Amusing Hobby Centurion Mk.V Main Battle Tank (35A028) 1:35 Amusing Hobby

[Julien]

Centurion Mk.V Main Battle Tank (35A028)

1:35 Amusing Hobby

 

 

Pre WWII it can be kind to say Britain lagged behind in tank development and even at the end of WWII we have many US types still in service. The A41 was designated as Heavy Cruiser tank back as far as 1943 , this was further developed into the Centurion. The five wheel Comet chassis was developed by adding a sixth wheel with the spacing between the second and third wheels increased. The original Christie suspension was replaced by the Horstmann suspension.  The hull had welded sloped armour and the turret was partially cast. The original main gun was the proven 17 pounder with a 20mm supporting weapon. The mark II quickly replaced the initial Mk I tanks and had thicker armour and a fully cast turret. The 20mm gun was also deleted in favour of a normal machine gun. The mark III brought about the introduction of the 20 pounder gun. The Mark V brought about the delegation of the rear turret hatch, fitment of browning machine guns a re-designed turret roof; and the addition of guide rollers in the track runs.  first combat or the new tank was in the Korean War where they were praised with their ability to operate in the mountainous terrain. The last combat for British tanks were for AVRE vehicles which deployed to the Gulf War in 1991.

 

The tank was an export success being supplied to Canada, Sweden, South Africa, Israel, Jordan,  Switzerland, Denmark, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, New Zealand, Austria, Singapore,The Netherlands and Australia. The South Africans further developed the tank into the Olifant, the Jordanians into the Temsah APC, and the Israelis into Nagmachon APCs, Nakpadon ARVs or Puma CEVs many of which still serve to this day.

 

 

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tool from Amusing Hobby, who have a thing for British “almost” projects of late, and are filling in some gaps between the in-service tanks that will no doubt please the what-if modellers as well as those that enjoy building cancelled projects or just downright unusual vehicles.   Inside the box are ten sprues of varying sizes in sand-coloured styrene, plus a single lower hull part in the same colour.  There is also a bag of brown track-links, a bag of brass springs, a length of braided cable, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a diminutive decal sheet and the instruction booklet with a colour cover that has profiles on the rear.  Detail is good throughout, the cast elements such as the final drive housing that has a light casting texture moulded-in.  

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the assembly of the bogies that are built around the springs to give the suspension arms some real travel, providing you keep the glue away from the pivot points.  There are three of these each side of the large hull tub, and each one carries four wheels in pairs on two axles each, held onto the axles with a central hub part.  The tracks are wide, so the return rollers sit on projecting bases, and long stand-off brackets are added to support the side skirts later in the build.  The huge final drive housing is layered up and topped with a toothed drive sprocket and a small roller that is probably there to prevent track shedding during turns.  At the front is the idler wheel on an axle that pivots to give good track tension once you have made them up and wrapped them around the road wheels.

 

 

The tracks are supplied free of any sprues and quite free of clean-up, especially if you are planning on dirtying them up later, so you can just start making them up there and then.  Each side uses 102 links, and as they snap together they shouldn’t take too long to put together, which is nice.  12 links went together in a few minutes, and they do remain workable, although they aren’t as mobile as they could be.  You might get the occasional one coming adrift, but in general they should be fairly easy to fit, and if you want to freeze them in place once you have them installed, a dab of glue to each link will do the trick, leaving you free to handle them more roughly during the painting process.  Both runs of links are applied to the vehicles with the traction bar to the rear, so ensure you test-fit them properly before you put them in for the final time. The rear of the hull is constructed and added along with the engine deck. At the front the glacis plate is made up incorporating the front fenders. At the sides the track guards go on along with the lockers tools and exhaust. A thread tow cable is provided which is probably best dispensed with for a metal alternative. 

 

 

 

The last part of the vehicle to be constructed is the turret. The two sides go around the base with the gun mantlet at the front, The bins for the turret sides are made up and added along with the smoke dischargers. On the top the aerial mounts go on along with the commander hatch. The gun barrel is added to the mantle and on top a 30 cal machine gun is added. Spare track links can be added to the turret is wanted. 

 

 

Markings

A small decal sheet provides markings for 10 Troop, C Sqn, 4th Royal Tank Regiment based in West Berlin in 1962.

 

 

 

Conclusion

A good looking model of one of the first true Main Battle Tanks. Highly recommended. 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of