British Post-war heavies are in our preview – with pictures of the kits on preview plus box & sprue pictures along with any other info we could gather about them...

Amusing Hobby’s Three New Items in Preview:

We have already seen these three models on show at the Shizuoka model Expo earlier this year – they have taken a while to come to fruition... with these three expected to be in your LHS in October at the very latest…
This is what we saw at Shizuoka show in May this year...
As well as the new Conqueror kits of the FV 214 & FV 215
And some mini planes here also of two Chinese modern jets…

British Heavy Tank FV214 Conqueror MK I
Amusing Hobby
Kit No# 35A006
1:35th scale
Expected release September
We have seen a few tanks with limited production from Amusing Hobby – This boxing sees the 35th scale British Heavy Tank FV214 Conqueror MK I, kitted in injection moulded plastic – don’t know much about the Conqueror MK I?
Also known as "Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror" the post-war “Universal Tank” concept was derived from the 1944 A45 Infantry Support Tank concept to create the FV200 universal tank series. It was to have the mobility of a cruiser but the level of protection and firepower of a heavy tank as well as a versatile chassis for other purposes. The heavy tank variant Fv201 (55 tonnes, 20-pounder gun) was chosen for development to respond to the Soviet IS-3. It was to be armed with a 120 mm gun. Eventually after a few alterations the definitive FV214 was built in 1955 in two series, and deliveries lasted until 1959.
This kit depicts the FV 214 Conqueror Mk I. This first version (20 built) and it had three periscopes for the driver. Built on the FV201 Hull, 25’ 6” long and 13’ wide. It’s 32” tracks with ground pressure of 12.0 pounds per square inch. For power it was originally fitted a 750hp Meteor engine, but upped to a M120 12 cylinder 810bhp petrol engine it had a maximum speed of 21.3mph and an operating range of 95 miles.

Conqueror specifications
Dimensions: 25.4 x 13.1 x 10.5 ft (12 x 3.99 x 3.19 m)
Total weight: 64 tons short (128,000 ibs)
Crew: 4 (Driver, commander, gunner, loader)
Propulsion     Rolls-Royce Meteor M120 810 hp (604 kW) – pwr 12 hp/t
Suspension: Hortsmann suspensions
Speed (road) : 22 mph (35 kph)
Range :100 mi (164 km)
Armament: Main: ROF L1 4.7 in (120 mm)
Sec. coaxial + roof Browning 0.3 in (7.62 mm)
Armor: 7 in (180 mm) front glacis + turret (250 mm LOS)
Total production: 20

The box of the kit
And the instruction sheet cover - they will be in full colour.
The sprues in the kit
As well as the small decal sheet and PE sheet…

Tank Destroyer FV215B (183)
Amusing Hobby
Kit No# 35A008
1/35th scale
Expected release September
FV 215b (183) Conqueror was A semi-SPG design with a FV200 chassis mounting on a limited traverse turret armed with a 183 mm gun. Only one wooden mock-up was produced.
This proposed heavy self-propelled gun utilized components of the Mk. II Conqueror. The vehicle featured the gun in a rear-mounted rotating turret. The project was cancelled in the 1950s and it never saw military service.

 The box
 And colour instruction cover
The sprues in the kit
As well as the small decal sheet and PE sheet…
Rheintochter R-1
Amusing Hobby
Kit No# 35A010
1/35th scale
October release
Rheintochter was a German surface-to-air missile developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig during World War II. The missile was a multi-stage solid fuelled rocket. Developed as part of the Third Reich’s rocketry program the Rheintocher was envisaged as a cheap anti-aircraft rocket to help supplement the Luftwaffe FlaK and Aircraft interceptor units. The name comes from the mythical Rheintöchter (Rhine maidens) of Richard Wagner's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen.
 Note the wooden control surfaces
It had four small control surfaces, resembling paddles, in the nose, six fins at the after end of the top stage, and four at the end of the main stage. It stood 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) tall, with a diameter of 54 cm (1 ft 9 in). The sustainer motor, located ahead of the 136 kg (300 lb) warhead (rather than the now more usual behind), exhausted through six outlets between the first stage fins.

Rheintochter R-1 test showing separation between stages moments after launch
Rheintochter R-1 Specifications: 
MATERIALS: Steel, Magnesium; Wooden fins
DIMENSIONS OVERALL: 234 in. long x 118 3/4 in. wide x 234 in. deep, 1650 lb.
FUSELAGE DIAMETER: 21 1/8 in.
FIN SPAN -- BOOSTER: 118 3/4 in.
BOOSTER STAGE: 85 3/8 in.
LOADED WEIGHT: 3850 lb.
DESTRUCTIVE PAYLOAD: 332 lb.
RANGE: 7.5 mi
ALTITUDE: 3.7 mi
SPEED: 680 mph
Solid Fuel Propellant Engine: 165,000 pounds of thrust
ACCELERATION: Mach 1 within first 1,000 feet
This kit is an early development of the longer rockets R2 & R3 – similar in technological advancement as the Rheinmetall Long-Range Rocket ‘Rheinbote’ (Rh.Z.61/9) that was seen at Shizuoka show next to this kit, so we are thinking there will be a few of these family at least in the future from Amusing Hobby. No sprue pictures of this kit yet as it is in its final stages (boom boom) - as soon as we have them we'll let you know. 

 These kits will be available in September and October from Amusing Hobby's Distributors Worldwide.