DocRob Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Hola Senhoras e Senhores, this nasty little rocket powered beast will be my lazy summer build. Between surfing and mountainbiking, lots of swimming and gardening there are only little amounts of time and only place for a little bird with not too much extras included. The Komet or Kraftei or whatever names where found for this pocket rocket was always a subject of fascination to me, because of it’s radical design and raw power for the short rocket burst it was able to produce out of an obscure reaction between the T-Stoff and C-Stoff fuel components. When MENG released their kit some years ago I had to purchase one and what’s in the box looks promising in detail and engineering. I added some AM stuff like the EDUARD interior set and some Barracuda wheels Because I wanted a quick build and I want to show the Komet’s pure shape, I decieded against detailing the rocket engine and close up the bird permanently. The interesting appearance of the captured ME-163b which was flown by Eric Brown in 1945 caught my eye and kept my hooked. The combination of camo and bright yellow belly is somehow funky. The pictures of the first steps look a little crude, but that will get better with more advancements. The cockpit needed a lot of surgery to replace parts with more refined PE parts. Next steps will be priming, yeah, good old stinkin’ Tamiya rattle can stuff, and then some RLM-66 mixed to fit the printed PE. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunhertz Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Now that looks like a great start 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted August 16, 2018 Administrators Share Posted August 16, 2018 oooohhh yes!! I like this! Built this kit too with the Eduard photo etch for the Hasegawa kit since that was the only game in town when the Meng kit was released. Need to build me another one soon. Following this! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 Thanx guys, one question arose my mind when looking for pictures (no photos) of the captured Komet. Some of theese pictures showed a two tone camo on the upper wing, some, like the MENG instructions sported monochrome upper wings in RLM-81. Who is wrong and who is Right? It's hard to believe, that the British did more than to add the yellow belly and some markings to the bird. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Rob Nice start on your summer project - looking forward to following your progress Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikester Posted August 18, 2018 Members Share Posted August 18, 2018 Looking good, Rob! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Thanks Peter and Mike, I guess it will take a little while to finish with all the distractions of summer , but some work has been done, Pictures will follow shortly. Is there anybody out there with some knowledge about the upper wing camo of that British Komet flown by Eric Brown in 1945. Is it a two tone affair or just plain monochrome? A photo would help too, I was only able to find shots from the side, where the wing camo couldn't be identified clearly. Cheers Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Brown's comet did not have the engine, it was pulled behind Spitfire mk.9 mostly at the Wisley airfield, also Wittering and Farnborough . There was some overpainting on the tail, and wing root, otherwise the top camouflage was standard. Stencils were translated and added creating interesting mixture with German ones placed on light blue-grey base. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Here you can clearly see the demarcation lines of the colours on the top wing with walkway stencil by the root of the wing. The "repair" colour on the tail is most likely of British origin. Cheers Martin 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 There are also lengthy debates about the colour applied on the bottom of this aeroplane, yellow, sky? That is something I am not sure about, maybe some RAF experts can pitch in with documentation clarifying this mystery . Don't hate me too much LOL Cheers M. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Wow Martin, thanks a ton, that's a lot of well appreciated input for my Little project. Great photo material to get the Komet detailed. Are you sure, that Brown was only "sailing" the Me-163, being pulled by a Spit? The Interviews with Eric Brown are not conclusive, but sound like he piloted the Komet rocket driven.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PN9AP710e0 Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Absolutely sure, the engine was removed for variety of reasons. The very same protocol was followed by Russians and American research teams. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 just like this one 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 or here 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wumm Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Some further info here... https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/me163/vf241.htm I agree that it appears to be a re-paint of the upper wings and tail. Also refers to the see-through at the rear vents which show that there's no motor inside. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 Thanks for enlighten me Wumm and Martin, you are just awesome. I built the rocket engine for nothing , but what the heck, I can use that perfecly for a future steam punk project. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted August 19, 2018 Administrators Share Posted August 19, 2018 18 minutes ago, DocRob said: Thanks for enlighten me Wumm and Martin, you are just awesome. I built the rocket engine for nothing , but what the heck, I can use that perfecly for a future steam punk project. Cheers Rob I made the same 'mistake' when building mine :))) You could imagine that right after the capture the MK108 guns and engine were still in place. They only took them out in order not to kill the pilot and perform glider tests to evaluate the aerodynamics. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 Nice built Jeroen, even if it's historically questionable . What I love about LSM is that I'm able to learn through others, even through their mistakes . Your Komet is looking great, with all theese treacherous opened Panels. Mine will be closed up for showing the unique shape of the bird and sans rocket-engine. Thanks for the pics Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunhertz Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 I was at Hendon today and picked up Eric Brown's book wings of the Luftwaffe. Wasn't buying at RAF museum prices plus I couldn't move for badly behaved kids but there were some love pics and a colour profile in there 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted August 19, 2018 Administrators Share Posted August 19, 2018 21 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Here you can clearly see the demarcation lines of the colours on the top wing with walkway stencil by the root of the wing. The "repair" colour on the tail is most likely of British origin. Cheers Martin You can also clearly see the absence of the rocket engine. No guns, no engine. They did however add weights to simulate the balance. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 20, 2018 Author Share Posted August 20, 2018 Back to building, after loading up my brain with so much kindly provided Information. As it is a modern well designed kit I will document the building process loosely and concentrate on painting and weathering. The substructures are ready for priming or for a trip in the spare box (rocket engine and cannons, which where installed before I read otherwise) The Barracuda wheels need only seconds to clean up and fit perfect on the axle. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunhertz Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Looks like a great kit 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 20, 2018 Author Share Posted August 20, 2018 Yes Grunhertz, it is so far, instructions are ok, but not pefect, but that seems typical for MENG kits. You often have to build a section and don't get Information about where to mount all the tiny bits with some other subassemblies. Not hard to deal with, but a little annoying, because I noticed it on other more complex MENG kits too. The colour callouts are only Vallejo codes in black and White, so pageflipping is necessary. Historical inaccuracies are also included like the mentioning of the rocket engine and 30mm cannons for the captured British Version. The quality of the plastic parts is really good and detail is very sharp. The fit is above average til now. Decals are from Cartograph and also look very good. A first Verdict would be great plastic and soso manual. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunhertz Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 10 hours ago, DocRob said: Yes Grunhertz, it is so far, instructions are ok, but not pefect, but that seems typical for MENG kits. You often have to build a section and don't get Information about where to mount all the tiny bits with some other subassemblies. Not hard to deal with, but a little annoying, because I noticed it on other more complex MENG kits too. The colour callouts are only Vallejo codes in black and White, so pageflipping is necessary. Historical inaccuracies are also included like the mentioning of the rocket engine and 30mm cannons for the captured British Version. The quality of the plastic parts is really good and detail is very sharp. The fit is above average til now. Decals are from Cartograph and also look very good. A first Verdict would be great plastic and soso manual. Cheers Rob That sounds like their me410 I built a few years back. I may have to get one of these 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Doc Very nice progress on the components looking mighty good Keep 'em comin Peter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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