HK Models HK Models 1/32 De Havilland Mosquito B Mk.IV Series II

[JaseGill]

1/32 Mosquito Mk.IV Series II

HK Models

Catalogue No: 01E015

Available from all good model suppliers priced £149.99

 

Anyone who, like me, saw this kit at Telford 2014 will have been awaiting this kit with baited breath.  Well its here and all I can say is Yes, its as good as one hoped and from handling at Telford expected of this release from HK Models.  A certain Japanese company has also announced a Mosquito so its soon to have some company but I think it'll stand up to that if only for some of the major assemblies and their quality.  More of that later.

 

The kit arrives in a very shiny, nice artwork adorned, large box.  Its very impressive and also has something Ive not seen before as it says its made in co-operation with AK Interactive and the one and only Large Scale Modeller.  I think this, if nothing else puts HK Models where most modellers want them and thats listening to their customers.  This has to be the future and I can only see HK going from strength to strength by doing this.  The box is very full, nothing is going to rattle around in here and get damaged, in fact everything is very well wrapped and contained in plastic bags that support and protect the pieces.

 

Also as this is one of the first run of these kits it comes with a little gift from HK Models.  A resin crew thats sculpted by Steve Warillow. More on these later in the review.

 

Kit Contents.

The box contains the previously mentioned figures, 28 sprues including the clear ones, a sheet of decals, a small etched fret and the instruction booklet.  The instruction booklet is also backed up by a one sheet that covers all colours with reference to a number of paint supplier including AK Interactive and Vallejo.  This is a great idea as flipping back and forth in the instruction manual to find that colour chart often gets to be a pain, first world problems I know but when a manufacturer puts so much thought into it one has to give them credit.

 

The Sprues

Sprue A:

Sprue A is the 1st surprise for those who didnt see the Telford moulds.  Yes its a single piece nose as a single moulding.  Slide moulded and very high standard its really a lovely piece.  I really like the fact that there is a very small mould line that needs a quick waft with a snading stick and its ready to go.  This has to be the future.

 

Sprue B:
Sprue B continues the surprise.  Its a whole single piece fuselage.  Again beautifully moulded, only needs a quick waft with the sanding stick and all those old worries about getting rid of fuselage seams is gone.  Magic.  The seam you see on the side is supposed to be there.  These were tape lines on the real thing.  These have been added to the kit by, once out by laser etching the kit moulds.  This is a first and really adds a touch of class to this part, the other fuselage part and parts of the wings.

 

Sprue C:
Well as far as single moulds are concerned, HK have kept the best for last.  Both wings, straight through the fuselage, as a single moulding with top and underside all as one piece.  Amazing.  No other words, you just have to see it for yourself and no picture will ever convey how good this is.

 

 

Sprue D (x2) on left, Sprue E (x2) on right:

Sprue D of which there are two are mostly engine, undercarriage and ancillary parts for those lovely merlin engines and the nacelles in which they are kept.  Its all up to the standard of the other mouldings, very good, and looks great on the sprue.

Sprue E again of which there are two is the bombs and the underwing fuel tanks.  

 

Sprue F (x2) on the left and Sprue G (x2):

These sprues are a pair of propellers, 2 of each and of different types.  

In the instructions G are the ones used and F is for a later release.  There are also some smaller nacelle parts here.

 

Sprue H:

Sprue H has the Merlin engine nacelles, control surfaces for both wings and tail and some panels for those 1 part wings. Its one of the largest single sprues in the kit.

 

Sprue K:
Sprues K and L are more parts to finish of those lovely wings.

 

 

Sprue M:
Sprue M is mostly cockpit parts.  What surprises here is the cockpit frame.  Its a single piece and has no glass in it, its actually the internal roll cage on the real thing and is a nice touch here.  This looks like a great idea and the glass parts are added later so will make painting the roll cage easier and potentially make painting the seperate clear part frames easier too.

 

Sprue N:

Sprue N contains more parts to finish off the fuselage itself.

 

Sprue P (x2):

Sprue P is the very large (Big Boy?) bomb.  

 

Sprue Q (x2):
Again more fuselage parts for the engine nacelles.

 

Sprue S:

This contains panels for the nacelle sides

 

Sprue T:

Sprue T is another sprue with more tail components and some contents of the engine nacelles.

 

Sprues U, V, W and X

These are the clear glass components and are primarily for the cockpit, though there are some wingtip anti-collision lights too.

 

Sprue Y:
Sprue Y has the exhaust stacks for those 2 merlin engines.  Theyre very fine and included hollow ends which should look great under a coat of paint.

 

Sprue Z:
This is the final sprue and has the bomb bay doors (there are bulged and non-bulged in this kit depending on the bomb payload) and some of the bomb bay actuator parts.

 

Etched Fret:
The single, small etched fret contains the seat straps for both the pilot and co-pilot/bomb aimer.  These have great detail in them, sadly for now you'll have to take my word for it as I photgraphed the back, not the detailed front, of them.  Doh!!!

 

Decals:

The Decals are on one very large sheet, this is very well printed, and includes a full set of stencils for the aircraft.  They look to be very well produced and in register.  There are 3 attractive schemes included:

Marking A: Serial DK296, No.3 FTU, Errol, Autumn 1943 (in Russian Markings),

Marking B: Serial DZ637/P3-C, No. 692 Sqn, Graveley, Spring 1944 in night bomber colours,

Marking C: Serial DZ627/AZ-X, No. 627 Sqn, Woodhall Spa, Summer 1944 in daytime colours with invasion stripes.

 

Instruction Manual:

The very large almost A3 instruction manual runs to 28 pages, including colour schemes and the callouts for the stencilling and decals.  I often think that a good instruction sheet makes me want to build a kit and this one certainly does that.

 

 

 

And Finally

Those Pilots.  They are really well sculpted, great poses and will look marvellous next to the kit.  I cant wait to paint these.  Im not very aware of Steve Warillow and his sculpting work but if everything he does is this good he's a seriously talented figure sculpting master.  These will look great under a coat of paint, and I cant wait to try them out.

 

 

Final Thoughts.

Well if you haven't worked it out yet I love this kit.  from the advances single piece mouldings, the instruction sheet and throughout the whole presentation it just oozes class and its something that I think will fly off the shelf. It'll be hard to beat and I think at this point anyway it could well be the best 1/32 kit on the market.

 

Its Highly recommended to all and even though its pricey I think it'll give you enough pleasure to justify the price.  

Thanks to HK Models and Neil Yan for supplying this review kit.

[James H]

Looks like a great kit!

 

Actually, I know it is, and it was great fun to build too. Real good to see it through someone else's eyes 

 

Great review, and thanks.

[JeroenPeters]

Lovely kit..

And those figures look the part as well!

[Fran]

I Can't see the photos...

[JonathanReed]

Uh Oh the photos left??

[Artful69]

Jase ...

 

Lovely review ... my kit is in a holding pattern waiting for the Tamiya kit to arrive at the store, so they can both be sent together.

Love this kit!! ... Loved when I saw it in all it's raw beauty via Telford photos ... Loved it when (with some feedback) they went back to work to fix up a couple of issues prior to release ... and still loving it now!

 

I really wish some of the Tamiya 'Fanboys' with their doomsday premonitions, advice etc would go take a cold shower!

 

Well detailed, accurate and ingeniously engineered - Jase (and HK Models) we thank you!

 

Rog

[Fran]

Great review... really nice work!

 

On the side of the box is also two very important things: Jimbo Mossie and LSM logo!! :) 

[Grimm]

Definitely a step up from the old Revell kit! I guess now we have to see how the Tamiya will stack up...