Continuing the sincere thanks to Neil at HK models for providing IPMS USA this pre-release kit for review; your contributions are of great value and we look forward to more releases from your company…

… so here we are at part 2; putting the basic airframe together! First, a note about the surface detail. It is about as good as it gets; not obtrusive, subtile, but there! I used a bit of black wash on the left upper wing to highlight what is there… very nice.

The previously assembled cockpit and engine/bomb bay/nose gear assembly was offered up to the left fuselage; and fit was perfect! Same for the inlet ducting for the cooling system… everything slid together and seam assembly was tight.

The only gap I noted was the aft turtledeck; I can’t say it’s the kit or me, as this was pre-production, but I filled it with some Vallejo putty and sanded it down afterwards. The forward fuselage upper panel contained breeches for the two upper deck-mounted MG 151 20mm automatic weapons, and was intended to be displayed open or closed depending on your choice. No ammunition belt feeds or other details were included in this pre-release.

The instrument panel in this particular case did not have the backing for instruments nor instrument faces; the panel itself has very well defined “bezels”, but nothing to go into them. I reverted to “old school” and made one out of card, and trimmed it to fit into the instrument well from behind. Certainly the production kit will have the prominent instrument backings and casings which can be seen from outside the cockpit…

Wings were next; these fit tightly together and only required a bit of cleanup for the resultant seams. Upper and lower surfaces were very positive in alignment and assembly, and once the cement had flashed off the wings were not flexible. Good! Wing root fit was almost perfect; once again Vallejo putty to the fore.

The inner wing leading edge MG 103 30MM cannon fairings were integral with the inner leading edge part, and contained breech mechanisms as well as cannon barrels. These were “potential breaky-offy” parts; I bent one during sanding of the little bit of putty on the wing roots, If I were to do this kit for myself, I’d replace the barrels with brass or other strong metal tube and only install them at the end of the build, along with the muzzle brakes. Note here: no provision exists to show off the Breech assemblies.

I also opted to use the one-piece wing tip extensions; these were fitted to B-4 versions from what I can tell, and were designed to increase high altitude performance. They fit perfectly…

Next were the stabilizers and associated control surfaces. Fit was perfect; (have I said that before?) The elevators, rudders, ailerons, and flaps all had individual, one-piece leading edges which snapped into the front of the hollow single-part control surfaces (Ok cement was required, but fit was THAT GOOD! This was an EXCELLENT feature, as it provides crisp, thin trailing edges, without the associated problems of assembling and sanding down pesky thin plastic with ooze. Five star engineering here… Everyone designing next-generation kits, please note!

Speaking of control surfaces, just about every surface can be posed due to plastic C-shaped hinges and small pins at the end of the surfaces. FAR better than PE hinges!... see the pix.

Well, that’s all for today; preparation for painting, clear parts and landing gear with final notes are next…