Me262B-1aU1 Trumpeter 1/32

[Kressy13]

Looking great Steve. Love the cockpit, looks awesome. Assembly coming along well. Can't wait to see the camo.

Cheers

Kresten

 

[stona]

It'll be a while before I get to the camo! I'm toying with the idea of knocking back the surface detail by giving the model a spray of MrSurfacer (rather than my usual primer) and then a quick rub down with something like 1500 grit paper followed by a polish with a bit of denim. That's a lot of work.

Anyway,some progress. There is no mention in Trumpeter's instructions of adding weight to the nose but I've built other Me262 kits and they are invariably tail heavy which is no good unless you are building one of the prototypes which did have tail wheels. I've added weight under the cannon bay on both sides of the front wheel well.

I think it will be enough,if not I'll add more infront and ontop of the cannon bay.People beat themselves up about fixing the weights but I don't bother. They are well packed in there and won't go anywhere.

I've also attached the engine nacelles to the wings. As you can see this is the first time I've needed to use a bit of filler.

Whilst that cures I'm psyching myself up to do everyone's favourite job.......mask the canopy parts.

Cheers

Steve

 

[JFJ]

The cockpit looks excellent Steve. I'm following this with interest! :astronaut:

 

[stona]

Well I've loosely fixed a few access panels and sprayed the model with Mr Surfacer. I used the 1000 on the wings,which have less pronounced detail, and 500 on the fuselage. I'll leave it overnight before giving it a rub down tomorrow.

Here's a close up. To be honest I'm not sure it has made a lot of difference! Oh well,it's a good primer.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Fenlander]

I use 500 as a small gap filler Steve, how do you spray it? Do you thin with cellulose thinners?

 

[stona]

I use 500 as a small gap filler Steve, how do you spray it? Do you thin with cellulose thinners?

Yep,as usual I didn't measure anything but I reckon something like 60:40 thinner to surfacer,certainly more thinner than product. It's a bit of a bugger actually! I find using fairly low pressure and spraying from quite close in several light passes works best. As you know Mr Surfacer dries very fast and if you get too far away you get a nice pebble dash finish which is not entirely appropriate for a jet fighter.

I've looked at the result this morning and my assessment is that it was a hell of a lot of tricky work for a minimal effect. I wouldn't do it again,nor would I recommend this method to anyone. I suspect that a couple of coats of good old Halfords primer would have achieved much the same result.

Anyway it's done now and I shall move on to prepping and attaching the bits (slats,flaps,ailerons,elevators,rudder....I'll stop there as I'm putting myself off!) which need to be on before I attempt the camo.

Hopefully this will cheer me up as I've just written a cheque for the tax man Grrrrrr!

Cheers

Steve

 

[Fenlander]

I have been experimenting with Alclad primer. Not a cheap option but so far, the mat black one has been superb. No rubbing off and no fingerprints showing from handling. Need to get some of the grey and gloss black now, finish is superb and sprays straight from the tin. Usual warnings that this is a cellulose based product though.

 

[stona]

I've heard very good things about the Alclad primers. Maybe I'll start saving up now HM Revenue and Customs have just about cleaned me out lol!

Anyway I've stuck lots of bits on and am preparing to start the camo.

I'm going to explain in this post how I have decided which scheme to go for. If you are not interested in Luftwaffe schemes I suggest you skip this altogether.

You won't catch me making unequivocal statements. As far as I can establish noone knows for sure what my aircraft "Red 10" looked like. This is just my opinion,no more or less valid than anyone elses.

There are basically two ways these aircraft were camouflaged. They were all conversions to nightfighters and would have been previously camouflaged before their "re-manufacture" as the germans called it. There is a good chance they wore an RLM approved Messerschmitt standard of 81/82 over 76,or at least some combination of the green "80s" over 76. To recamouflage them as nightfighters you could either spray RLM76 over the existing scheme to give a reverse mottle or spray the entire aircraft in RLM76 and apply a mottle of RLM75.

Luckily we have a description of "Red 8" (now in a museum in South Africa).This tells us that the fuselage was in RLM76 with two green colours in a mottle (probably a reverse mottle.) It also tells us that the upper surfaces of the wings and horizontal stabiliser were not mottled but remained in a green splinter scheme.

Here are some pictures of "Red 8" in her original camouflage but with British national markings.

I reckon that is definitely a reverse mottle. Compare that two my subject "Red 10". There is a picture which I can't find of the aircraft with flaps down which confirms a crucial difference,the mottle continued over the top of the wings and presumably horizontal stabiliser. This picture shows the mottle reasonably well.

This would if those bloody Canadians would move!

Here's one for Ian showing the RAF roundel.

All piccies from Me262 Vol3 by Smith and Creek. If you're interested in the Me262 save up and buy all four volumes,you won't need much else.

I think that is definitely a mottle of one grey colour,presumably RLM75 over a solid coat of RLM76 and that's what I intend to do. The black undersurface laquer was a temporary finish,but being german that means semi-permanent! I intend to weather this a bit to show the underlying RLM76. Look at the front of the auxiliary fuel tanks.

To that end I'm off to spray the entire model in a coat of Xtracrylix RLM76.

Cheers

Steve

 

[spanner570]

Steve, I share your views on 'Unequivocal statements' be it aircraft, armour or any other WW2 ordinance.

No one can say with 100% assurance this and that were always this and that colour/cammo.( Different factories, different batches, perhaps slightly different shades) As the war progressed paint became scarce. In N. Africa for instance, we robbed theirs, they robbed ours! Much the same must have gone on in Europe.

Correct colours? Not always, me thinks..

One of your pictures had me thinking. Observe the aircraft being, I think, refuelled. The jerry cans are German, they have a white cross on them denoting drinking water. I hope none of the Allied 'erks' in the photo think that's what it is and have a quick slug....then light a fag!!!!!!!!!!!

Ron

 

[stona]

One of your pictures had me thinking. Observe the aircraft being, I think, refuelled. The jerry cans are German, they have a white cross on them denoting drinking water. I hope none of the Allied 'erks' in the photo think that's what it is and have a quick slug....then light a fag!!!!!!!!!!! Ron

The Me262s engines ran on a synthetic "mid weight hydrocarbon fuel" which means something like diesel. It wouldn't taste good but you'd probably be alright with a fag! Not sure I'd want to risk it.lol.

I never knew that those markings signified drinking water. You live and learn.

Cheers

Steve

 

[spanner570]

Just a quick add on for future reference Steve. German jerry cans had the tin pressing lines diagonally, as you can see from that photo.

You too can now be a jerry can bore! lol

Cheers,

Ron

 

[stona]

Excellent Ron,armed with this knowledge I shall seek a model for the current GB featuring Jerry cans,work permitting.

I've got to finish this one first. I've sprayed the whole thing in RLM76,several shades though you can't tell that due to my lack of photography skills. I'm showing the underside,soon to be black,for a bit of variety. I'll do the upper surface mottle tomorrow,in daylight,if we get any.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

I've done the basic mottle. This will need a little adjustment and a tidy up, one of the joys of airbrushing is that this can be done seamlessly. It was a labour of love doing a model with an airbrush. Spraying a full size aircraft with a spraygun must have been very tedious. It's not difficult to see why they "opened up" the gun giving the typically diffuse pattern. I tried to imagine how I would have gone about it,making sweeps and the odd squiggle.

I hope I can get this finished today as I'm eager to get the black for the undersides mixed and sprayed!

Cheers

Steve

 

[JFJ]

Steve that looks fantastic. I would assume this is the nightfighter version of the 262?

 

[AlanG]

Looks excellent Steve

 

[Kressy13]

Great work on the paint so far Steve, looks awesome.

 

[stona]

Yep,it's one of the five two seat nightfighters that ended up with Kommando Welter.

I've touched up (Ooh Errr!) the mottle by revisting the lightened RLM76 base coat on some boo boos and then spraying the centre of most,but not all, of the mottles with another coat of RLM75. It gives a more varied finish. It makes more of an improvement to the eye than you can see in yet another of my dodgy photos! It had better do as it's a fairly tedious task lol.

Cheers

Steve

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Steve

The 2-seat 262 is looking really good. The surface detail isn't too much either and your mottling is first rate.

Excellent progress - this is going to be a show stopper.

All the best

Paul

 

[stona]

I've sprayed the bottom "back". It's actually a mixture of red and black followed by a bit of random lightening with a red/black/white mix.

It's IMPOSSIBLE for me to take a photograph of how this actually looks. This is the best I can do!

I used elevated masking but the edges have come out fairly hard.

Where's my bottle of Klear!

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

Steve great job on the mottle!The underside is looking sharp as well ,the subtle shades are very effective. Yes painting full size aircraft is a major pita even with a pressure pot its tiresome at best!