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George Johnson
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Zoukei-Mura Ho 229 WIP

April 3, 2018 · in Aviation · · 35 · 3.9K

I started this a few weeks ago and have made some steady progress. This is the really wonderful version. The level of detail in the kit is like nothing I've ever seen before. The wing is almost finished in the shot. I just finished it moments ago, but have not taken any photos yet. This wing will be left open to show the marvelous detail within. The port wing will be closed up.

Reader reactions:
14  Awesome

2 additional images. Click to enlarge.


35 responses

  1. Superb construction! How did you achieve the beautiful wood grain paneling? Are you going to paint over this or leave it wood grain?

    • I contacted the Smithsonian yesterday after I received your comment and asked them about the method used by the Germans to paint the original. I was thinking that I might do a partially painted wing, but need to know if they brushed, sprayed or rolled on the paint. Hopefully, they'll get back to me.

  2. Thanks. The inside of the wing was airbrushed with acrylics followed by oils for the wood grain. The outside (bottom) of the wing is covered in various decals made by Uschi van der Rosten. The plane will be an all wood finish as these things were covered in plywood.

  3. Those Z-M kits are top-notch from what I've experienced. Although I haven't done this particular kit, the quality is nonetheless apparent (as are your talents). 🙂

  4. Excuse my ignorance, but I've no idea what this is, but it looks fantastic, can't wait to see more.

    • No problem, George. This is a Horten Ho 229 flying wing designed and built by the Horten brothers in 1941-44 Germany. It was powered by two Jumo 004 jet engines and was designed to deliver an atomic bomb to the U.S. in a very unfriendly manner.

      • The Horten/Gotha 229 was much too small to carry an atomic bomb to the USA and her range was much too small. As far as I know she wasn't even able to carry bombs at all. But there were projects of larger flying wings for that purpose.

  5. George, looks really nice, and seeing it opened up like this you can really see the engineering design that went into this. Keep up the good work !

    • Thanks, Terry. It is an amazing feat of engineering both in reality and the model. Z-M has done its homework. I'm working on the other wing now and it will be closed up, but it's going to look pretty cool, too.

  6. George,
    You have my undying respect for the incredible job you are doing with this ZM build. Having done their AD I cannot compliment you enough. Your build is outstanding... Plus I love your workshop. Gorgeous

  7. Hi George. All I can say is that this is breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL. Well done!

  8. Great work, George. Every time I see one of these built up the quality shines through, so no doubt ZM have come up with a superb product. I agree 1/32 is the better choice. Their Do 335s are superb, and I think they have a new Japanese subject in development and hope to have it available at Telford this year.

  9. Great piece of work George! The woud is very realistic on the wing...

    • Thanks. I learned a lot from that first wing and started the other one last night. The plastic is molded clear with a mottled surface to make it look translucent. I spent most of the night sanding it smooth and re-scribing the panel lines a little.

  10. Great build and an even better paint job.
    You've done a wonderful job replicating the plywood panels.

  11. Stunningly beautiful, George. Z-M is to be commended and you are building this kit to its full potential. Outstanding work, my friend.

    Bravo!

    • Thanks, Jeff. The detail on this kit approaches resin detail quality and easier to work with. I decided that each subassembly would be treated as its own little kit so that I could really concentrate on assembly and painting as though each could stand and be displayed on its own.

  12. I can only parrot whats being written above. But, those of us at the end of the table would like another helping of photo's. The model looks tasty and a feast for the eyes ... a strong candidate for model of the month if there ever was...

    The Smithsonian has one in their collection. Waiting to be restored and I haven't come across any material saying that it was ever flown by the allies. Of course they had Jack Northrop's research and examples to fly. The planes of fame has has a tailless Northrop design that has flown. Several articles have been written about the types radar signature but, given the engines faces being so close to the leading edge one wonders if the design would have been supper stealthy. Cool model.

  13. Thanks Stephen. The Smithsonian just finished the restoration and it is now on display. Some one sent me a picture of it. Unfortunately, it was in pretty bad shape to begin with. Given the technology of the time, the radar signature would have been reduced by about 25%. This would have given the Germans a 2 to 15 minute advantage in getting to England which would have been sufficient time to do a lot of damage. It would have changed the outcome of the Battle of Britain, or so they think.

  14. Here are a couple of photos I shot the other day.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  15. Beautiful work!

  16. What a fabulous model. True work of art and engineering. Very talented! Would love to see a detailed build log of this kit to see how u achieved these results.

  17. Wow. Fantastic detailed work!

  18. George, I have been following the progress with this one so far. It is simply amazing ... The details, wow ! ... every time I look at this, I notice something new. I really like this one a LOT !

    A little over a year ago (or more), there was a Television program that aired here in the US, where a team from Northrop / Grumman built a full scale mock up of the original plane. Wood was used for the build. They used a specialty paint that had metallic particles in it and painted the airframe with it where the engines and fuel tanks were mounted on the real one.

    Next they mounted it on a pedestal and took radar signal readings from it. If my memory serves me correctly, the radar signature was reduced significantly, making this plane a hard one to track. I'll see if I can find the name of the TV program ...

  19. Awesome! I know how you feel building a super detailed kit. I am building the RFM Panther G, it has everything but the crews' seat inside! Beautiful work there man!

  20. I think the Allies captured the Horten just before it was to be test flown. I saw the one in the Smithsonian last year, before they had completed it. It was in pieces, pre-restoration. I read an alternative history novel by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen, 1945. The main character, a naval attache, is at a Victory parade and a squadron of these fly overhead. Entertaining, and scary, considering what might have occurred if the Nazis were further along.

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