Hobby Boss Model Kits

What Hobby Boss makes

Hobby Boss makes plastic model kits of military and naval subjects. On Amazon US, every one of its 83 live listings in our data is an aircraft, an armored or support vehicle, or a ship. We couldn't open a first-party company page, so this page stays with what the listings and our data show.

Our data files them like this:

• Aircraft: 32, from WWII fighters to modern jets and helicopters
• Military vehicles: 25, tanks, armored cars, amphibious vehicles and a heavy transporter
• Ships: 26, including 15 submarines

Hobby Boss model kits: read the box, not just the title

Here's the main thing to know about Hobby Boss on Amazon US. Most titles are a subject and sometimes a model number, like HY80320 F/A-18A Hornet. Very few state the scale. Only a handful of military vehicle titles say 1/35, and two ship titles say 1/350.

Scale is the first spec I want on any kit. It sets the size on the shelf and tells you whether the kit matches what you already have. A 1/72 jet and a 1/48 jet of the same airplane differ by half again in length.

Theo read a few titles and put it in classroom terms. "A scale that isn't in the title is a word problem with a missing number. I don't assign those." He'd give partial credit for the box photo.

So, before you order a Hobby Boss kit:

1. Find the scale on the box image or in the listing description
2. Check the model number, which starts with HY on many listings
3. Look at the runner photo to judge the parts count

If you can't find the scale anywhere on the listing, wait. A kit you can't place on a shelf is a kit you'll store in a closet.

Hobby Boss aircraft

The aircraft group runs from WWII to modern jets.

WWII fighters

• Hurricane Mk II
• HY80260 F6F-5 Hellcat and HY80339 F6F-5 Hellcat, two listings with different model numbers
• P-39Q Airacobra

Two Hellcat listings with different HY numbers point to two separate kits of the same airplane. Our data doesn't say how they differ. Compare the box photos side by side.

Cold War and modern jets

• F-86F-30 Sabre and FJ-4B Fury
• MiG-17 PFU Fresco E
• F-105D Thunderchief and F-105G Thunderchief
• A-7A Corsair II and HY80345 A-7E Corsair II
• F-111D/E Aardvark
• HY80320 F/A-18A Hornet and F/A-18C Hornet
• A-10 Thunderbolt II
• Su-47 (S-37) Berkut

Hobby Boss lists several airplanes in more than one version: two Thunderchiefs, two Hornets, more than one Corsair II. If you like one airplane, you can build a pair. Version letters on the title, like D and G, tell you which.

Helicopters

• American UH-34D Choctaw
• HH-60J Jayhawk

Two more aircraft listings in our data carry Easy Assembly in the title. That's a line name worth noticing if you want a simpler build. Read the listing for what's simplified.

Hobby Boss military vehicles

The vehicle group is wide: heavy tanks, light armored cars, amphibious vehicles and support vehicles.

Tanks

• M26 Pershing, M26A1 Pershing Heavy Tank (HY82425) and T26E4 Super Pershing Pilot #1
• US M4A3 76 (W)
• Swedish Strv.122
• ZTZ 99B Main Battle Tank
• PTL02 Wheeled Tank Destroyer, a gun on wheels rather than tracks

Three Pershings in one grid is a family reunion. Same family, different haircuts. If you build all three, you'll learn the differences part by part, and that's half the fun of a variant set.

Support and armored vehicles

• Munitionsschlepper Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D/E and Ausf.F
• M706 Commando Armored Car Vietnam and M706 Commando Car Product Improved
• AAVR-7A1 Assault Amphibian Recovery Vehicle

Our data also holds several Soviet armored cars at 1/35, which are the few Hobby Boss vehicle titles that state a scale.

Hobby Boss ships and submarines

Submarines

This is the part of the Hobby Boss list that stands out. Our data holds 15 Hobby Boss submarine listings by title. From the grid:

• Russian Navy Kilo Class
• Russian Typhoon Class Submarine
• Russian Navy Akula Class Attack Submarine
• USS SSN-21 Seawolf Attack Submarine
• USS Navy Los Angeles Submarine SSN-688
• USS GATO SS-212 1944
• DKM U-Boat Type IXB

Fifteen submarines is the least visible fleet I've ever counted, and the easiest one to shelve. A submarine model is mostly a long, smooth hull. That makes it a good kit for practicing seams, sanding and an even coat of paint. There's nowhere for a bad seam to hide.

