Risen from the Shelf of Doom……
1/48 Me-262B-1a/U1 Nachtjager. The Italeri boxing which I believe had genes from the Dragon nee TriMaster lines. Molds were definitely the worse for wear and only a two gun nose supplied. Thanks to a bunch of Monogram kits 'n' bits for the 4 gun version (which did not fit this kit OR Monogram's original 😉 ) Sandpaper & putty... the modeler's buddy...
The residence on the Shelf of Doom for a couple of years was mainly due to my frustration with the bane of all 262 kits- the bloody closed LE slats! So, a month or so ago after a major woodworking project completion, I decided to modeler up and make it right... damn the torpedoes (or American .50s as may be). So on to measure, cut, saw, sand, fettle and conjure with scraps & bits. A bear of a job but I think the result is not too bad. Lots of Ed P-E in the 'pit, True Details resin wheels, aft cockpit curtains from Apoxy-Sculpt, EagleCals dekkles and all those old old guitar strings came in right handy.
P.S. Eduard... if you're listening... a very much needed new 1/48 kit family is the popular 262 with the LE SLATS DROPPED!
P.P.S. Sorry for the rubbish lighting... sometimes you don't realize how bad it is until it's posted. 🙁
The "resurrection" turned out quite well IMO...nice work, sir.
Nice work. Good work on those slats. Cutting Edge used to do a resin set with a resin leading edge you attached to the wing and then the slats were glued on. You're right someone ought to do a 262 with dropped slats, the only one out there you can get that does this is the 1/32 Trumpeter kit.
My friend Jorg Czypionka, the last surviving pilot of Kommando Welter, told me that Kurt Welter collected all these 2-seaters and every other 262 he could lay hands on (they only used single seaters as Wilde Sau night fighters) during the last month of the war, so he could trade them to the Allies in return for good treatment of his men. Which is what he did. All the "hex-spurts" who say these were used on operations and cite photos of them at an "operational airfield" fail to note that the guys walking around them are in British uniforms, with a few Germans showing them around - it was a field just south of the Danish border, where Welter had brought the airplanes. All the surviving 262s came from Welter's collection.
Nice save ! These are my favorite jet. They were way ahead of their time. The dropped slats look perfect... well done !
"liked'
Very nicely done. I’ve got the 1/48 Tamiya kit in line the to build. Found a resin leading edge slat conversion set from Aires to fix that problem. We shall see how that works. Would like to see Eduard do it, too.
All of the above ... and, from my perspective, a mottling masterclass. Fantastic! Paul
Stan, you did a wonderful job kitbashing parts into the old Trimaster mound. Truth be said that the moulds still holds today, though Tamyia one is easier to build and a bit more crisp. The open slats is, as you pointed so well, a transversal problem to both brands, and one not easy to rectify even if you use an AM set... I know I have the Cutting Edge and in 2017 decided to have a go at them and quickly chicken out :-). That makes your 262 even more awesome
VERY well done, Stan. The camo is superb!
Nice job Stan, the camo and the dropped slats turned out quite well.
great job
Nice Stan! Our last club meeting, the encouragement was to bring in a "shelf queen," and explain how long it had been on the shelf and why, and what it would take to bring her to completion. I think it helped motivate a few folk!
The 262 looks great! I've got one built, but think I need another in the night fighter configuration. It's not as elegant with everything poking out of it, but is a bit more menacing looking!
Real nice !
Good job bringing one back to life