Revell Me262 B-1a/U-1 Nachtjäger "Red 12"

[CANicoll]

Rob,  Thanks and I noticed that I missed adding in the armored glass which likely would have raised the windscreen slightly.  A victim of me doing multiple builds at the same time, I thought the armored glass was for my other build.  This build has gone on for so long I've lost track of where I was and where various parts were.  I'm usually much better organized than this!

I spent most of yesterday on the decals, which went on quite well and settled into the panel lines very easily with a little bit of MicroSet.  Taking stock of all of the stencils for this aircraft - there are a LOT!  Today will spray a clear coat and get started on the weathering.  Chris

[Peterpools]

Chris

Been there more times then I care to remember and wait until you become a senior - it only becomes more severe.  Looking forward to seeing the stencils on and finished. They add so much to the overall look.

 

[CANicoll]

Quick update - got a matte coat on to seal in the decals and provide some bite for the weathering.  I've hardly noticed panel lines on the ME-262s so am going to concentrate more on fading the paint.  There are also so few access panels so not much done in the way of washes.  There are quite a few stencils on the aircraft, but also very difficult to see with the camo.  Here is the after-decaling.

Also drove myself crazy with the Uschi lines for the antenna wires as well as the canopy retaining lines.  Still have some clean-up to do. 

The canopy lines (.003) are so thin that they really are not noticeable.  Just to the left of the arrows.  Worth it?

It is one of those things where I know the lines are there (unless I forget and run my finger through them!).  Also started on a 1/48 Tamiya Me-262 A-1a - build thread to come. Things are SO SMALL in 1.48 scale!!!

Those canopy hinges are HUGE, but I didn't want to mess with the clear plastic to shave them down.  Also kind of figured they are pretty hard to see in general.  The wing root seam is pretty pronounced on this side - will have to do something about that...

[harv]

Wow, great work !....harv 

[GazzaS]

She’s looking fine, Chris.  Personally I prefer a thin, barely visible aerial and rigging wires.  So I’m with you there.

The 262’s were puttied and sanded, with the painting often happening at the airfield.  So a smooth finish is desirable.  It’s really a difficult plane to weather as there are no exhaust stains and no panel lines to highlight.  And with a short service life, it’s not easy to find evidence of chipping or fading unless doing a postwar relic.

[DocRob]

Great result. Like Gary said, not easy to weather. I remembered, that I took some pics years ago in Pensacola from the real thing. Not the best photos, the lighting was very bad.

Cheers Rob

 

 

[Peterpools]

Chris

Decal work looks perfect and the aerial wires while super thin look the part. I'm with Gaz and hoping you keep the weathering.

Looking forward to your next Me 262 in 48th scale

 

   

[CANicoll]

Thank you gents!  Gary, I didn't realize the Me262s had their seams puttied, like the Mustang wings.  That certainly explains a lot of the visual on the aircraft.

Rob, appreciate the pictures since I've not been able to get out to the Smithsonian to see the one there.  The one in Pensacola is very glossy!  BUT you did get me motivated to search their website and I think I found the subject for the 1/48 version I'm building.  The Tamiya box actually has these decals included. 

Peter - hope to get some build time in this weekend! 

 

[Martinnfb]

Looking good Chris. One motivational picture

 

two

[CANicoll]

5 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

Looking good Chris. One motivational picture

 

Love it Martin, thanks!!!  I love to see how the actual seams and skin look.  Thank you for posting.  Chris

[GazzaS]

29 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

Looking good Chris. One motivational picture

 

two

Great photos, Martin.  Yes, it's been spoken of on documentaries and stuff...   The skin shaping on the 262 wasn't perfect.  Factories were regularly combed for able-bodied men for the front, and quality suffered. 

But how to impart the look on a plastic model?  I've pondered the question for some time.  I know you can make shallow dents and sand or buff them into smoothness...   but it's so easy to go too deep, or to end up with marks looking like nothing you intended.  I have seen people do oil canning on ships and once a Lancaster...but to do it on a little airplane...  that's another matter. 

As far as museum relics go...  How much trust can you put in it?  It's been hoisted by crane numerous times.  Possibly disassembled put into a truck traveling on bumpy roads, before being put on a ship, before being reassembled and hoisted by a crane again.  If you look closely at the 109G6 in Canberra, you'll see it's had a rough life after the war.