Surface ships

• USS Spruance DD-963, USS Arleigh Burke DDG-51 and USS Forrest Sherman DDG-98: three destroyers; DDG in a hull code marks a guided-missile destroyer
• HY86501 USS Arizona BB-39 and HY83401 USS Arizona BB-39
• Italian Heavy Cruiser Pola

Two Arizona listings with different model numbers sit next to each other. They may differ in scale or contents. The titles don't say. The box photos will.

Our data also holds two warships whose titles say 1/350, and three amphibious assault ships. A 1/350 battleship is a long project with a long shelf to match.

One airplane, two versions

Hobby Boss often lists the same aircraft in more than one version. In the grid that's the F-105D and F-105G Thunderchief, the F/A-18A and F/A-18C Hornet, the A-7A and A-7E Corsair II and two F6F-5 Hellcats. The letter after the number marks the version, and each kit is labeled for its own.

That's useful two ways. If you want one specific airplane from a photo or a book, match the version letter before you buy. If you like an airplane, two versions side by side make a small display that tells a story without a single word on a card.

Building a submarine: a lesson in seams

A submarine kit is mostly two long hull halves, a sail on top, planes and a propeller. That makes it simple in parts and strict in finish. Every flaw on a long, smooth hull shows.

1. Test-fit the hull halves before glue, and sand the edges where they don't meet
2. Glue in short sections, holding each until it grips
3. Fill the seam where needed; Tamiya's guide lists putty for gaps, followed by sanding
4. Sand from coarse to fine until the seam disappears under your fingertip
5. Prime, then look again; primer shows what you missed

A submarine is a good second or third kit for exactly this reason. It teaches the one skill every later kit needs.

Washes and weathering on armor

Tanks and armored cars look more real with a little grime. Tamiya's guide describes two common products for this: diluted accent paints run into recesses to make detail stand out, and weathering products that imitate dirt, dust, soot and exhaust stains.

Go light. Weathering is easier to add than to remove. Start in the lower hull and the wheels, where dirt really collects, and stop before the whole vehicle turns one color.

How to pick within Hobby Boss

Start with the subject, then check three things on the listing.

1. Subject: aircraft, armor or ships
2. Scale: from the box image, since most titles don't state it
3. Version: letters and numbers in the title, like A-7A vs A-7E or F-105D vs F-105G
4. Parts count: from the runner photo

For a first Hobby Boss kit, a submarine or a single-seat fighter is the steadier choice. Fewer parts, simpler shapes. A big tank or a 1/350 battleship is a longer project.

None of the Hobby Boss listings in our data states an age label. Military kits have small parts, so judge by the smallest part in the photo, and keep the knife work with an adult.

Who should skip Hobby Boss for now

If you need the scale, piece count and age on every listing before you buy, most Hobby Boss titles won't give you that. If you want a car, a sci-fi ship or a snap kit, Hobby Boss doesn't list one in our data. And if you've never built a kit, start with a kit that states its skill level, then come back.

Display: plan the stands and the shelf

Military subjects bring their own display questions. Submarines are long and round, so they need a cradle or stand, or they'll roll. Aircraft can sit on their landing gear or fly on a stand. Tanks sit flat and are the easiest of the three.

Before you build, look at the listing photos for a stand in the box. If there isn't one, plan a simple base: a painted board, two small cradles or a clear acrylic stand. Then measure the shelf against the model's length on the box. With scales missing from most titles, that length is the most useful number you'll find.

A group of one subject reads better than a mixed shelf. Put the submarines together, the Pershings together and the jets together, and each shelf tells you what it's about from across the room.

What you need besides the kit

Tamiya's modeling guide lists the basic toolkit for plastic kits: side cutters for the runners, a hobby knife, files and sanding sponges, plastic cement, primer, paint and masking tape. Only two Hobby Boss listings in our data state that paint and glue are required, both Soviet armored cars. Assume the rest need both unless the listing says otherwise.

For tanks and armored cars, add a wash: thinned dark paint run into the recesses to make details stand out. Tamiya's guide lists diluted accent paints in black, gray and brown for this job. For submarines and hulls, add fine sanding sticks for the long seams.

Safety at the bench

Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves. The U.S. EPA lists paints and hobby products among indoor sources of solvent fumes. Cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids. Small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3.

Related makers

For military kits that state their scales, see Tamiya, Italeri, Academy and Meng. The model kits section lists every maker we track.

Find the scale before you find the shelf.