Some observations
- A detailed instruction book is supplied, showing all the optional parts that you’ll need to incorporate for your chosen subject – very clear and helpful. It’s also critical and very beneficial to take time reading and digesting and researching from the instruction book before you go anywhere near your glue pot! The more you look and understand the breakdown the more straightforward the build looks – a bit daunting on opening the box, but much, much better when you have fully read and taken in where all the info is to help you
- Quality of tooling – very high, with fine recessed detail across the board
- Small amounts of excess flash on parts / mould seams that need to be removed but nothing too taxing
- The level of detail is exceptional with fully detailed cockpit, fuselage engine bays and wheel well detailing
- Very fine, thin fan blades on the engine faces
- Undercarriage units look very well detailed as you can see in the photographs
- The clear parts that are actually clear in reality like the canopy are extremely clear and fault-free to look at
- See the attached photos as they will really give you an idea of what’s involved and more importantly the possibilities that are extensive with such a detailed and seemingly well-engineered model
- Instructions are detailed and paint references are included for pretty much all the painting at each stage of the build – Model Air, Model Color and FS No. references are provided throughout. Colour names are given and that, along with the FS references should help you to source your choice of paint from whatever range you prefer.
Other thoughts
The whole build is carefully arranged so that you can decide how you want your Ho 229 to look and to take advantage of whatever options are provided at each stage of your build. Engine, gun bay and cockpit all look incredibly well detailed as provided. The seat harness although moulded into the seat is well-defined and should paint easily enough – just as I have done on their Mustang IV.
You may want to take a look at the manufacturer’s website link above where you can see the range of accessories that are available separately and at extra cost like: turned brass gun barrels, weighted tyres and figures.
Here’s my summary
This is an extremely impressive package – really very high levels of detail. The big plus I think is that all that detail can be seen on your completed Ho 229 using the clear parts supplied. You can choose to have the engine on display or not and of course that huge undercarriage – they should look good under paint and weathering. Looking at the kit parts, the model looks accurate and I cannot wait to bring you the full build that will be coming along very soon. Decal quality and choice is great with the options included.
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | **** |
| Accuracy | ***** |
| Level of detail | ***** |
| Instructions | **** |
| Decals | ***** |
| Subject choice | ***** |
| Overall | **** |