ME-262: Reich Defender II 10/09-7/10

Daywalker

Fred- You tease!  I'll paint your mottle finishes if you will fill and sand all of my seams LOL.

Deal LOL. 

For the most part, the Trump kit goes together, rather seamlessly, if you'll forgive the pun .  Thankfully, the longitudinal seam on the top and bottom is, actually, supposed to be there.  If you look at any of the real aircraft, there is a dorsal and ventral seam, running from rear canopy to tail fillet (on top) and from the central access panel all the way to the rear, on bottom.  So the people that are spending time sanding away this seam, are doing it all wrong.

I just need to add the two color bands on the fuselage and the markings will be complete.  I think I'm going to paint rahter than use the decals, as Trumpy's decals are a bit on the touchy side.  Some of them, as soon as they hit the water, come away from the backing paper and fold on themselves.  And it's almost impossible to recover from that.  I completely destroyed one set of White 17 markings and was barely able to recover most of the other set.  Some decals don't want to come off at all, but if you re-dip them, they do the old "fold n'stick" routine.  And some go on just fine and turn out perfectly.  I've never encountered this kind of inconsistency on the same sheet before.

Anyway, I'm hoping I'll be able to call it finished, later today - hooray for days off .  Stay tuned for possible pictures .

-Fred

mph, hope you ankle heals quickly.

Thank you everyone for the comments.  There is one nice thing about both of these kits having the wheels up.  I didn't have to do any of the gear bay work or the underside of the cockpit tub.

Just to let you all know my plane for the camo are to do each one in a different scheme.  I'm thinking of the doing the bomb in 81/82/83 and the parent in 74/75.  That is my thoughts for now.  Since this is a purely conceptual aircraft the markings are all up to me.

Frank, The guys building the clear versions I stand in awe of. I'd have my paw prints all over those clear parts.

Mucker, hope to hear your feeling better soon.

 Did get the antenna fitted, used a couple of left over buckles from a Pfalz III build I recently did and a bit of .004" monofilament fishing line.  

 I got hand it to Bob's Buckles for making these things, I tried it and ended up with various sizes and a migrane.

Jeremy- Bummer about the canopy issue, hope the one from the other kit works out!  Nothing worse than faulty clear bits, as they are VERY difficult to fix properly!

Fred- You tease!  I'll paint your mottle finishes if you will fill and sand all of my seams LOL.

Steve- Glad to help!  I like those 74/75/76 aircraft, look very different from the later finishes.

Charles and mph- Sorry to hear you fellas are fighting illnesses and injuries!  Hope you both feel better soon. 

Mike- That gun bay looks awesome!   I like your subtle drybrushing and weathering on the parts.  What techniques/colors did you use?

John- You really are a glutton for punishment, doing two at once!  I'm looking forward to seeing a Mistel here as well.  Great to see the unusual birds like recon variants, v-planes, and Mistels!

Randy- No need to be nervous, just be sure to have fun while you are here!   Really looking forward to seeing your photos when you get started.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! its all I can say about the builds in this group, the talent here is mind bending to say the least. so much so that I am getting nervous about starting my build.

 Hey mph, here I'm about the trouble I've been having. Really sorry to hear about the broken ankle. The stairs could end up breaking more than an ankle if you try'em too soon. Will be looking forward to seeing your updates, your healing up, and warmer weather in March.

 Mobious

Some serious awesome work going on here!  And I am very jealous of ALL of you!!!

Just when I thought I'd have a few days between Christams and New Years to get some work done -

I go and break my ankle.  It is just now that I am able to get time to post anything.  I will be limited on my ablility to make it to the workbench {it is downstairs, and I am not doing stairs very well right now}.  Worse case - it will be the end of March before I get rid of the crutches and the boot.  Hopefully I can handle the stairs more reliably before then.

In the meantime, I am going to keep watching all of you and your progress.  If anything, I am learning from all of you, so maybe my 262 will be a good finish for me.

 Thanks guys for the support on this one, I really appreciate it.  It seems I keep pulling some real bonehead mistakes. Found a few more that need attention.

 jmabox, the canopy does look like a fracture in the plastic or a bend of somesort. Sorry to hear about the problems. Luckily you've a spare canopy.

