Hobby boss models

I like them.  They have good fit, and fine detail.  I built their Coast Guard helicopter and really enjoyed it- it came out great!

JohnnyK

I recently built a Hobby Boss 1/48 P-38. It was a very easy build with no problems or alignment issues.  

That makes me curious to get that kit and try it, too.  That is apparently an original tooling, not a reissue, reboxing, or copy of someone else's kit.

I recently built a Hobby Boss 1/48 P-38. It was a very easy build with no problems or alignment issues. 

I've built their 1/48 A-6A and really enjoyed it. Fit and engineering were quite good, as was the level of detail.

Tom

Just finished their 1/48 F-84F.  Nice kit.  I have a couple more of their kits to build and they look great.   I wouldn't hesitate buying anything else from them.  I've had excellent service from them as well.  Replaced a short shot sprue from my jayhawk kit no charge.

I would definitely build the F4F kit again, though I am eager to build the Tamiya kit now as a comparison.  I have it in my stash, and I laid the sprues side by side-that's how I saw that the HB kit is a copy of Tamiya's.  But I haven't yet built the Tamiya kit.

With the HB Wildcat, it was a relatively pain-free build.  There were a couple of tricky spots, but nothing that couldn't be overcome.

One was assembling the landing gear, which was fiddly.

The other was assembling the engine.  It's engineered in four pieces, with the gear box (?) up front, the two rows of cylinders, and the box at the rear, all fitting together with keys and slots.  But I found that the keys and slots didn't line up.  As far as I could tell, I had the pieces oriented correctly.  I just filed off the keys and slots and then fit everything together with no further trouble.

The kit also included 4 fully molded .50 caliber machine guns, though there is no way to show them, without opening up the wing gun bays yourself.  Since I didn't need to show the gun bays opened, I stowed those guns gratefully in my stash.

I have built several of their armor kits over several years.  I found them very good.  Good fit, instructions well done, at least for me.

I've build a few of their kits and I find them to be satasfactory. Like Stick said they have rocks and gems. They are knock-off's of other kits, some good, some bad.

the Baron

 

 

Srpuln10

Has anyone got info on the company? Good,bad I don't know nor heard anything...

 

 

 

It depends on the kit.  As others have noted, HB is part of the Red Chinese conglomerate that includes Trumpeter.

I've built their 1/48 F4F-4 kit, which is pretty much a knock-off (whether licensed or not) of Tamiya's kit of the same subject.  The sprues are almost identical, except for the way the lower wing and lower forward fuselage parts are molded on the sprues.  It's a decent kit.

I also have HB's 1/700 USS Arizona 1941 on the bench.  It's cheap, at around ten bucks retail, and it's a poorly engineered kit.  It shows its origins in the copies made in the PRC of Revell's kit (from Banner, to HB/Trumpter/MiniHobby), particularly in the way the parts are engineered.  I got it with an eye to converting the kit to the Pennsylvania circa 1935, but as time went on, I lost my enthusiasm for it, because the details are so soft.  It really needs more skill than I have and more work than I want to put into it, to make a nice model.

I haven't built any of their other kits, of other subjects, but I'd probably buy more of their airplane kits and build those, with a reasonable expectation of quality.

 

I have their 1/350 Arizona, and find it the same.  Pretty much a knock off of the Revell kit. 

Only one of the HB line I have, but been looking at some of the WWII US fighters and may pick up one or two to try.

Have built a few of their kits with no serious problems. As others have said, some of the kits lack detail but nothing that can't be fixed by a modeler with a little experience.

Jim  

I built an A-7 (1/48) from HobbyBoss and was completely satisfied. Would not hesitate to buy another kit from them.

Srpuln10

Has anyone got info on the company? Good,bad I don't know nor heard anything...

It depends on the kit.  As others have noted, HB is part of the Red Chinese conglomerate that includes Trumpeter.

I've built their 1/48 F4F-4 kit, which is pretty much a knock-off (whether licensed or not) of Tamiya's kit of the same subject.  The sprues are almost identical, except for the way the lower wing and lower forward fuselage parts are molded on the sprues.  It's a decent kit.

I also have HB's 1/700 USS Arizona 1941 on the bench.  It's cheap, at around ten bucks retail, and it's a poorly engineered kit.  It shows its origins in the copies made in the PRC of Revell's kit (from Banner, to HB/Trumpter/MiniHobby), particularly in the way the parts are engineered.  I got it with an eye to converting the kit to the Pennsylvania circa 1935, but as time went on, I lost my enthusiasm for it, because the details are so soft.  It really needs more skill than I have and more work than I want to put into it, to make a nice model.

I haven't built any of their other kits, of other subjects, but I'd probably buy more of their airplane kits and build those, with a reasonable expectation of quality.

Their 1/48 scale armor was well regarded, especially the T-34 and KV series. The Shermans were dinged for some shape issues, but were nice regardless.

I've got a couple of their 1/35 scale armor kits and those look good, but I have not tried them yet.

Like GM said, Hobbyboss is the alter ego of Trumpeter. They are the left door and right door of the same parent company. If you have built a Trumpeter kit, you’ll pretty much have the same from Hobbyboss. But... there is always a but, Hobbyboss has recently started issuing formerly Tristar kits (a gorgeous line of 1/35 armor and figure kits) under the Hobbyboss label. Those are superior to anything that I’ve seen yet from Trumpeter/Hobbyboss  original engineering/molding. 

As to quality, like any other company, they have their gems and rocks. If you’re interested in a particular kit, do a little online research on it. But they have a lot of kits that nobody else does.

I have not yet built an HB kit, though i have 3 in the stash, but have heard good things and have several on my to buy list. Not sure what subjects your after but they have taken over the Tristar line which are very nice kits, but mostly WW2 German subjects.

I am assuming you are looking for good places to order from since you mention no hobby shops. Hobbylinc.com is my go to. I have heard Spruebrothers is good.

If you are asking about manufacturers of kits I find Tamiya to be the best when it comes to fit and quality instructions. I have yet to try a Hobby Boss model.

It's a branch of the Trumpeter company. In my experience, they tend to be somewhat simplitied as compared to the newer Trumpeter stuff.

I think their 1/48 aircraft kits are among the best available.

I have no positives to say about their color call outs, but it's always a good idea to do your own research.