Zoukei-Mura’s magnificent 1/32 Horten Ho 229 returns in night-fighter configuration, plus an option to build the prototype Ho 229 V3 machine.

Having delighted modellers in 2014 with a magnificently detailed 1/32 Horten Ho 229A-0, Japanese firm Zoukei-Mura has taken the next step along the type’s intended development with a radar-equipped, two-seat Ho 229B night-fighter. The kit was displayed prominently at this year’s Shizuoka model show in Japan.

Horten’s flying wing design still looks futuristic even today, and Zoukei-Mura’s approach has been to build the internal structure first, and then add the external panels… just like the original engineers at Horten and Gotha (which would likely have produced the in-service machines). Once more, the instructions are presented as a secret German document, and modellers can build either the night-fighter Ho 229B or a single seat Ho 229A-0. This was to be based on the Ho 229 V3 prototype, which was the airframe captured by American troops in April 1945 and transported to the US under the auspices of Operation Paperclip.