HobbyBoss He162 Salamander Kit Review

Hobbyboss sure keep turning out the kits, must be working overtime at their factory! I know some of their more basic kits aimed at younger end of market have been given some stick, I don't wish to get into that here, lets just say I wanted a quick build He162 in my collection and the Hobbyboss kit was available at the very reasonable price of £3.99, well come on we are in a recession!
23 parts make up the kit (Two clear) main front fuselage is all one part, so is the rear fuselage which is also molded into the upper wings so basically once these two parts are together all that needs to be added is tailplanes and engine small amount of filling was required on the two engine halves. I must add the cockpit detail is some what lacking and a little poor overall a very suspect looking seat molded into the cockpit floor doesn’t help matters, looking back I should have attempted to remove the seat molding and add one of my own. But I added straps made from masking tape and with a little dry brushing and side detail added I was happy enough. At this stage the model was undercoated with Halfords Grey and then painted in Humbrol enamels, two colour schemes are provided by the way one a 1/JG1 machine of the Luftwaffe from May 1945 Light blue undersides, Light Green or Brown Violet upperparts. Mr color paint references are used throught.the other a captured Soviet machine from 1946 in an overall Light Gull Grey scheme.
Once painting was complete the whole airframe was left to dry for a few days then model was given a coat of Klear, decals went on with no trouble with no silvering. Only a few basic decals are given with no stenciling and of course the Swastikas came from an aftermarket decal sheet.
Next stage was to add the undercarriage and doors the front undercarriage is all one part, as for the one-piece canopy (Other clear piece in kit is the gun sight) this can be fitted tightly into place without the need for gluing via locating lugs molded into the part itself.
Short service life of these aircraft meant that weathering was kept to a minimum I added the odd paint chip with a silver artists pencil and panel lines were given a wash with citadel black ink.
Unfortunately the model was a tail sitter as I hadn’t put enough weight in the aircraft’s nose so an old coaster was given a blast of Halfords primer and dry brushed with a darker grey to which the model was glued.
So to sum up a nice quick build kit at a very good price, I think the completed model captures the look of the real thing very well, I’m certainly happy with it and can recommend it!