Hobby Boss 1/48 Me-262A-1a/U3

Started by Tom Cleaver · 24 · 4 years ago
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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    @michaelt gets all the credit for this happening, with his very interesting WIP of three different Me-262 kits that's going on here. I wasn't aware before that, that Hobby Boss had released a recon 262.

    This is the first Hobby Boss Me-262 I have done. Having done the Monogram, Dragon and Tamiya kits, I have to say I like this kit a lot. The detail is there, there's the usual high-quality Chinese molding, and the thing went together easily without putty.

    I have long thought of trying to find a way to do the slats on a 262. I am always surprised that the companies that do 109s with the slats out cannot seem to do that for this airplane. The resin replacements (from experience using them on a Tamiya kit) aren't so wonderful at the prices charged. So I decided to try DIY. I cut off the slats, then used some Evergreen sheet to make the wing leading edge, which wasn't hard. With a sanding stick, it only took a few minutes with each slat to sand it out inside to look right. Then some more Evergreen plastic to make the extensions to position them. Overall, I think the whole process might have taken a whole 45 minutes (after a lot of thought beforehand on other projects). I also think it really makes the model "pop" when assembled.

    I decided to do this entirely so I could do that wild camo scheme that the Flying Heritage Collection researched and is using on the restored original Me-262 (which was originally a U3).

    Overall, while I didn't "go the distance" @michaelt did for accuracy with his HB kit, I think I like this Me-262 from Hobby Boss the best of all the 262s I have done.

    7 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years ago:

    Wow, Tom @tcinla! Scratch building! I love it! The slats look amazing and add a lot more to the looks of the 262.
    Waiting for your painting!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 4 years ago:

    Getting along together real nice, Tom.
    Scheme from Flying Heritage Collection is great looking.

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years ago:

    Should be a fun build, Tom (@tcinla), and I am looking forward to seeing the "wild" camo. I have this one in my stash, but have never pulled the trigger on it yet.

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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    Here it is, pre-shaded...

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    And here it is painted. "Scribble" means just that. I used Tamiya XF-67 NATO Green for RLM82 and my own mixture of Olive Drab for RLM81.

    Also attaching the photos of the restored airplane. I'm not doing that airplane (since I do not have the number decals) but research showed a couple other Me-262A-1a/U3 recon birds with what looks to be "scribble" camo, which means there were maybe others that weren't photographed, so I'm doing this one as a "could be."

    8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years ago:

    Tom, @tcinla
    This is a good kit to build. The details look to be very nice right from the box. Hobby Boss has offered numerous versions, and being a 262 fan like I am, I have practically every 262 kit that HB has made...in 1/48, to go along with the various Tamiya and DML / Trimaster kits in the stash. Currently, right now I have a Revell new tool 1/32 scale night fighter "two seater" jet on the work bench. It's shaping up to be a nice model too.

    Like you, I have often wondered why these leading edge wing slats were molded shut by most of the manufacturers. As these jets were parked on the ground, the slats would have "drooped" into the "Open" position, due to the forces of gravity, just as you have depicted here. I like what you have done with yours, and I will be doing the same thing to mine when I build up a few of the Hobby Boss kits I have in the stash. So I will steal your idea and run with it... 🙂

    Drag from airflow is what closed them shut, so it's not very realistic to have a model posed as it would be on the ground, while having the slats closed.

    Meanwhile, I have shared with you this real life WW2 color photo showing a "recon" bird after the nose wheel collapsed, (which was a common occurrence). If you look very close, you can see the runs in the dark green paint. This wasn't done in a very neat fashion, more like hurry up and get it done before another Allied bomb drops on your head...


    These planes were most likely painted in RLM 76 overall, then they had the camouflage sprayed on top of that. The early "S" machines were delivered in overall RLM 76, with the camouflage being added as an afterthought. However, some of the early "fighter" version of the 262's were delivered in the mid war colors of 74/75/76. It gets confusing, and boils down to the werke number and production date, if your a Luftwaffe nerd like I am.

    Hope this picture helps... enjoy.

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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    @lgardner:

    Oh, that picture is WONDERFUL! Exactly what I have done with mine! Perfect, as they say! Thanks.

    And stealing is highly authorized. 🙂

    And yes, with "scribble" neatness does not only not count, it would be a point "against."

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years ago:

    Great paintjob, Tom @tcinla!

    I bet you had fun with your airbrush!

    Those drooped slats look wonderful, and I also loved Louis's @lgardner shared pic and comments above!

    Gents, you know how to boost the modeling excitement: I just love this site!

    Only backside is that I cannot anymore live with 262 slats retracted when on ground, and I am not sure my stashed kits have this provision...

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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    @fiveten: All you do is cut off the slats (they're obvious), then use evergreen sheet to make the interior leading edge, then glue back in position. It's really not that hard.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years ago:

    @tcinla: Roger. Thanks!

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    Michael Turner said 4 years ago:

    G'day Tom (@tcinla),

    I thought briefly about trying to modify the LE slats, but with three kits to build I didn't want to complicate things too much.

    Seeing your results, I might try next time I build an Me 262 (I have a couple of Dragon kits left).

    I like your camouflage scheme, too.

    I've attached a couple of photos of one of the kit aircraft, White 2 of 1./NAG 1.

    These are from the JaPo book, "Messerschmitt Me 262 Production & Arado Ar 234 Final Operations".

    The authors state, and I think the photos back them up, that this aircraft was painted a particularly dense version of the two colour scheme that you have painted.

    White 25 of III./EJG 2 was painted the 'standard', less dense two colour scribble pattern. (Other known aircraft in this scheme, and covered in the book, were White 26, 27, 29, 30, 33 and 34, also of III/EJG 2.)

    White 25 has evidence of prior ownership by 1./NAG 6 (corrected from NAC 1: michaelt) with the dark patch under the 2 covering a previous aircraft number (White 30 has a similar patch).

    So, you could conceivably use any single digit white number of similar size to the kit "2" and call it a 1./NAG 1 or 1./NAG 6 aircraft. Who is going to contradict you?

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Tom Cleaver said 4 years ago:

    Thank you @michaelt for that photo of White 2 - I see one bit of stuff I need to do re camo on the engines. That photo and the photo from @lgardner really make things easy.

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    Michael Turner said 4 years ago:

    The photo that Louis (@lgardner) posted, according to the JaPo book, later became White 26 (white outline number) of III./EJG 2. At that time the nose gun had been removed and faired over (as on White 25 that I'm building).

    I think what you referred to with more camo on the engine is that the scribble continued all the way along the nacelles under the wing.

    I've posted another pic from the excellent JaPo book (I have most of these books and can highly recommend them due to the quality of their research, photos and artwork).

    You can see the starboard engine nacelle with the scribble under the wing in the photo on the left.

    Note also that the scribble continues under the LE slats, just as you have painted.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    Michael Turner said 4 years ago:

    Numbered aircraft listed in the book,
    WNr a/c Nr Unit Comment
    500257 White 2 1./NAG 1 This is the aircraft shown above
    500097 White 3 1./NAG 1 White 27 with scribble camo was WNr 5000098 (possibly 500078)
    ? White 5 Stab /NAG 1