Part I | PART II | Part III | Part IV

Sometimes kits just fall together. I normally associate them with Tamiya, Wingnut Wings and a few other select manufacturers.

Trumpeter – and by extension Hobby Boss – have never really fit into that hallowed league, at least in my experience. The two early Wildcats I built for the kids way back in 2010 were beset by an idiotic wing/fuselage join, awful lower fuselage fit, and canopies that were too tall to be posed closed, but too thick to be posed open. And the Trumpeter P-47…well…it’s been a slog.

I have to say, though, this Me 262 has forced me to reevaluate what Hobby Boss is capable of. There are still a few minor issues, but by and large, this kit is easily as good as almost anything Tamiya has put out in the last ten years.

So I’m not going to go into a detailed, blow-by-blow overview of the build. It’d be pointless. Instead I’m just going to focus on the areas that might need some attention.

The biggest issue with the kit is the way the wings go together. Instead of the usual top-bottom sandwich, toward the trailing edge the upper and lower wings fit together on this weird seam that bisects the control surfaces.

This…shouldn’t be there. On the real 262, there’s a very fine rivet line that runs in roughly the same spot, but a rivet line is not the same as a giant trench. So this needs filling.

The only other real sticking point is the join between the engine pods and the wing. There is a prominent line at the rear that needs to be filled, and some very slight ridging along the front that will need some aggressive sanding and filling action.

Apart from these areas, Hobby Boss’ Me 262 goes together like butter.

I’m not really sure what else to add, save that I wish they’d done this kit with separated leading edge slats. The real 262 had spring-loaded slats that would stay open at lower speeds (and parked, duh), and only close when air resistance overcame the spring force and pushed them closed. This is something that Trumpeter gets right in their 1/32 rendition, but that Hobby Boss and Tamiya both overlook in the 1/48 kit.

Up next – painting the 262!

Part I | PART II | Part III | Part IV