 Mike, that is some really beautiful paint work on the gun bays.

Tempest, was considering building another 262, but not 2 at a time. That has to be challenging.  Looking forward to seeing progress on the mistrel/262

 Mobious

Jeremy and they are both the typical Dragon PITA

Thanks guys!

John - Looks like double trouble Dragon kits to me! Here I am complaining about mine and you're building two of them. Hats off to you sir!   Will be nice to see a Mistel with two 262s.

Jeremy that looks awesome.  Believe me I know how tough the Dragon kits are.

Here is an update on my Mistel 4.  Which is basically two Me262's mounted on top of each other.

This is both at the current stage of progress.

This is a mock up of the Bomb on the trolley

The worst part of this whole build is the fact that both kits have the wheels up which means I had to glue in the doors.  They are not perfectly smooth but from pictures I have seen they weren't that great in real life either.

Spike190

Bish, paint looks really good and the mottle is excellent, beyond me in 1/72!!

Mobious that looks "sweet", I cant wait to see those final bits, all your extra work really makes the difference. Hope mine looks half as good when finished.

SupressionFire, what a lovely looking little kit, eager to see that come together.

A small update, just a couple of pics of the finished gunbay.

 

Thanks for looking.

Cheers...

Sorry Jeremy I forgot to say I think your 262 looks great, it may be giving you some aggro but it looks like you've got it all under control.

Cheers...

Bish, paint looks really good and the mottle is excellent, beyond me in 1/72!!

Mobious that looks "sweet", I cant wait to see those final bits, all your extra work really makes the difference. Hope mine looks half as good when finished.

SupressionFire, what a lovely looking little kit, eager to see that come together.

A small update, just a couple of pics of the finished gunbay.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers...

Bish: Great looking paint so far. From the angles of your pictures it looks like the 262 is pluigged in getting recharged...that ,must the the electric "Green" version of the 262!

JBmax. Nice start so far. I never realized how many variants of the 262 there were until this GB

Mo: Sorry to hear of your woes. I was just thinking the other day: "how long will it be before I break the landing gear strut?" It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

I' ve made a little progress but have been slowed down by a stomach virus the last few days. I spent more time than I'd like to remember ruling from the porcelain throne...

Jeremy, nice looking progress, too bad about the crapy canopy.

Mo, that is a great looking paint job you have there, overal a great looking build. Trash it, you cant be serious it turned out great

Frank, thanks for the info. Spent last night searching the net for info and came up with the same pics and a few buildups where they suggest 74/75/76. I think I will go with that as there is nothing to the contrary.  did read reports where the plane had a few changes in its career like from 2 guns to 4 etc and a few different paint schemes but this one seems most popular.

Steve

Looking really good, MO

Mine went into paint today and it came out much better this time.  I kind of went with a non-descript paintjob as there are no real pictures of the camo (if any) on White 17.  I used the colors I could discern from my reference material, but that's about it.  I figure the paintjob will go largely unnoticed anyway, as the clear side will be displayed outward.  I discovered I really, really, really, really, really hate mottling.  Nothing I do makes it look right.  I'm willing to trade my building services for someone else's mottling services, LOL.

Tomorrow, she goes in for decaling.  After decailing, comes the part I've been waiting for - adding of the exterior details.  I've whipped up some serious cool finishing details that I can't wait to show - but they'll have to wait for now .

-Fred

Mobius - She looks great! I really love your paint work.

Frank - Thanks for the comment but this one is whipping me into submission! I have six of these kits with one under my belt already. While the first one I built was a little tricky to put together, it was nice and crisp. Loved it. This one was molded on a bad day I guess. Lots of flash, short shot parts and general sloppiness. The canopy was even hazed. I sanded it out only to find a nice line beneath the hazing that I can't sand out.

Looks like a crack but it's not. I'm going to rob the canopy from another kit for now.

Eventually, I will win! 

