Anyone else made any of Hobbyboss' easykit range?

I finished the Mig-15 the other day. I'm kinda surprised that they're called easykit though since it had almost the same number of parts as the Tamiya and Academy kits I've been making and really, the only difference seemed to be that the wings are already connected together and the control panel didn't have much detail.

Everything else, including the more difficult parts such as the cockpit and landing gear all needed assembling as normal.

Just a bit surprised that they're called easykits when it was basically no different to the standard Tamiya kits. Wondering too if the easykit name has put people off from buying them? It almost did me since I thought it would be minimum number of parts and take little over half and hour to assemble. I only bought it because there was no other Mig-15 kits for sale.

Anyway, very good little kit. I'll definitely buy another in the easykit line.

I am patiently (or maybe not) awaiting their 1/48 P-38L to try the line out. I built Academy's as an F-5E and wasn't at all impressed with the fit; I destroyed a lot of the detail fixing seams/steps. I haven't tried Hasegawa's but read the boom fit is a mess. So hopefully HB will come through with something decent and less painful to build. Fewer parts might make for a better result given the complicated design of the aircraft.

That's my hope anyway, I'd love to build a few P-38's but the amount of work the current options require puts me off. If the cockpit is too basic I'm betting I can bash a True Details set in there to improve it.

HB first released this series before moving on to more detailed kits. Packaging is well thought out with a black plastic pre-moulded insert supporting the contents. I have built 2 so far, the Hellcat and Typhoon. Designed to clip together with sparse cockpit detail, the Hellcat has a floor, seat, and a 'dimple' for a joystick. Decals are provided, I must admit I did not have fun applying them but that may be my problem as I have heard others quite like them. wheelwell detail is shallow but they do provide a good basis for improvement. There are some accuracy questions with some of the kits and as they are 'snap fit' there are some chunky tabs as well, however, fit is extremely good and filler may not be required. All in all I can recommend them to all but the pickiest modeller

I am building a HB P-51 for the Russell campaign.
Nice fitting model.
Looks like a P-51 but then again I am not a rivet counter

Surprised to hear that the Hellcat and Typhoon were snap fit since the Mig-15 wasn't.

Guess there's a mixed bag of snap fit and glue based ones in the set. I found the decals to be excellent too, easy to apply, quick drying and pretty sturdy.

Glad to hear they do a Hellcat version. Will have to keep my eye out for it since I'm a bit of a Hellcat fan

Hobby Boss P-38L sprues doesn't look snap-tite to me. In fact, the cockpit parts don't look too horrid at all in the instruction steps. No need to worry about boom alignment or fit the way its molded.

Paul,
I took a quick look at the pictures from your link. Just looks like what it's advertised to be, a simplified kit. Engine booms, & fuselage are one piece which is something I've never seen before. Wheel wells look kind of strange. Even the wheels are molded as one piece. I would say that they're good beginner models, which is exactly what they're targeted to be.
Joel

I have a couple of the kits and for the money really like them.

In the interest of full disclosure, I use them in a timeline of powered flight hanging from my classroom ceiling.
These are not destined for contest tables, but the detail is still pretty decent. Panel lines might be a bit deep, but they look the part and go together well. I cannot comment on the accuracy of paint schemes or decal options as I did little to no research for these builds.
But I CAN say that the landing gear doors DO fit when building a wheels up option and little to no putty was needed.

They are certainly WORLDS better than the snap-tite kits out there, and a decent entry into building for younger builders.
Price is pretty affordable too.

I've got a Saber and a Mig 15 hanging from the ceiling and the Me 163 and 262 and a Volksjager at home in the stash. If I didn't already have a Spitfire or a P40 up there, I'd get these as well.
I just wish they'd expand the line into more modern jets.

My US$0.02, your mileage may vary.
Mike

They're a cool idea and I like them. Fit is reasonable, external detail is pretty good and the break down of parts means that you could finish one to a decent standard in a matter of days. Also makes them brilliant for practising finishing skills. They're great for showing lots of different markings schemes and finishes on the same type of aircraft. For example, the modular format of the base kits means that they've covered pretty much every major variant of the Bf109, P-40 and Wildcat. And all come with pretty interesting decals. Given the choice of Hobbyboss or Hasegawa, it would be much more economical. Of course the Hasegawa kit would be the better and most detailed of the two. Its a case of you get what you pay for really.
I'll certainly continue to buy them.

CONFESSION TIME HB kits are NOT Snap Fit but do have large location alignment tags. Sorry for the mis-information. In my defence it was a while since I built them

The original intention was to produce a range of assembled and painted aircraft models that could be collected, similar to diecasts, but made from plastic. I think some were sold in that form. They then decided to sell them as easy to assemble model kits. That is why the early kits are made up of big lumps of plastic that slot together.