Sometimes you run across a picture of something that just screams out to be built...an early pre production Me-262...nose down Red 3 (or VI + AH ). The (S) variant was built just before they started manufacturing the -1a variant. I believe that ten machines were produced before production went to the regular "Swallow".

It's all in a single color, which is RLM 76, a color scheme that I have never seen built before. I will have to scrounge up the radio call sign letters ( VI + AH ) from the decal dungeon.
Here's the kit I will be starting with:

and the kit decals which has all of the needed stencils.

The early "S" version of the 262 had a small clear light at the base of the rudder... It just so happens that Tamiya have incorporated this feature in the kit that I am using for this build.

I know there are a few small changes that I will have to modify on the Tamiya kit, (but I'm hoping that there will not be too many...).

There are several photos of this plane listed in these two books shown below, that I will be using as a reference material.

There is a lot of good info in these two books as well: I hope I have the bases covered


I have several other builds going on right now... This one is going to be filler material while I wait for paints / glues to dry...
As usual, comments are encouraged. Thanks

Sorry - I just realized that the one you posted is an older, completed build, not this one.

Will you be doing a "Nose Down" diorama like the photos? It'd be interesting, fer sure!

I look forward to see your work on this prototype swallow. Tried to post on your hellcat thread but it didn’t work.

I've long thought about replicating this bird myself. Great subject matter!

It has been very long since I have posted anything on this build. It has been on the back burner for a while now. Actually a little over 4 months. Man the time has been flying by.

This has been in part due to the fact I have had several other builds in progress. But the main reason is that I didn't have the proper decals to render the fuselage side and under wing codes... "V I + A H" was getting the best of me...

until now. I did some measuring and made a "best guess" estimate to what was needed.

After some research, I found the letters in Black, which is what the 262 S had. These state they are for RAF planes, but the font style looks very close (if not the same) as the ones used by the Luftwaffe in the original photos.

I picked up two different sizes, since the under the wing codes were considerably larger than the ones used on the fuselage. I placed a small ruler next to them so you can get an idea as to the size they are.

Hopefully I can get cranking on this one soon now that this major obstacle has hopefully been taken care of.

I'm getting anxious, excited and very happy all at once with this one again. I kind of lost my "Mojo" with it, but now I think it's coming back...

as usual, comments are encouraged.

Thanks David ! The 262 is one of my favorites too. I have the older Hasegawa 1/32 version but it's the Galland edition. A few months ago I picked up a 1/32 scale Dora to go along with it, but I'll probably end up building some JV44 planes in 1/48 scale since I have the Eagle Cals JV 44 set in this scale.

Since this "early bird" as I am calling her, is finished in overall RLM 76, that is what drew me in like a moth to the flame.

The "early birds" didn't have the flare chute on the side of the rear fuselage. So I had to fill this in with some Tamiya putty. I masked off the surrounding area to help preserve the details as the sanding took place...

Then I started the actual building process... I cut my first plastic parts ! Which just happened to be the instrument panel which consists of two parts. Here it's glued together...

Next up was getting everything ready that was needed to build the cockpit tub.
Here you can see the parts after they have been trimmed of the attachment gates where they hook onto the plastic trees. These bits are ready to be glued together...

The assembly was done in no time. The fit is amazing so far, and the engineering is typical Tamiya...
Here's the cockpit tub.

If you look close, you will notice the gun sight, instrument panel, and control stick have not been added.

I want to paint them first before they get glued in place.

Tomorrow I plan on spraying this in some RLM 66 "dark gray"

Just to see how it will look, and to make sure everything fit as intended, I test fit the IP and the joystick in place then snapped a picture... It looks great right out of the box. I could see possibly adding some seat belts, but other than that, it's good enough.

The underside of the cockpit tub will be visible when looking into the main landing gear wheel wells. This section will be sprayed in an overall aluminum color.

I'll add a wash to make these details pop...

I am really excited, as this is a kit I have been chomping at the bit to get going on...

as usual,
comments are encouraged.

I'm calling it a night.

Thanks Chuck. I have one of the DML kits in the stash, and a few Monogram kits. I went on a binge a while ago and bought almost all of the Hobby Boss versions as they were being released. One of these days I may fire up the "Iron Werks" again and start knocking out some of these Stormbirds to kind of thin out the herd a little.

I have been wanting to get something done on this one for quite some time now. Lucky for me that the "stars have aligned" and it is happening now.

So far this one is literally falling together. I made some more progress today and took some more pictures. It's amazing how quickly it goes together.

I hope that I can get more done with this one later tonight. Meanwhile here's the next installment.

I started things out today by working on the wings and various other parts.

Here's the main spar in place on the lower wing half.

and how it looks from the under side. This is what should be visible once the model is assembled.

The 30 MM cannons were built...

as was the cannon bay portion of the nose. There's a lot of details packed into this little area.


I then assembled the wheels and tires.

Once they were completed and the seam lines sanded down, I sprayed them in RLM 66. I opted to go with a smooth nose wheel tire instead of the one that had tread on it. Most of the early birds look like they have smooth tires.

While I was spraying RLM 66, I painted the section of the fuselage behind the pilot's seat. This will go under the canopy. I painted the pilot's armored head rest, but some research shows me that the early birds most often didn't have this feature. So this part will go into the spares box for now.

The sides of the fuselage also received a little RLM 66. Once dried, I masked this area off. You'll see why in a few.

The kit came with a supplied nose weight. I was curious to see how much this part actually weighed. Here's the answer, 0.6 ounce. If you are building one of these and are missing the weight, this should be a good starting point to keep it from being a tail sitter...

I flipped the part over and checked the measurement. This time I included the packing for the nose weight, so viewers can tell what the item is.

Now it was time to spray on the aluminum plate color. I used Model Master "Metalizer" Aluminum Plate as the color of choice.
This shows the underside of the cockpit tub.

The cannon bay nose has details that really pop now. I'm still debating on whether I should open the nose or not. It should look even better once a light oil wash is on...

I sprayed the main spar and inside portions of the wing that will be visible...

and the landing gear door insides received the same treatment.


Next up was the inside halves of the fuselage. there are a few small details that get painted now, and a wash will go on after that is done. If you look close, you will see the dark gray areas on each side of the cockpit side walls. This portion is visible from inside the cockpit. The remaining area is visible from the main gear well.

The nose gear doors were painted, as were various bits for the jet engines...

Here's a close up of the jet intake compressor blades, and the nose wheel mount...

Lastly for tonight, here's the intakes for each engine nacelle. These will eventually get some RLM 76 overspray on the leading edge lips.

I have more completed, but I'll save that for tomorrow...

Please stay tuned...

and as ususal,
Comments are encouraged.

Here's hoping that we all have a safe Holiday Weekend. Over here in the States, it's what we call "Memorial Day", and it's set aside to remember the fallen men and women from our armed services.

Good night.