1/32 Horten 229 Build. ZM's new kit

I've been following this for a while - very nice looking & intricate kit which you are doing a lovely job on!

Just a minor update today. The wings have gone on! This makes a difference to how it looks now. Next time we add the skin to the wings which have been primed and the base coats added. You will then begin to see how it will look when done.

again excellent progress so far. I can't wait to see the final paint job.

Here's an update. As I get closer to the completion I start to consider how to display this bird. I have come to the conclusion that a mirror for it to stand on will be the best thing and so I will head on up to Ikea to take a look at what they have. At this moment in time the wing coverings have been added with the aid of Glue n Glaze. Base colour has been added and relavent masking to reveal inner wing detail on the port side. Here's the pics. Here is a photo of the underside. I experimented with a decal and Vallejo's decal medium and fix. You may not see on the photo, but the medium has left some residue on the paint and I'm not too sure how to remove it as it casts a grey overtone and spoils the undersurface. I have been considering getting some maketar masks for german insignia.... http://shop.maketar.com/132-luftwaffe-balkenkreuz-crosses-late/ http://shop.maketar.com/132-luftwaffe-balkenkreuz-crosses-early-vol-ii/ http://shop.maketar.com/132-german-balkenkreuz/ http://shop.maketar.com/132-german-hakenkreuz-swastikas/ Using them instead of the insignia decals. Of course I will be using the decal stencils and will have to modify one (pilots marked walkway) but I feel that this kit will benefit from painted insignia rather than decals as I would normally do and also it would be a new learning curve and string to my bow. I would have to remove the existing decal and because I've used the Vallejo medium and fix I can't use water to lift it so it probably means a peel and repaint job. I would appreciate any thoughts and ideas on this from members. Flaps and undercart covers etc are currently in the paint shop being primed, painted, masked and painted again!

Looks great!

I've used scotch tape to lift decals before after using microset/microsol.  I am not familiar with the Vallejo medium, but if all it does is help the decal adhere, you should be OK.  Just push the tape on and peel off once the decal is fully dry and hopefully it'll come up.  More than likely it will start to splinter and come apart and you'll need to do it several times and use a couple pieces of tape.  I'm not sure how Vallejo holds up so I would stick the tape to a counter or something and peel it off to reduce the stickiness before attempting so you don't lose any paint.  Also, this can give you a place that you can get some water underneath the decal to further soften it to help remove it.

Your build really looks fantastic, I have little interest in German aircraft but I'm getting tempted!

Groot

Thanks for the advice Groot.

I would recommend that you try this kit as it is not only one of the best engineered kits to date but also builds up like the real thing so it is a real learning experience about the aircraft. The instructions are highly detailed and clear with explanations etc.

Although not a cheap kit, ZM have a range of extras you can purchase at the same time but you do get value for money and as you can imagine there are countless ways of displaying the aircraft as it has a complete airframe.

I can't force you to get this, but it's something that a modeller doesn't want to miss out on.

James

I may, I just have to figure out how to get the boss (pronounced wife) to sign off on it!  Being able to see all of the interior is just different and seems like it could make for a really cool display.

Groot

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) can be sweet talked  if you know how - Flowers, dinner, special holiday somewhere nice....... :)

Here's ZM's Horten Webpage where you can purchase the kit. take a look at the extras too.

www.zoukeimura.co.jp/.../sws08_Ho229horten.html

This is only my opinion on this kit, but it is one that aircraft fans won't want to miss. Really it is a lesson in just what can be done in plastic. Their next release will be the Dornier 335 Pfeil followed by a swarm on FW-190 variants. I think that there may be several companies sitting up and taking notice.

I hadn't really looked heavily into ZM before, but digging into them this evening, their P-51's really piqued my interest, as does the possibility of a flock of FW-190's.  Hmmmm, I think I need to find a jewelry store.

Groot

Jewelry is good. Also is doing the washing up unbidded and "accidentally" taking a walkround in a kitchen retail establishment while muttering "Wonky Cupboards!" under your breath.

The alternative is just negotiation. "If I can have this.... what do you want in return??"

Also available is the ancient art of bedroom diplomacy.... if you know what I mean!!!! ;-)

You could also get her involved by showing how detailed the kit is and that she can do a bit and tell her about the history behind the aircraft and how the modern stealth stuff are the decendants of this.

Still.... it's a fantastic kit and you won't regret it. ZM kits are amongst the top of the tree.

Here's an update. After deciding how to deal with the decal problem I marked out and painted the RLM81 splinter pattern. Whilst removing the masking tape a section of paint came away as it seemed that for some reason the primer had failed to "Grip". I decided that now was the time to fix everything and I carefully removed the entire panel section of paint and remasked just that panel. Also I took a closer look at the decal and came to the conclusion that the Vallejo Medium had actually softened the paint and caused it to move slightly and thus cause the staining effect. I couldn't understand how this could have occurred as there is primer underneath. I tried re-softening with decal fix with nothing doing.... it was stuck fast! I also took a scalpel very carefully, but only managed to make some scratches, which I think could be a new weathering technique! I came to the conclusion that as the decal was so thin and I would be using Maketar marking masks (when they arrive) then a new paint job over the top is needed. At the same time I have noticed that my handling over the build has degraded the Alclad II portion and I'll be redoing all that with the black gloss paint base/stainless steel, but it will be the very last thing although the masking tape will remain on until then! Priming and repairing paint. The entire decal has gone now and although some slight raised marks in the paint remain there is nothing to see unless you are deliberately looking for it, and you will need a magnifying glass! Here also is my base test with the hugely expensive (£8) mirror from Ikea! Taken before the splinter pattern was done!

