Honda’s aviation subsidiary began work on business jet and engine combination in 1997. The first flight occurred in December 2003 (100 years after the Wright brothers) and FAA certification was granted in December 2015. Key design elements are the use of composite material construction and the engines mounted over the wing instead of on the fuselage. This results in roomier, quieter cabin. The Honda HF120 engines were developed with GE. The jet cruises at 485 MPH and has a range of 1400 miles.

All of the sprues are bagged separately. The two main sprues are molded in white, one sprue in clear and the final one of chromed parts for the lading edges of the engine nacelles plus the leading edges of the wings and stabilizer. One nit to pick is that the chrome will be removed at the gate on the outer end of the wing pieces. However, that gate is on the bottom side and between two close panel lines, so it should be easy to paint or foil over.

The final two pieces are the top of the cockpit/forward cabin. You have your choice of red or blue plastic. The decal sheet includes cheat lines to cover the seam. Total parts count is 81 pieces plus the decals. There are no photo-etch pieces.

The instructions are on a three-fold sheet and consist of 10 steps. The Illustrations are similar to Hasegawa and Tamiya with notes in Japanese and English. Color call-outs are for Tamiya paints.

Since the molding is crisp and the engineering is not too complex, this looks like a straight forward build.

John Summerford

January 2020