Hobby Boss 1/72 Heinkel He 162 Salamander

HOBBY BOSS 1/72 HEINKEL HE 162 SALAMANDER
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (rec.models.scale)
A fully built review of this kit exists on SMAKR.

Kit Details: Hobby Boss 1:72 Scale No: 80239 - He 162 Salamander

Aircraft History: Developed to meet the specifications of the People's Fighter competition, in late 1944, put forward by the Reich War Ministry, this aircraft was designed to be made of non-strategic materials, and to be made by unskilled labour. Powered by a BMW003A turbojet, sitting on its back, it reached speeds of up 840km/h, but it never got to use that capability in combat. Some sources say a few were encountered by British fighters near the end of WW2, but this is unconfirmed. By the end of the war, about 150 were completed, with another 800 in production.

Kit Parts: Only 23 parts make up this kit which come on three sprues, one being clear, and a separate fuselage piece. Parts are molded in light grey, crisp, no flash with a nice amount of engraved surface detail.

Instructions: Hobby Boss instruction sheets that I have tend to be an A4 sized sheet folded to make an A5 booklet, on laminated paper. One side of the sheet (ie: front and back covers of the booklet) are in colour with the centre spread being black and white. Symbol, decal application explanation and a photo of the model adorn the front page, which is followed by a sprue map and then two main construction steps (although could really be three as step two has two assembly views) and then the back page has four view colour diagrams of the two aircraft the kit produces. Mr Color and Aqueous Hobby Color painting information is quoted throughout with english paint names.

Colour Options: Two - Luftwaffe JG1 example from May 1945 in upper RLM81/82 patched pattern over RLM76 undersides. The second is a Soviet captured example in USSR markings from 1946 in overall light gull grey.

Decals: The small decal sheet has sharp colour register and includes swastikas in 'halves'. There is no stencilling, only the roundels and unit id badges.

Cockpit/Wheel Bay Detail: All this detail is virtually non existent. The cockpit already has the seat and joystick molded inside and a clear part is provided for the gunsight and that's all you get. Unfortunately a bit of work will be needed in the cockpit if you want it to replicate anything that is more than very sparse.

Optional components: Nil. Canopy is one-piece, only options are basically wheels up and wheels down!

On the Sprue Impressions: With only a handful of parts and the simplistic breakdown of parts this kit looks about as easy as you can get one in this scale. The breakdown of the major components consists of an upper wing/rear fuselage assembly which is affixed over the under/forward fuselage assembly, so just two parts. The engine comes in halves although the o-ring is supplied separately. Apart from clear parts, small engine inserts, tail fins and one piece V tailplane, the only other parts in the kit make up the landing gear including doors. A very simple quick and easy project beckons.

Accuracy: Without counting rivets, even on the sprue the kit looks a little over exaggerated in areas such as the wing tip droops and a little basic and toyish in other areas. I'll look more closely at accuracy when I build this up, but clearly this is a kit for enjoyment than accuracy.

Conclusion: If you are not after a definitive He 162 but you are after a simple, nice and easy basic kit to put together in no time, then this certainly is a highly recommended option. This kit will be going to my son to put together all by himself, and I think Hobby Boss are to be applauded for tackling this genre with a range of interesting subjects. Sometimes it is also really nice to have a few quick projects - somehow it provides a bit of therapy for that huge unbuilt stash to appear as if it is reducing! For the accuracy buff like myself, I must admit that other options such as the MPM group of companies or DML/Dragon will be more to my taste.

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