After a layoff and some repainting the masks from Maketar arrived today.

I bought swastikas too but choose not to show the photo as I'm not sure if they are banned on here. I do remember being told off on a forum for putting up a ME109 build with the swasticas on the tail fin but I can't remember which forum. I probably won't use them anyway as there is not enough room for two between the exhaust for two and there is no tailfin. They have come from Serbia as well by air mail and took 12 days from ordering!

The Horten comes back to the bench for final insignia painting, decals, final exterior assembly etc.

I have never used masks before so look out for my next exciting instalment... Building The Horten... the Masking Issue!!

Looks absolutely stunning. I also got this kit together with a their 1/48 TA-152 and the US ARmy SkyRadier and all their kits (and manuals) are stunning.

It is a bit late for you now but if you build more from them check their Concept Notes. For many of their kits they have basically a book with photos and info from their research if the aircraft and lots of pics from different builds of the kit. Cool to read and very usefull when doing the kits.

Thanks very much for the kind words SwedBear. I am very much aware of the concept notes and the details they contain and how useful they are.

I do work with ZM providing colour details and also copies of original Luftwaffe Manuals, which I also refer to for my builds. Being a retired military veteran with quite a low income I tend to focus on getting the kit itself. I am sure that you are aware of the intense amount of detail of this kit has and its engineering level and so being able to get one at Telford meant a lot to me.

As this project comes to the end I think that a competent RC builder could scale up this kit, add the necessary controls, jet engines etc and make it fly! It has also been fun too and a very enjoyable learning experience.

Once the parts appear for the two seater variant I will once again delve into ZM's Horten 229

Here goes another update. My masking adventures. I bought the film versions of Maketar masks, on reflection maybe I should have bought the kyobi tape masks as they might be a bit more flexible about getting into panel lines. Never mind! It's all a learning curve. Most of the marking masks were sort of successful apart from a bit of bleeding and having to do one again after the paint I just put on came off with the mask!!! I will use some fine masking tape and touch up around the underside crosses where the paint has run under the film mask. I couldn't secure it into the panel line! What is left to do now are the decal stencils, touch-ups etc. Nearly done!

Now I am officially steaming mad!!!!!

The Horten is finished and ready to be displayed.

I gave the upper surface a coat of Vallejo matt Varnish to blend in the stencil decals and it has left a noticeable white bloom over the entire sprayed surface!! 

What has happened? How do I fix it?

OOOO sorry for this happening Snapdragon. The same thing happened to me (but with different products) on my 1/48  P-40.

I fixed it successfully by lightly wet sanding with a 3M product I bought at an auto store.  It's a soft -backed polishing pad called Trizact with a P3000 grit used to final sand/polish auto paint.  I had sprayed a light coat of mat finish that fogged up and this sanded it off without affecting even the decals.

I am sorry about not posting for a while, but my compressor is broken. Hopefully replaced later this week

Here we go with the finished thing.

I have been unsuccessful in removing the white bloom and it still shows through!

I have come to the conclusion that I would have to repaint the upper surface completely to get rid of it and as I haven't any replacement decals that I could use then it will stop as it is!

Apart from the painting foul-up I have enjoyed building this kit and it has been very much a learning experience in airframe building as well as one of the best examples to date as just what can be achieved in plastic. I didn't experience any difficulties in building this apart from one or two pieces were not easy to get in place, but there were no real fit issues at all apart from the pins that hold the wing sections in place and I think that it was me rather than the kit that was having difficulty.

Providing the exterior skin in clear plastic was a stroke of genius as it gives builders many different types of display options, but at the same time the plastic is very hard and easily cracked and broken. the addition to the kit of the same parts but in the kit styrene would have been a nice option to be able to have, but also would have added to the overall cost to the kit.

Still, with the amount of detail you get in the kit and the extras available along with the almost limitless display possibilities there will be many very pleased builders of this kit out there, and although is quite large when build should not be overlooked by Luftwaffe fans of any scale and mine sits proudly in the display case.

ZM got this exactly right and I hope that future kits go the same way to give fans the fantastic building and learning experience that every kit should give - full airframe, engines, skin.... let's start building them as they were built.

The Dornier 335 should be ZM's next release and I hope that that kit in 1/32 is as much a challenge and enjoyable project as this 229 has been. I hope to also see these and future ones not only in 1/48. but also in 1/24.

Very very nice work and good painting as well.

It would look even better if the seam line between upper & lower wing (front) are smooth out.

cnq

Very very nice work and good painting as well.

It would look even better if the seam line between upper & lower wing (front) are smooth out.

I was puzzled about that seam as well.  Does it perhaps replicate a similar gap on the real aircraft?  Curious minds want to know!

Outstanding kit!!

at heart I love 1/32nd scale at some point I will take the plunge and get one of these kits

The seam line is my fault for not making sure that both halves of the clear covering over the frame were mated properly.

As you have noticed throughout this build it is an airframe with clear plastic skin. The clear plastic is quite brittle and easy to break. I didn't want to clamp the thing and I should have filled it and smoothed it in, but at that point I was not sure just how I was going to display the model.

I will be doing another one of these in the future when ZM releases the twin cockpit update set.

At this moment I am getting ready to build HK model's Dornier 335 Pfiel.