Technicals and Guntrucks

[deathjester]

sounds interesting.....any more info?....piccy? 

Sorry, the catalogue had no pics or other details than that!  Just got then 'cos they are unusual, and MUCH cheaper than the MIG Productions examples!

When I get them, I'll offer them up here with pics, etc 

[deathjester]

Here we go - it's the HobbyCraft Kit, complete with recoiless rifle, and three blokes!



I'll be doing these at £9 + P&P and I have four of them.

Bit better than £60+ for the Mig resin ones....

[Weaver]

Nice, although it's not really a "technical" because it's a military jeep with a factory RR kit, rather than a civvie 4x4 with improvised weapons. There are various 1/72nd versions of this available too: Ace or Military Wheels maybe?

[deathjester]

From the look of the kit, the RR is dismountable, and being injection moulded, it will be pretty easy to modify to carry whatever you can scrounge up. 
Point is, it's a far better price than the resin kits out there (there is a resin of this very truck - at £66 !!)  I saw these, and thought of you guys.  It is practically the same as some civvy vehicles, only needing a battered mish- mash of a paintjob to fit right in.

Wouldn't be hard to scratch up a cab roof either, hmmm.....

[Maverick]

Am I to assume these are repops of Trumpeter's stuff?  They do the BJ212 in 35th and do a Chinese RCL too.  I'd hope so as Hobbycraft's own attempts at 'models' tend to be ordinary to say the very least.  If they're that price and Trumpeter's originals all well and good, but it'd be a sizeable chunk of change down the outhouse if they weren't.

Regards,

Mav

[deathjester]

You are quite right, these are Trumpeter repops.  They are, from the look of them, every bit as good as Tamiya kits, with lots of detail, and plenty of kit to go with it.

[Maverick]

Certainly good news then.  Trumpeter puts out both quantity and quality so it looks like Hobbycraft is onto a winner.

Regards,

Mav

[ChernayaAkula]

Excellent! I wonder how accurate it would be though...

Highly accurate! It's 100% guaranteed to hit the earth!  

Now with intelligent, independently targetable rockets! The left one going for Ajdabiyah, the right one heading for Brega!



Yes, I know, they're area saturation weapons, but this stretches the term a bit.

Some more pics (SOURCE):









EDIT:

Even more improvised, hair-raising stuff. 


SOURCE

[NARSES2]

You have to admire both there ingenuity and guts for coming up with and then using these things. There was a guy on the BBC News firing an RPG by holding it above his head with both hands, I just presume he was trying to clear the small hillock in front of him ? 

[rickshaw]

What I find interesting is that despite near collisions and apparently misdirection, the four rockets have sorted themselves out within a hundred or so metres of leaving the launcher and all are in a straight line, apparently on target for the impact zone!

[Weaver]

Hmm I think perspective is playing a part here. The rocket in the first picture which is obviously off-course is second from the top. In the second pic, it's the top one, which means it's still climbing and if you project a line though it's body, it's going to be WAY high in a few more hundred metres.

The problem with all these rockets is that their stability comes from either fins and/or spin, and neither is very effective immediately after launch due to the relatively slow acceleration. Unlike a shell in a rifled gun barrel, a spin-stabilised rocket takes time to spin up to speed, making it vulnerable to deflection just after launch, and likewise, fins don't work until they get up to a certain airspeed. Fins work better when the rocket is fired from a moving aircraft because they're in an airflow of several hundred knots as soon as they leave the tube, but that doesn't apply to ground launch. This is why ground or helo-launched rockets tend to have either bigger fins and/or higher thrust motors.

[deathjester]

Am I right in thinking that Hydra 70 rockets spin up in their tubes before launch?

[Weaver]

Hydra 70s and CRV-7s both have angled nozzles/thrust-deflectors that start them spinning from the moment the motor fires rather than from the moment the fins deploy, which was the case with the older FFARs. They still take time to spin up to full stabilising speed though, and are well clear of the tube by the time they reach it.

Velocity is everything in this game, and the CRV-7 wins hands down in this respect. From a fast jet launch it's dispersion is less than that of most autocannons, and it's terminal velocity is so high that it can penetrate a T-72 using a kinetic energy warhead rather than a shaped charge....

[deathjester]

Wow!  They are definetly going on the weapons list for one of my secret builds....

[rickshaw]

Hmm I think perspective is playing a part here. The rocket in the first picture which is obviously off-course is second from the top. In the second pic, it's the top one, which means it's still climbing and if you project a line though it's body, it's going to be WAY high in a few more hundred metres.

More than likely correct but still more than likely within the allowable dispersion pattern for an air-launched weapon fired from an extemporised ground mount.  Remember, these were never intended to be pin-point weapons, even when used from aircraft and when used from the ground, you're definitely looking at a weapon which could really be only a saturation weapon.  What I'm surprised at is their faith in firing so few rounds at a time, despite its inaccuracy.  I'd be lining up large numbers of these launchers and letting fly rather than a few rockets at a time.

The problem with all these rockets is that their stability comes from either fins and/or spin, and neither is very effective immediately after launch due to the relatively slow acceleration. Unlike a shell in a rifled gun barrel, a spin-stabilised rocket takes time to spin up to speed, making it vulnerable to deflection just after launch, and likewise, fins don't work until they get up to a certain airspeed. Fins work better when the rocket is fired from a moving aircraft because they're in an airflow of several hundred knots as soon as they leave the tube, but that doesn't apply to ground launch. This is why ground or helo-launched rockets tend to have either bigger fins and/or higher thrust motors.

They appear, despite this to be able to sort themselves out quite well, after launch.  All are apparently headed in the desired direction - towards the enemy, which is the best you can usually hope from with such a weapon.   Spinning at a higher speed, sooner, in the launch tube would improve matters, without a doubt but they appear to be pretty good for what they are IMHO.