Mo -- she's a stunner! The paintjob is superb, decals went on perfectly, and I'm particularly impressed with how you coaxed the fit problems into submission -- I've got the gun cover lined up right but the forward canopy section is way off, it'll be noticeable, while yours just loks like a panel line. GOOD WORK! And of course the scratched slats -- my hat is off to you!

Cheers, Mike/starhawk379

Looking good Jeremy, that Dragon kit is nothing to sneeze at!  Good on you for whipping it into submission!  Sorry, can't help you on the camo.  The only photos I have of those recon birds are ones after they were captured and repainted.

Mo- Absolutely breathtaking!  Love that bird, almost went for those markings myself.  But, you know how it is...

Like two girls going to the same party- don't want to be wearing the same dress LOL!

Jeremy, looking good there.

If you can get a look at Brett Green's Gotterdamerung there are a number of pics of these Nahaufklarung birds with the tight mottle stripe and single 30 in the nose.

Mobious, you almost junked that? No way, looks way too good.

Karl

 Got paint and decals on White 3 + I, rescued from Hangar 13 twice. Decided to close the gun bay. The access doors fit is not the best. The canopy/cowling section is another area that gave me some trouble.  The nose wheel has continued to add to the frustration I've been having with this kit. I've broken it  at least a dozen times. Drilled both pieces and dowled a brass rod to add strength.  

 Should have the main gear fixed,  the wire attena added, and  have this one finished soon.

 Mobious

Hey guys... some really amazing work going on here!   

I just wanted to check in as I haven't posted any progress pics yet. I'll spare you the detail work as it's completely OOB. Plus, I'm a little embarrassed to show my work after seeing the talented work going on here. 

This is the Dragon 1/48 Me-262A-1/U3 photo recon version...

Needs a little touch up work and the canopy and she's ready for some paint. I'm going to try a paint job similar to the box art and have been looking for real pictures of a U3 with this style camo but can't seem to find any...

An elusive creature to for sure!

Hopefully I can keep on top of this gal and show some progress here.

Sorry I haven't posted sooner gents, great work coming off the benches all.  

 Mike. that pit is awesome, very nice work.

 Steve, Amazing detail work on the Jumo's. Really like the looks of where your going with this build.

 Bish, Cool 1/72 build, nice work on the paint.

 Hope I didn't miss anyone, I've been following along,  enjoying the updates.

 Mobious

 P.S. Still plugging away at Me 262 project.

Frank, that 1/18 kit is sweet, but I've got more detail in my 1/32.  I'd have a freakin' field day with a kit that large.  By the time I was done, you'd be able to fly it LOL.

-Fred

Steve,

Glad to help!  I have been pouring through my references this morning looking for more info on "White 2".

In Merrick's "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945", there is a photo of a line-up of EJG.2 jets, with 170071 in the foreground (pretty sure you mean this A/C as opposed to 1700071- extra 0).  It is a black and white photo, and the author lists the colors as 74/75/76.  I have checked around in other books and on the web, and most sources point to the 74/75/76 scheme.  Which paints are you planning to use?

I hope these help, let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

Daywalker Thanks! The little kit is my latest obsession, like the other two I have on the go it's 30% complete all ready! WIP's soon featuring some scratchbuilt details. Like the origional, front landing gear is rather delicate. I plan on useing a metal strut and paper tubes for strength, even if a drill bit is sacraficed for the cause!

Steve, nice work on the clear job.

The wiring under the pit looks particularly good.

Bish, the camo came out spot on.

Looking forward to seeing that one finished.

Karl

Erprobungskommando means Operational Test Detachment.  Their job was to test the Me 262 but in an Operational enviroment and to train pilots on the new type of aircraft.

Thanks for the comments. Yes it is 1/72nd. I have only ever built 1/72nd aircraft so for me its the norm, and especially suits Dioramas. As for the kit, well i have the hasagawa C-1a kit and the Academy kit which allows you to build both the A-1a and C-1a. But on the Hasa kit you have to cut out the section of the tail, where as the Academy kit gives you two tails. So i used the Academy kit but the Hasagawa decals as the numbers looked more like those on pics of the real thing. The Academy numbers are two thin.

A 1/18th 262. You won't need a hobby room so much as a factory to build that.