Background:

The Horten H.IV was a German tailless flying wing glider in which the pilot lay in a prone position to reduce the frontal area, and hence drag. It was designed by Reimar and Walter Horten in Göttingen. Four were built between 1941 and 1943. They were flown in a number of unofficial competitions in Germany during World War II. After the war the flying examples were transported to the United Kingdom and the United States where several contest successes were achieved.

Contents:

Inside the strong cardboard box are some well wrapped resin parts. Bubble wrap and double bagging protects the resin parts, some of which are delicate. Contents include:
-16 x light green resin parts.
-1 x one piece airframe.
-2 x part clear resin canopy
-2 x choices of undercarriage.
-2 x small sheets of decals.
-1 x A4 double sided sheet of instructions and painting guide.
-1 x small image of the interior of the cockpit.

The cockpit features a one piece couch and the framework that supports it. An additional frame needs to be created from the four thin resin rods, which is attached to the separate partial resin ribs. There is a separate resin hatch that fits behind the upper canopy.
The canopy is made from two clear resin parts. The glazing extends under the nose of the glider. The quality is slightly cloudy due to the releasing agent so a bit of a soak in some soapy water and a polish will help.
The one piece airframe has a couple of casting lugs that need to be removed from the cockpit area. The wings are pretty true, just a slight droop toward one of the wing tips. This should easily be rectified by dipping the part in warm water and straightening and letting it cool. There is a little resin flash on the leading edge of the wing, probably where the casting block was removed. Just needs a few swipes with the wet and dry. The surfaces have taped detail, no sagging fabric here thankfully.
The undercarriage has two options: the double wheel bogey or single wheeled unit for option A. Option B features the single wheel unit. Option a features a recessed tail wheel, while option B relies on the strengthened under fuselage hump to absorb the impact of landing.
Markings two options are provided with this release.
Horten Ho IVb - Göttingen, Germany, 1943
Horten Ho IVb - 'N79289', USA, 1950.
Both versions have a mixture of plywood, fabric and aluminium finishes. 'N79289' has the outer wings painted orange.
The decals are printed on two small sheets. The Balkenkreuz are provided and are optional. The Hakencreuz are split in two. The registration letters are provided for ‘N79289’. Decals look thin and the colour depth and density looks spot on.
The instructions are very clear, construction is illustrated with black line drawings and all the text is in English. The small black and white image of the inside of the cockpit is a very useful inclusion. It will be a great help putting the components for the cockpit together.

Contents:

What a spectacular looking model and one cannot fail to be impressed by the boldness of its design. As you can see compared to the 1/72 Bf 110E I am building, the wingspan is impressive in span. Very few components with this release although the cockpit needs some care in removing the components from their casting blocks and putting them together. But CMR has made life a lot easier casting the pilots couch and frame as one piece. This will make a great weekend project.