Jump to content
Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

British Rocket – Captured ME-163 - MENG 1/32


Recommended Posts

No progress due to summer laziness :D, the weather is just to good to close the door of the mancave. I have to get my new mountainbike (not to easy on my Island) and planned a surf trip. Maybe on the Weekend there will be some work done.

Cheers Rob

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just some smallish updates right now. I did some work on the cockpit and that turned out more time consuming than anticipated, due to the large amount of PE involved. The plastic parts where primed and painted with AK's RLM 66 which is a tad to dark. There is a tonal difference between the AK colour and the grey tone of the prepainted PE from Eduard, but that's ok to me, because it adds some contrast to these otherwise dull german workplaces. The assembley of the visor parts, a combination of tiny PE and cutted film was a hard test to patience, hand-tweezer-coordination and the eyes.

The instrument Panel looks fine, but there have to be some handles added later. The whole cockpit will get a coat of my trusted Future / Tamiya flat base mix, because of the differences in the shinyness of the surfaces and then the bezels will recieve a drop of pure Future to simulate the glass cover.

The Eduard PE-set is so called self adhesive and for larger flat Panels like the IP it works. On parts which are bended or very small, the adherance is not strong enough, so you has to add superglue. In all this future is not worth the extra money for me. Glued with CA, you can be sure that there will be no rattling sound in your cockpit after finishing the kit :rofl:.

Cheers Rob

P1140498.thumb.JPG.ca442f069380e32c606f88cde9afaffe.JPG

P1140503.thumb.JPG.ca7a898702f5c7b871e95ce287001b91.JPG

P1140501.thumb.JPG.56399606e7a1573ad2d4686cca965fcd.JPG

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Wingco57 said:

Does Yahu also do a Me-163 instrument panel?

Yes Cees, why? Is the Eduard one looking so bad? Yahu has two, one for the B-0 and one for the B-1 Version. Eduard's seem to represent the B-0 version and by the time I bought it, it was the only one available. The kit has also a non-colored PE dashboard, beside a well detailed plastic one for the razor eyed painters.

Cheers Rob

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

No updates since two month. Other things, mostly summer connected, came between me and the little rocket. Now the days get shorter and the ocean a little colder it's time to hit the bench again. I assembled parts of the cockpit and did some detailing with PE and some painting. It starts to look like a workplace now, but there are still some details to be added. As much as I like the varying german camos as much I dislike their depressing grey cockpits, so I have to speed up to get it done.

Cheers Rob

P1140537.thumb.JPG.64c78a6df8d7e117cf8d937e971dae85.JPG

P1140541.thumb.JPG.fe7b764f2dc444dbab119e1e20bd4edf.JPG

P1140542.thumb.JPG.867c5d67bda0b5a3deedb2a4e40956ea.JPG

P1140545.thumb.JPG.780525ac7299230f88a89d3d76f1f9c0.JPG

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks great Rob. Just catching up on your build.

I checked my copy of Wings of the Luftwaffe and in it, Eric Brown mentions that he was able to make a single powered flight in the Me163 while still in Germany. He pulled it off knowing that the RAE was about to ban all powered rocket flights.

It's a great read of not just the flight itself but also his efforts to sneak it in.

Carl

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

I checked my copy of Wings of the Luftwaffe and in it, Eric Brown mentions that he was able to make a single powered flight in the Me163 while still in Germany. He pulled it off knowing that the RAE was about to ban all powered rocket flights.

Thanks Carl, that is very interesting and fits what's said in the interviews with Eric Brown, it sounded to me that he flew the Komet under power. I have to get me a copy of 'Wings of the Luftwaffe'. My decision to leave the engine off, is more or less made, because I don't think that the ME-163 which Brown flew in Germany would have been one with a yellow belly, are there any pictures?

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

Nice to see you back at the bench and making terrific progress in the frint office.

Thanks Peter, the first step back to the bench after some time is always a little strange for me, but then it gets synced again.

Cheers Rob

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hola Companeros, what is it you hear on a tube platform in London? "Mind the gap". On that occasion here bespoken gap is maybe about to stall the Komet build. The last days I spend dry fitting, adjusting, pre assembling, loosening the parts again, cut here, rasping there, grinding, swearing and in the end there is the GAP. While doing the forementioned things, I nearly broke everything, I built before and had to fix it again. It might be possible to fix the gap with some bending, putty and scribing, but if I will go through that painful process, I don't know at the moment. I don't like to surrender, but at least I need a little break from the pocket rocket.

Thanks to everybody being helpful here, I learned a lot about that special captured Me-163 through to your support.

I started a Dottie Mae yesterday and had fun with it, wiring a cockpit with lead wire, a first for me.

Cheers Rob

P1140557.thumb.JPG.b97ee3406631ab7ba73fb50bfb5b3a2f.JPG

P1140558.thumb.JPG.1b1c359ba9c8c300050b3bb4fa112b68.JPG

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your supportive words Gentlemen. The GAP looks a little worse, than it is in reality. The side you cannot see is adjusted correctly with tape and the upper fuselage part, where the GAP is as wide as an Alp Valley, is a little bendable. With lots of glue and force it might be solvable, but I have to teak a break from that built. It's not so much about closing the GAP, it's more about the frustration doing zillion of things to avoid that, without success.

Cheers Rob

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...