HB Tu-2

[mbittner]

Anybody have any opinions on the Hobby Boss 1/72 Tu-2?

[jonbius]

How about if I post pics of the parts and you form your own opinion?

I have the 1/48 Xuntong Tu-2, but have not had a chance to build it yet. I purchased this one so I could build a Tu-2 quickly, and not take up a lot of space. It's like most of the Hobbyboss 1/72 scale kits- easy assembly, and not big on interior detail. The pilot's station has a floor, a seat and a stick. All other crew stations are not even represented. I plan to just pain them flat black and not worry about it, though I'm sure you could cut out the areas and scratch building parts.

The parts are nicely cast with good surface detail, though the plastic texture looks slightly grainy, though it feels smooth. Fit is usually very good on these kits. As you can see in the last photo, it fits like a snap-tite model, I did a quick assembly of major parts in about a minute. The fuselage seem has a very good fit and should clean up nicely, as does the nacelle fit.

Instructions are simple- two steps. Two decal options are provided. Hobbyboss decals usually work well, though sometimes the colors may not be perfect. These look OK. Clear parts are cast nicely and are actually rather thin, though with the lack of interior detail it's not really going to matter.

While I'm sure it will never win awards for interior detailing, it appears to be a fun kit to build. It certainly won't take long to build!

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jon,
thank you for the photos. They use an advanced technology for the mould, anyway, the emgines are made with copmplex molds in three or more parts. Pity for their choice tooversimplify the kit. I think that there is still need of the kit of ICM, this one looks too toy-like for me. It's not even easy to remove the plastic from the cockpits to insert resin aftermarket sets.
Regards
Massimo

[JP]

Agree with Massimo - it appears more toy-like than a serious model.  Reminds me of the 21st Century "kits" they sold through Wal-Mart here, which were basically unbuilt/unpainted versions of their already built/painted display "toy" aircraft.

That said, if you lay an excellent paint job on it and tighten up a few things, they can still turn out fairly decent looking builds.  On the other hand, you could get a 1/32 21st Century "kit" for ~$12 with excellent decals.  How much is this Hobby Boss thing?

[learstang]

I'm interested in how accurate the shapes are, and for which type of Tu-2 - the early Tu-2 which stopped production in 1942(?), or the later-war Tu-2S.  Their Il-2 is accurate in terms of shape, and is nicely-moulded, but falls down in terms of the armament (37mm cannons for a swept-winged variant), but I don't see that being a problem here.  Perhaps someone can release a Tu-2 that covers the middle ground between this possibly too simple kit, and the over-engineered ICM kit.  Still, I'll probably pick me up one, if it's not too expensive.

Regards,

Jason

P.S.  Just looked at the guns on the sprues - those definitely have to go!  Interestingly, the UBT on the Il-2 kit isn't bad.

[jonbius]

Still, I'll probably pick me up one, if it's not too expensive.

It's not expensive at all... ScaleHobbyist.com has it for US$12.39. (http://goo.gl/Vy395)

I purchased mine at the LHS for about $13.00. A real bargain!

[JP]

That's about right.  Looking at it more, I'd be willing to bet they sell built/painted ones somewhere under another brand name.  Anyway, I'm interested to see what you get out of it.

[jonbius]

That's about right.  Looking at it more, I'd be willing to bet they sell built/painted ones somewhere under another brand name.  Anyway, I'm interested to see what you get out of it.

Oh yeah, they do. If you ever go to Hobby Lobby and see the pre-built & painted aircraft in 72nd scale, it's the HB kits.

[Massimo Tessitori]

It would be good to compare it with the kit of ICM to see if it's the same version.
Regards
Massimo

[learstang]

For around $13.00 I will almost certainly buy one.  Massimo, even though it's in the earlier black/green scheme, I'm guessing that it's the later Tu-2S they're representing, like the ICM kit.  I have the ICM kit, so when I buy the HB kit (whenever that is), I can compare them.  Hopefully someone here will be able to compare them before me.

Regards,

Jason

[JP]

I have the ICM kit right here.  As far as kit design, they are not remotely the same, but I think this much is understood.  I've heard the fit of the ICM kit is poor, but it has a lot more detail.  They've also managed to produce a sort of stressed metal effect among extremely fine rows of rivets along the top of the wing.  It looks quite convincing in the box.  

As far as the type of plane, from a look at the box and instrux, it appears to be the same variant of Tu-2.  I didn't get out my references as all my stuff is jammed into a closet.  Long story there.