1/72 Revell Me P.1101 Nightfighter

[Nigel Heath]

what's with the gert big hammer?

Its actually quite a bit smaller than I thought it was going to be. I got it to use on my many punch and die sets rather than bashing kits into submission.

[Tomoshenko]

Now I like that. Those belts look cool, especially in the last piccie the weay they lie across the seats. The hammer, know as a "Brummie screwdiver" from around my parts.

[Martian]

Its actually quite a bit smaller than I thought it was going to be. I got it to use on my many punch and die sets rather than bashing kits into submission.

Relieved to hear that!

Martin

[Nigel Heath]

The first job of the day was to mask for the black that will go on the back end of the engine, I also thought it would be a good base for some Alclad "Steel" on the central section:

Here's how it looked with the black and steel done. I also gave a dark dirt wash to some of the RLM02 areas:

After giving the engine a black wash on the steel portion I glued it in along with the rear shelf part:

Then I added some weight to the nose in the form of 0.3mm lead foil. The instructions state that 15g is required but space was so limited that I only managed to get 10g in. Next I closed up the fuselage and mocked things up for a CoG check. It seems like the 10gms is enough:

Next I added the front intake and the tail support and went round with some filler:

While the filler was drying I had a look at some of the remaining parts. I decided this brace was best replaced with some 0.8mm brass rod. I wasn't sure if the kit part would even survive being removed from the rather heavy gates which are a feature of this kit:

Next I cleaned up all the remaining undercarriage parts and got them ready for another painting session. I have also cleaned up the filler on the drop tanks and glued their pylons to the wings. The tail joint has also received an application of Vallejo putty:

The nose wheel well has these open sides which I thought would look better filled with some Milliput and it will also add a bit more weight to the nose. You can just see some of the lead foil in there too:

Here are the filled side and back walls. They will probably need another round of filling but that's the bulk of it done:

That can now harden up over night ready to be tackled in the morning.

Bye for now,

Nigel

[Pete in Lincs]

Depleted Uranium Milliput.

Like it.

[CedB]

Very nice Nigel, that engine looks 'the business'

[Tomoshenko]

Tasty work as usual Nigel. I have a question though, I'm a fan of Humbrol metalcote polished steel. How does this compare with Alclad steel?

[Nigel Heath]

Very nice Nigel, that engine looks 'the business'

Thanks Ced, I am sure it would be capable of delivering "the business".

I have a question though, I'm a fan of Humbrol metalcote polished steel. How does this compare with Alclad steel?

I am also a fan of Humbrol metalcote polished steel, I would say that the Humbrol finish gives a more shiny effect, more like polished steel.

[Martian]

This is really motoring along, I am really liking it. It would look really cool in 1/48.

Martin

[jrlx]

Hi Nigel,

Great work so far, as usual. The detailing of the cockpit and engine is impressive!

I have the day-fighter version of this aircraft in original Dragon boxing. I'll bookmark your thread as a reference for my future build.

Cheers

Jaime

[TonyTiger66]

I just caught up with this Nigel.

This aircraft is one I am particularly interested in, the history of what happened to the prototype after discovery by allies at the closing stage of WWII is fascinating. It seems if the French had released some plans they had appropriated, the over 70% complete prototype could have flown.

It ended up in the US and had a larger engine fitted for static trials. I have the old Huma kit and it's interesting to compare it with this Dragon/Revell build. I'd say the Huma is a bit more fragile. The engine looks quite different too.

Really looking forward to seeing this paint scheme.

Great detailing as always

All the best

Tony

PS: it's good to hear the new job is going ok

[Nigel Heath]

Today I have cleaned up all the filler on the fuselage, rescribed the panel lines and added the gunsite:

The seat had broken off and it's better left off for now as it's in the way and quite exposed.

The rescribing round the engine inlet and required a custom curved mask. Here's how I got an idea of the curvature required:

It turned out that 25mm diameter was the best fit:

I set my compass cutter to that and cut out a double thickness of insulation tape:

Here I have done the rescribing:

To re-apply the RLM66 to the back of the cockpit I used a block of foam as masking:

Here's that applied along with primer on all the undercarriage parts:

I've also put some PPP round the drop tank pylons are there were a few holes and gaps. The next update should be in three weeks time.

Until then bye,

Nigel

[jrlx]

Great tip for making custom round masks, Nigel! Good progress too.

Cheers

Jaime

[Martian]

I like the tip on setting up circular surfaces for re-scribing.

Martin

[Pete in Lincs]

Three weeks now?

This is intolerabbbuble.

I shall write to my M.P.

(There may be an element of foot stamping too)

[CedB]

Great tips - thanks Nigel - and have a good 'shift'

[TonyTiger66]

I'll second/third the comments on masking. Thanks for sharing the method .

Recently, a colour film still of the P.1101 has appeared on the Internet. I along with others cannot find the source of this and two more similar (black and white) photographs.

What I like (apart from the very pretty lady to the far right) about this still, is that it shows the 'magpied' marked and camouflaged Me - 262 wings.

This finally allows for a very interesting colour scheme on the V.1 prototype. As I mentioned earlier, I'm rather a fan of this aircraft !

It seems this Dragon/Revell release attempts to emulate the US fitted J-35 engine. It's a great 'what-if'. I often wonder if the US secretly flew this...

See you in three weeks, really looking forward to paint

All the best

Tony

[celt]

I may need to borrow that hammer to smash up my attempt at this kit. You are showing me how it should be done, :popcorn:

Edited September 14, 2016 by celt

[Nigel Heath]

Hi folks, I'm back. I got some more done on this today. This is how I masked for the black patch of antiglare at the front of the cockpit:

 

 

To get enough nose weight in I had to put a roll of lead foil down the jet intake. The end of it's not very visible but I decided to hide it completely with a false engine front. I found one in my spares box from an Airfix Concorde that I made when I was about ten. It was coated in black gloss and I had an idea that acetone might strip the paint without affecting the plastic. After five minutes immersion it worked better than I'd hoped as most of the paint was easy to rub off:

 

 

A bit more soaking and picking away with a cocktail stick and pin tool removed pretty much all of the remainder:

 

 

After a coat of primer I sprayed it with Airframe Aluminium. I also got some tyre black on the main wheels, matt black of the antiglare patch and RLM02 on the undercarriage parts:

 

 

I then gave the engine front a black wash to highlight the blades:

 

 

Here's the black patch along with the re-installed seat after a coat of matt varnish:

 

 

To complete the cockpit interior I added glass to the gun sight with a dab of Gator Grip:

 

 

Now I could add the canopy but first I had to polish out some scratches I caused while cleaning up one of the gates:

 

 

Here it is after polishing with Micromesh:

 

 

Then I started to mask the canopy. I used one of my punch sets for the curved ends:

 

 

This gave me an opportunity to play with my dinky hammer too. Here is the canopy all masked up:

 

 

Finally I installed the canopy with a mix of five minute epoxy:

 

 

I might try to get the wings and tail fitted now so they can harden up overnight.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[Pete in Lincs]

He's back!

Totally unruffled by the changes made to

this site without his permission too!

 

Nice save on the canopy, good masking too.

[Nigel Heath]

It did take me a minute or two to work out how to post photos. I really should read this site's instruction manual.

[CedB]

Welcome back Nigel! Love that seat - very realistic. Everything else is up to your usual high standard, of course!

[The Spadgent]

Nice one Nige, that seat is the bomb. 

john.

[Martian]

Nice to see this one on the go again.

 

Martian

[Nigel Heath]

Now with added wings and tail:

 

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel