The DF-41 (DongFeng 41) ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is a brand new kit from HobbyBoss released in 2024. The Box art is typical HobbyBoss and is presented in a rigid top opener with well packed materials inside.

Lots of care and attention has been paid to protecting the contents and all items are fit snug into the box. The kit also contains some Color brochures depicting this particular kit and a brochure for the new HB kit U-2S ‘Dragon Lady’ due for release in May of 2024.

The Kit

The kit is comprised of multiple sprues, including around 11 plastic sprues, 1 clear parts, a copper tube for use in the missile elevation riser, a fret of PE, rubber tires and a decal sheet.

Instructions call for 21 steps in construction, step 1 mostly being the construction of the chassis and drivetrain along with the chassis support stiffeners.

Steps 2-7 are sub-assemblies for the wheel hubs, 16 in total are required 8 for each side.

The chassis and cab are built up in steps 8 – 16 with the remaining steps reserved for construction of the wheels, hull peripherals and ICBM housing and supports.

The Build

All parts were well molded, no flash and limited sink marks visible on the exterior. Minimal warping/fit issues were noticed, only issue I had was with the cab where some filler was required due to ill-fitting parts.

Assembly starts with the chassis, all went together well and no fit issues were observed. Plastic was good and warp free. Stiffeners are added to both strengthen the hull as well as provide a bed for the ICBM when in travel mode, i.e. laying down. All fit well and no issues were observed here.

Wheel assembly was easy, but care must be taken to ensure the correct wheel assemblies are used for each side, some parts are generic here but others are left/right specific so pay attention to the instructions and ensure you assemble in the correct order/manner. The wheels can be attached such that they are movable as they snap to the wheel rim and attach relatively tightly.

Cab assembly was where I faced some problems, once the cab floor and seats etc are assembled (pay attention here also as multiple decals are called for here though the scale is small as are the windows so the decals are not easily visible) the sides are also then added along with the windows and engine. When I went to fit the truck sides, from step 17, I did face some fit issues. Filler was required to bridge the gaps and seal it up.

Another plus point to this kit was the addition of window masks here, these masks fit perfect and make for very easy painting in the final stage.

Final assembly is of the ICBM itself and its lifting mechanism, a working mechanism is provided to raise and lower the ICBM and is relatively stable and operational. The ICBM casing is sufficiently light to ensure that the support structure is capable of handling it’s weight without falling down or breaking.

Paint

I opted to paint the base coat of this kit with a new paint to me, MCW paints, from Wings Wheels and Waves in Sanford NC produce their own brand of paints, they have a very wide range of premixed lacquers and in this case, I used their Forest Green (NATO) lacquer which I liked as the underlying base green for this ICBM.

I found it easier to lay down Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black Lacquer over this as the MCW was a little too diluted to achieve the lines I wanted on the model. I finished with Tamiya Desert Yellow Acrylic for the tri color camo and dulled with all down with some AK Interactive Tri Tone filter to meld the colors together and dull the appearance down.

Some badly laid down clear coat was next, humidity levels in my workspace must have been bad as the resulting clear coat was NOT what I had wanted!

Decals were fitted and softened with Tamiya Mark Fit Decal softener to adhere to the contours of the vehicle.

Some additional weathering powders were used to complete the effects, mainly some earth powders for the wheels and a little brushed steel in places to bring out some metal effect.

Pros

Good subject matter and well delivered.

Good fit, no flash, new molds.

Good price point, lots of plastic and a quality kit for the price.

Window masks are provided which is a plus.

Nice packaging and presentation with clear instructions and good decals.

Cons

Would be nice to have an option to have the ICBM launcher open and display the missile inside, or even in mid launch for those diorama enthusiasts.

I always feel with rubber tires that there is the perishing possibility, would have been good to also maybe provide plastic wheels in the event that someone wanted to build with those.

Many thanks to HobbyBoss for providing the kit and to IPMS for facilitating the review.