Amusing Hobby's Latest release has made a lot of modellers sit up and take notice. They have provided a two model kit with full interior, their first one.

It is a bit confusing though, teaming up their recent release 16t Strabokran with a full interior Sd Kfz 184 Ferdinand. It has wowed this modeller though but I would have thought that releasing the full interior Ferdinand on its own would have been a nice add to the line of kits they also put in their Strabokran too. I already have this, but it is the full interior Ferdinand which the modeller really wants, the addition is useful if you are going to do a diorama.

It comes in quite a large box which has a divider to keep the kits separate and has two individual build instruction manuals and a painting guide etc. First of all, I would like to mention a couple of things which I did notice first off and not only applies to this two kit boxing and also the individual Strabokran release too.

Some parts are not in protective plastic or are given any protection at all. Mine came from Amusing Hobby themselves and although the kit box was carefully protected looked as if it had been used as a football by the idiots that carrier companies habitually employ to move around whilst on a break. This meant that a major piece of the kit, unprotected in any way inside the kit box suffered damage and some of the clear parts has been scratched too as a result. The rest of the kit survived ok but a part of the Etched fret has also suffered some damage too. It can be repaired and made good although the scratches on the clear exterior parts will not be easy to fix, most modellers will probably opt to paint those anyway!

In essence, it is a minor thing, but something that wasn't thought through and suffered at the hands of the shipping companies shop floor morons and Amusing Hobby would be wise to look again at their packaging.

A Ferdinand with full interior and it is a good one. The detail is magnificent with a rolled steel texture on the exterior being restrained so well that under paint it will look out of this world. Even my new camera doesn't do this detailing justice. The interior parts are flash free of what I have looked at but haven't used a magnifying glass. it is a mixture of plastic and etched parts with some incredible fine detailing with electric motors, generator, two engines, crew compartment, fighting compartment and a wonderfully detailed main gun with both plastic and metal barrel/muzzle brake option.

The only think that spoils this kit is the decision Amusing hobby took to mold the ammunition racks and ammunition together. this does limit some display options and also will be a headache to paint. It would have been a much better thing to actually mold those as separate parts which would have been so much easier for the modeller to deal with on both fixing and painting.

Let's start looking at the Ferdinand parts.

The fighting compartment tower and lower hull are separate parts and are totally unprotected in any way and you can see the damage to the tower. It is fixable with some glue. If this had been in plastic with some protective foam wrap the damage wouldn't have happened. The rolled steel texture is fantastic.

The lower hull is a sturdy bit of kit and again had no protection at all.

Here are the sprues for the Ferdinand with some close ups.

You can see the main gun ammunition molded to the racks. Painting nightmare and without major surgery or scratch building impossible to change for XXL metal shells and a nightmare to paint!

Something interesting here in this kit too. Individual tracks which according to the instruction book if you are careful with the glue, should work.

There's a lot of them. 2 bags full

2 sprues. despite being together in a plastic bag, some parts were knocked off in transit.

The clear sprue. this was in a plastic bag on its own, but some parts were scratched. some more protective padding is needed to protect these parts. they are really clear though.

Here's a surprise. Not only individual plastic tracks, but rubber band ones too! A Choice for the modeller. I can't decide if this is overkill or not!

That is mostly (but not all) the Ferdinand. Now we have a divider in the box...

Underneath, more parts. Strabokran and more!

Main gantry. a once piece molding and like the main bits of the Ferdinand and the original release boxing, not protected in any way.

Not sure if the separate piece has been broken off or not!

The tires are glue together affairs!

Etched fret for the Ferdinand.

Decal sheet for the Ferdinand. No stencil decals for the ammunition is a let down. it provides for vehicles from one unit, Operation Citadel.

Chan and decal for the Strabokran. No other manufacturers marks or data plates. Just that one.

rigging wire for the Strabo kran. I like this stuff. Much better than the Takom offering. where can I get it?

Ferdinand, copper wire, chain and springs for the suspension.

88mm L71 main gun in metal along with the muzzle brake in metal. Nice touch here.

Also a bit of paper with the build instructions for it

Amusing hobby have nailed their colour callouts to the Mig Ammo mast and provide some colour prints with dubious colours for both inside and out. This is to me the only major failing for this kit. This vehicle exterior should be Dunkelgelb Nach Muster with a green or multi colour disruptive camo over the top. There are plenty black and white photos of these from the Operation Citadel on the net, but don't get confused with the Elephant rebuilds used in Italy. This kit is specific to the Kursk offensive.

Equally, the interior colours is also a bit off and with a full interior they should have had colour call outs throughout the build manual like Zoukei-Mura do, but there is none in sight. So, builders need to go out onto the net and do their own research, but be careful and also look at the colours that contract suppliers used for the engines, electroc motors, generators etc. Not everything is black and white!

The Strabokran included is a previous kit and is a relatively easy build as it is not as complex as the Takom offering which has more working parts. This one is relatively static, but builds up to be a good representation of a much understated bit of field and factory equipment used by repair companies on Tiger I, II, Panther and V2 rocket units.

For a fist full interior release Amusing hobby has done an inspired choice which I think will be popular with builders and the inclusion of their Strabokran is a nice but unusual addition for the builder. The only let-down is the colour call outs and lack of other brands being included, these days you just can't be partisan, and some of the packaging needs looking at to avoid breakages. Also the molding of ammunition to racks at this level of detail is not a good decision at all as some builders would prefer to swap out for turned metal ammunition and the lack of main gun ammunition stencilsas well as interior stencils is a really glaring error. This can be corrected by AM decals, but will cost a bit to get enough to cover the total ammunition provided while interior stuff can be obtained from Archer Fine transfers.

However, if you overlook those and take a general view of this offering, it is a great kit and there will be some stunning builds done out there. Amusing Hobby should be congratulated on this release and if they do an Elephant with the added machineguns seen on the Italian front, they have the opportunity to fix the above things and take a great kit to absolutely outstanding rendition of this vehicle.

Let us hope that Amusing Hobby also bring us some more stuff like this.

Now the proof is in the building...… On we go!