Yet again: 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…

… Part 3; final details!

In The next step was to install the clear parts. These were truly “crystal clear”… no dip required in the floor wax. The windscreen was the later type with a sharp bow in the front center; it fit perfectly into place with a bit of Tenax. Next: The main canopy. This particular version has the “bug-eye” bubbles on the upper center section, which housed the rear-view mirrors. The kit did not provide these, which are possibly on the PE fret. I had no problem getting these to fit into place either; once again I used liquid cement and it worked well. As there is no seat belt and I was trying to finish, I closed everything up and it all fit fine. If you want it open, there are two integral tabs on the Starboard (right), which held the canopy open with no problem.

The clear plastic in this kit has one major benefit: It is not so brittle as to crack when you cut it off the sprue. I was able to clean up the attachment fittings with no problem. I masked with Kabuki tape, using the burnish with a toothpick and sharp blade method. It only took about 10 minutes to do…

Paint shop. I opted for a modified late-war fighter with an FW-190 look; high altitude fighter colors of Tamiya light blue lower and fuselage sides, with Tamiya Dark and Light Luftwaffe greens on the upper surfaces. I also decided to add a bit of interest on the lower surfaces of the elevator/stabilizor, and the center section of the wing, by painting bare metal aluminum and masking it off, with the exception of control surfaces and landing gear doors. Kind of like was seen on some end of war ‘190 Dora’s and ME-262’s… you know, save the paint… in any event, it came out looking pretty cool in my mind. The mottle was decanted Tamiya dark Luftwaffe dark Green… I opted not to try for defense of the Reich bands. Glosscoat, and decals from the decal bin. Sure, the upper white crosses are a bit small, but uh, I wasn’t around in 1946… someone prove me wrong. (I’m not into Wiffing, but this was kind of refreshing to do what I wanted based on previous experience)

Next up was the landing gear; both the nose and main gear are very detailed, and installed simply into their respective locations. I could go into commentary, but all were positive fit parts and it looks “busy”; the pictures say it all. The main gear doors have hydraulic lines molded on them on the interior.

30MM cannon muzzle brakes were glued in place, and all painted. These were slide molded, so no drilling of barrels required.

All three wheel assemblies (which had excellent, deep detail with brake lines on all required surfaces) were sprayed gloss black, and the tire halves were assembled, cleaned up, and painted with Duplicolor Dark gray primer. I had some difficulty getting the wheel hubs to go into their respective locations, and this was probably due to my ham-fisted nature and lack of total clean-up of injection tabs on the mating surfaces. In the end I got them in place with liquid cement. The main tires already have flats molded in, but I had to sand a flat on the nose tire. Place the model on it’s feet, and all three are on the ground. Praises here for the included nose weights… and the gear is sturdy enough to take the weight.

The propellers went together without fuss, and fit right into place. Six parts, clean them up, glue, and install!

Gear doors and bomb bays were attached, along with actuators; final parts on the kit were the engine access panels. They also fit positively, but I am a bit wary of breaking them off due to their scale fidelity. Doesn’t matter, though, as they look great!

Final Assessment

This is one of those kits that captured my attention. It has the brutish, purposeful look of the actual aircraft, and has enough detail to keep one very busy. As I didn’t have a full-up kit, I can only comment on the plastic, and what was there was about as good as it gets for fit and final appearance. 10 of 10 for HK models Do-335; thanks again to Neil and the team for a magnificent effort; I hope you sell a bunch of these so we can have more of your future kits to build! I vote B-24H…