You could end up doing all of that work...   getting it right...   but some people would never believe.

[Landlubber Mike]

Holy cow, that looks really nice!!

[CANicoll]

Yeah, Gary - exactly.  The aircraft we see now, have been through an awful lot so you are right - is this how the aircraft REALLY looked?  I remember the excitement when the HK Lancaster which was oil-canned beautifully (I think anyway), as well as the AMUR P-51D flaps.  But how to achieve that on a 'regular' model?  I'm not willing to give it a go, at this point anyway.  

Thanks Mike!  Just plodding along.

Chris

[CANicoll]

Martin's pictures got me thinking about the finish, so tried something I have never tried before and that is an overall white wash to tone down the paint/decals and try to effect faded paint.  Used a Flory Light Weathering Wash over a matte finish. Used a wide brush to put on the initial coat, let it sit for a bit, then continued to brush some to even out the puddles.  Let that sit for a few minutes, then wiped with a very lightly dampened paper towel (and in some cases, a slightly damp wide brush).

Reasonably happy with the effect, but definitely need more practice with this.  Thoughts?

Chris

[harv]

I like it !.....harv

[Peterpools]

Chris

Really like the effect of the Flory Light Weathering Wash as it toned down the cammo paint on the wing, replicating the effects of sun and weather so very well. Always nice to see techniques being tried that we can all use and added to our technique tool kit.

.

[Irishman1]

Looks great! Just worn enough

[KevinM]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:12 AM, DocRob said:

I remembered, that I took some pics years ago in Pensacola from the real thing. Not the best photos, the lighting was very bad.

That is one of the nicest A/C museums in the country I live about 2hrs away to the west Rob.The last time the family went was about four years ago they had two B-25's outback getting overhauled.

[KevinM]

On 10/9/2022 at 10:17 AM, CANicoll said:

Reasonably happy with the effect, but definitely need more practice with this.  Thoughts?

I think it looks pretty good Chris better than the pastels I have used just to many products out there we have a tendency to get stuck.

[belugawhaleman]

Looks great!

[harv]

Awesomsauce!!....harv

[DocRob]

Great looking finish. There is nothing to say against a white treatment of the surfaces. There is great contrast to the darker camo shades and it has a blending effect. I've done it on ZM's TA-152, which operated mainly under wintery conditions around Berlin in the winter of 44/45. I found it convincing to replicate the cold conditions.

Cheers Rob

[nmayhew]

hi,

i'll jump in and say I'm not entirely convinced by the the effects of that wash - just looks too chalky and as if the model has been on a shelf for a year in my house (dust accumulation = large!)

whilst the effects might be desirable in certain patches / areas, I think the blanket approach is maybe a bit lacking in control? 

i think there are better more controllable ways of making a potentially flat / uninteresting paint finish more engaging... using the Mr Myagi approach of "the best block is 'no be there' ", I would try to avoid the situation in the first place with maybe black-basing, use of spatter templates etc (both very easy and forgiving techniques); but if you are where you are, I would definitely give some oil paint rendering - "OPR" a go; if you don't like what you end up with in any given section you can just erase and start over etc.

just my 2p of course

 

[CANicoll]

Mr. Mayhew,

I don't disagree with you.  The fuselage looks better to me than the effect on the wings.  I need to work with it more.  The main difference I think are the underlying colors - the fuselage is mostly light, while the wings are dark - the effect shows up more on the darker panels.  But I do like the effect on the fuselage.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Chris

[Irishman1]

About 6 or 7 years ago myself and 100 other lucky people were bused to Paul Allen’s workshop in arlington wash. To see his me 262 as it was at that time. Beautiful restoration. I was surprised at how small it seemed and how smooth it was. There was also a original engine on a stand beside it. They said that the engines wore out a every 6-8 hours or so due to the heat they produced. the pilot, steve Hinton was there and talked about flying it and some of Paul’s other restored aircraft too very cool to get up and sit in it even though we each only got  about a minute in the office!! . Off to the side of the warehouse there was a heinkel 111 with its wings sitting beside it. They tried to keep us from looking at the bomber but they weren’t too successful!!