For my final build of the year, I present the Messerschmitt Me163B Komet from Meng in 32nd scale. This kit features some awesome boxtop artwork plus an interesting sleeve with a cut-out over the artwork of the Komet.
The Komet is one of those fascinating German designs that feels like it belongs more to a Luft-46 period or perhaps to a galaxy far, far away (the curved canopy right at the front of the fuselage along with the swept wings gives it a bit of a starship look). Unlike the typical Luft-46 subjects, the Komet actually saw combat. Like the Me262, the Me163 caught Allied aircrews by surprise, and was likely a frightening sight. I don't really have any statistics on how the Komet performed other than it was a short flight, as the aircraft was the first (and only) rocket-propelled fighter in history, and it burned the highly combustive rocket fuel at a prodigious rate.
The kit is a first for me on two fronts - I'd never built a Komet previously, and I'd never built a kit from this Chinese manufacturer either. After having gone through this build, I'll give Meng good props for producing a winner here. The kit features good detail in the cockpit and the engine, but it also features a bunch of detail that is closed up inside the fuselage. The clear parts are very well done. My only complaint is the tires. They are rubber with awfully visible mold release lines right in the center of the primary tires that are impossible to remove without totally destroying the tires. I tossed those and picked up a set of resin tires intended for this (and the Hasegawa) kit.
Construction is a relative breeze. The kit contains a full engine, but only the nozzle is visible. There is a bunch of engine crammed into the fuselage, and this makes things a very tight fit. I dry-fit this thing repeatedly and noted no real fit issues, but of course when the glue finally came out, I could not get the fuselage to fully meet at the seam right in front of the ammo bay. I'd also point out that, much like a biplane, there is a lot of fragility in this aircraft. I was certain that I'd break any of the attachment brackets for the gear skid, or the engine nozzle, or prior to attaching the wings, the underside of the fuselage. Which is an interesting design in that you insert wing spars (more like nubs) from inside the fuselage, and there is an oval open-ended inset where the wings attach. All of that plastic under the oval opening is just asking to get caught on a sleeve cuff or something to be snapped right off. Thankfully that was not a problem for me.
I used Vallejo paints for the majority of this build. I did not build a particular Komet, but rather emulated another build I found posted online that I really liked the look of it. My Vallejo paint set for late war Luftwaffe aircraft did not include a greenish RLM76, so I used AK Interactive's Real Colors for that, and then mottled over that RLM76 variant. Hard-edging on the wing camouflage. Decals from the kit that performed just fine.
Now after completing this build, I will point out that the detachable tail section does not sit as flush as it should when attached back to the fuselage, nor do the covers for the gun bays or the ammo bays.
I'm happy with how this one turned out. And given that I have 3 more Meng kits in the stash, I'm glad this one was such an enjoyable build.
Turning the page to 2022. I believe I'll start with Trumpeter's 1/48 Mig-23ML Flogger-G.