Mitch K Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 The Me 163 doesn't need much introduction: it was aerodynamically far ahead its type, the only purely rocket-powered fighter to enter regular service and actually go into combat, and a death-trap to users due to the horrendously dangerous fuels it used. The premise of course was an aircraft that could get to operating height at unheard-of speeds, then make a couple of unpowered attack passes before gliding back to earth. At this point it was highly vulnerable, unable to go around for a second try if the approach was wrong, and prone to explode if residual fuel was mixed on impact. The type scored a number of successes against enemy aircraft (16 kills), but 6 were lost to enemy action and 9 to other causes. Arguably these loss numbers are extremely low considering the novelty of almost all of the systems involved, but the impact the type had certainly didn't justify the effort made. The main beneficiaries of the design were the post-war air forces who built and operated tailless types that to a greater or lesser extent derived from the Me 163. The legendary Eric Brown flew one under power (only after signing a disclaimer stating the German ground crew acted under his orders!), reaching 32000 feet in under three minutes, an experience he described as "like being in charge of a runaway train". He found that the aircraft handled well, with "good flight characteristics", in contrast to the other tailless designs he flew, all of which were in his opinion "killers". The kit is Hobby Boss's easy-build effort, with some scratchbuilding in the cockpit plus some refinement to the trailing edges and supports of the landing skid, but otherwise out of the box. No weathering, as none of these aircraft were in service long enough to become weathered! This makes me wonder whether it's worth scratchbuilding cockpits! Underside, for reference. Rear quarter view Front view shows the wing root mounted MK108 cannons: devastatingly destructive, the short range of the cannons combined with the high speed of the Me 163 made aiming and hitting extremely difficult, From above 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Nice Mitch. Looks the part. I built the Heller version many years ago. 'Winkle' Brown certainly had guts to fly that thing. But what a ride... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Great looking Komet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 2 hours ago, IanC said: Nice Mitch. Looks the part. I built the Heller version many years ago. 'Winkle' Brown certainly had guts to fly that thing. But what a ride... Agreed! I think he was the only person outside the Luftwaffe to ever fly one powered. The RAE flew the Me 163 unpowered a few times but decided that beggaring about with hydrazine and high-test peroxide in a platform that anyone had to actually ride in was just too much risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 4 hours ago, Mitch K said: ...then make a couple of unpowered attack passes before gliding back to earth. This is news to me. Are there actually records of unpowered attacks? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Herb said: This is news to me. Are there actually records of unpowered attacks? The idea was that the rocket was used for the climb phase - the pilot might make a firing pass during the climb phase, but mainly during the early part of the glide. The Me262 had similar problems in that when you have an approach speed of 600mph+, a weapon with a maximum range of 600m and you need to break off the engagement at 200m, your aim/fire window is considerably less than two seconds. Even with the more effective gunsights the Allies had, hitting is quite a feat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glatisant Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 An iconic aircraft. Super build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Not often seen here Mitch,great job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Nice result! Hobby Boss kits looks then better than one can expect (or rather afraid?) before build.... What is next? Regards J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 1 hour ago, JWM said: Nice result! Hobby Boss kits looks then better than one can expect (or rather afraid?) before build.... What is next? Regards J-W Well, my He 162 is on hold until I get some new undercarriage doors. The Heinkel He 70 is progressing nicely, and I've just started a couple of Zvezda Bf-109F's... I've also bought myself three more AZ Bf-109G's as well. Is there a pattern here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Very nice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 7 hours ago, Mitch K said: I've also bought myself three more AZ Bf-109G's as well. Is there a pattern here? Finnish, Romanian and Slovak??? Cheers J-W (pkease note this is Romanian on side of Soviet against Germans) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 J-W, I have German, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Croatian Bf109G's. The next ones are set to be Bulgarian, Finnish and Italian. I have markings for the Italian and Bulgarian ones, and I can make up the Finnish from what I have in the spares file. The Italian one has white nose, tail and wingtips (a change from the yellow Eastern front markings) and I'll do the Finnish one in green/black rather than the normal RLM 74/75/76. I also have two more Bf109E's to do in Romanian and Croatian markings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Very nice work 👌 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celt Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Well tidy Comet,well tidy indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Lovely little Komet. Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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