1/32 Rocket Science: Me 163 (Meng)

[James H]

He is so slick, it makes me sick.

[Dave J]

Looking Great Jeroen! It will be interesting to see how much of the Meng PE is the same as the Hasegawa PE set from Eduard

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx guys!

Following in Jim's foot steps as I go along.

Using MDC's Duralumin stams:

http://www.modeldesignconstruction.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/ModelDesignConstruction/_D32009/52182

 

[Mikester]

Wow, nice stuff my friend, I'm liking this!

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx Mike!

Here's what i did with the pit today. Not finished yet. Needs some wiring (yellow) and trim wheels, etc.. But I'm liking the sheen on it. 

[James H]

You're catching me up   SLOW DOWN!

 

Lovely work....a damn sight better than the standard kit pit.               

[JeroenPeters]

You're catching me up   SLOW DOWN!

 

Lovely work....a damn sight better than the standard kit pit.               

James... I'm afraid your Komet will be too little, too late.... Sorry.

[James H]

James... I'm afraid your Komet will be too little, too late.... Sorry.

[Grant]

I just LOVE what you're doing in this Jeroen... Great looking pit and the replacement bits and pieces are just right... It does make you wonder whether Meng actually DID have this PE set in mind when they produced their Komet.

 

Get cracking then, James' build is only a fraction ahead now.

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx Grant!

 

And since an empty shackle is just an empty shackle in the end:

 

[James H]

WANT

[JeroenPeters]

Adding the control linkages. Also included in the Eduard set.

I drilled the side walls through an through and added copper rods.

Also included in the Eduard set is the open/close lock mechanism. Not added this yet, but I can't believe how complete this set it.

 

 

 

You can see the linkage arms next to the seat in this pic:

 

 

This pic shows the effect on the fuel tanks I'm after. Rough texture and a little bit brownish.

[JeroenPeters]

Wow! I can tell w'ere growing fast on the forum when I need to scroll and search for my own build!
 
Here's some progress on the Mk108 ammo. Brownish metal casing, yellow grenade, green band and copper tip.

 

[James H]

So slick, again. Makes a change from all the usual silver and brass anomalies you see.

[Mikester]

Me likey!

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx guys!

 

I love this little kit. Here's a shot of the pit connected to the fuel drum and ammo bay. A nice and compact sub installation..

[modelmaker]

Beautiful work Jeroen I have this kit on order and the more progress I see on your build the more it's motivating me to get started on my build.

 

Sean

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx Sean,

 

Here's where I'm at with the MK108 cannons. 

 

So.. I have MDC's nicely done versions, some leftover Trumpeter ones' and Meng's. And I've got Master metal barrels and blast tubes.

Usually I don't think about it and replace as much as I can, but in this case I'll use the Meng cannons. There is hardly any difference in detail, so why bother?

Actually... when you compare to the real thing (below) the Meng version is more accurate. The only thing missing are two slight bulges on the breach and two small holes. Easy fix.

The size all match up. The gun bay area will only receive some wiring and cables. That's it.

 

Reason the Meng version in the pic (top) is longer, is that it has the blast tube moulded on.

 

 

[JeroenPeters]

Preparing for the gun bays and figuring out where the wiring goes.

 

 

At the back you can see the compressed air bottle that operates the cannon.

Funny enough, in our own walk around it appears to be below the cannon.

 

[JeroenPeters]

Well it's impossible to get a good photo form this, but here are the cannons.

First layer: Alclad steel.

Second layer: Gunze clear coat

Third layer: AK chipping agent.

Fourth layer: Satin black / grey and brown

Fifth layer: black areas

Then some chipping. Then a wash with oils

and next up a little dry brushing.

 

 

[James H]

I likes...I do.

 

I have that chipping solution, but fund out the hard way that you need to spray onto a matt surface, so I resorted to actual hairspray for the E.IV fuel tank.

[JeroenPeters]

Here's some progress on the gun bays. Jim brought it to my attention that there is an ugly seem on the outside gun bay wall. In reality there isn't and in reality there are reinforcement ribs. These will be added later. I cut small pieces of plastic card and am now trimming them to a good fit. I'm lazy, so I'm not making exact fittings over the total length. Only what can be seen. I also opened another hatch, which will reveal the air pressure reservoir that powers the gun. Number 2 in the diagram above.

And I will off course add wiring. 

 

 

 

Then I added some Eduard PE to the skid. The Meng skid has a strange stack of cubes, which should look like Eduard crafted it. A hinge for the middle arm. Then I sanded the two 'arrows' from the bottom of the skid and replaced them with the more detailed Eduard ones'.

 

 

[One-Oh-Four]

Great progress, Jeroen. I love it!

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx Erik!

 

This pic clearly shows the ribbing I was talking about on the inside gun bay.

Going through the PE spares box to find something suitable.

[James H]

Martin's photos have been immensely useful for my build too. And as for that ugly seam.....you're right, it doesn't exist. Thank God for Meng!