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RFI: Tamiya Me262A1a Early '44 Scheme 1/48


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Hi Brits...  More German planes in my recent 'Fatherland 2021' Build.  This one is the excellent Tamiya 1/48 Me262 kit.  Very great kit with diecast metal nose structure it sits perfectly on the gear.

 

I painted with Gunsie Mr. Color Paint, tinted for 1/48th scale effect.  Tamiya Clear coats used...  Decals are Sturmbirds pt1 Eaglestrike (they give you the tail number for White 2).  Wash is Tamiya Dark Brown in the oily areas like the control surface hinges and access panels.  Soot is the Tamiya Makeup Compact kit which is really nice.  Light dry brush foot-wear in traffic areas like wing roots.  A relatively new plane in the famous photos from 1944.  This is the early Splinter Me262 scheme in mid 1944, and notice the plane is dated as such with the early nose gear with scissors.  I highly recommend this kit if you haven't yet, its fantastic build.  Only lacks for the deployed leading edge slats...

 

Enjoy and as usual I like to hear feedback to become a better modeler!  My goof up that bothers me is that I filled the panel line in front of the canopy where it glues in.  So I lost that panel line and did not have the nerve to try and recut it thru the filler.  I thought I would make a mess of it and so filled it in.  I use automotive Bondo filler for gaps and it chips if I would try and recut the panel line in and that would look very bad, so I left it.  I was debating on actually drawing it in with a grey pen!  Thoughts? 

 

One other issue I had was that the Pilot in the kit was very undersized and looked ridiculous in the cockpit.  I really LOVE having pilots and crew in my models.  It makes the model more 'alive' to me.  The Pilot is a great part of that to me.  The Kit Pilot could not see over the side of the canopy!  Way too undersized.  So I looked at photos and gauged the pilot in the Tamiya Do335 that I just posted here in RFI would be perfect.  So thank goodness you get TWO pilots in the Tamiya Do335 Kits!  Tamiya kits are great because they give you pilots!  So this has the Tamiya 1/48 Do335 pilot in it...

 

Your modeling buddy from USA...   Bob

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9 minutes ago, Farmerboy said:

Another very impressive build and finish, if you had said nothing about the panel line l don’t think many would have noticed! 

Yea, I notice!  I dont know what to do about it!

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Bob, you've nailed that paint job brother!  :clap2:  That is a beautiful Stormbird, my all-time favorite aircraft.  Regarding the lost panel line; I've had good success replacing those with a mechanical pencil, filed to a sharp point. I use a piece of old vacuum cleaner belt as a straightedge (pretty flexible) and after drawing the line, I've found a little gentle rubbing with a cotton bud sort of "blurs" it a bit.   It may be too late for a fix like that. but gray pen might work better.   I think it looks fine, but I know how you feel; that little glitch is always in the back of your mind nagging you, lol.  😀

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1 hour ago, Harry Callahan said:

Wow what a fantastic result, she looks simply great. I have this kit in my stash too, you inspire me to build it soon.

Hi Harry...  i liked this kit so much that I got another kit as i was building this one...  but this time the me262A2a bomber version.  I have the 'clear version' also in stash with the extra fuel tanks and engines and transparent parts...  these are great Tamiya kits...

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Nice one Bob.

Camo looks superb.

As for not trying things for fear of messing it up, as they say 'you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette', go ahead and have a go. Try on a paint mule or other piece of unused plastic to see how the putty and scribing goes. Ask questions here on BM, there are plenty of handy modellers who are willing to share experiences and techniques. But for one panel line, I wouldn't worry either, well done.

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Looks great!

 

Don't worry about the panel line. Most of these were filled in with putty on the real aircraft anyway, or at least supposed to be.

 

So leave that one and fill in the rest! 😄

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2 hours ago, VolkerR. said:

Great build, perfect!

As for the panel line: Just use a sharp soft pencil and a flexible ruler (cardboard) and and mark it on the surface.

Yes, i think thats the best.  If i try and cut it in, the filler will chip and i will have a mess to fix it back up.

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Very neat built of the "Swalbe" Bob, I am eager to see your bomber version, and yes Tamiya's kit is great but the Hobby-boss is not bad at all! Cheers.

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On 1/28/2021 at 3:59 PM, Tokyo Raider said:

My goof up that bothers me is that I filled the panel line in front of the canopy where it glues in.  So I lost that panel line and did not have the nerve to try and recut it thru the filler.  I thought I would make a mess of it and so filled it in.  I use automotive Bondo filler for gaps and it chips if I would try and recut the panel line in and that would look very bad, so I left it.  I was debating on actually drawing it in with a grey pen!  Thoughts? 

 

As others have mentioned a fine-point mechanical pencil works great, just make sure the paint is well-cured so it draws on the paint instead of ploughing into it.

 

Your build is so clean, it reminds me of the ones Hasegawa and Tamiya use at model shows and promo photos.  Not easy to achieve.

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16 hours ago, Zigomar said:

Very neat built of the "Swalbe" Bob, I am eager to see your bomber version, and yes Tamiya's kit is great but the Hobby-boss is not bad at all! Cheers.

Hi Zigomar...  glad you like the hobby boss 262 kit.  I have the 262B nightfighter in the stash, and recently got the recon nose A version kit too....  these look very similar build as the tamiya kit, but I was wondering if there were and fit or accuracy issues with the HB.

 

 

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Bob, I am not a German aircraft guy, but have been considering g a run into the late war stuff like the 262, and yours is fantastic. Love the paint scheme. Thanks for sharing. 

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Excellent job, the scheme, the weathering, the whole enchilada!

 

Another suggestion for the panel line conundrum, dead-easy and perfect for short, straight lines across a curved surface like that. Touch the 'heel' of a hobby knife blade to the perpendicular meeting line on one side...then just 'rock' the blade forward with a minimal pressure toward the meeting line on the other side. It requires very little pressure to score the desired line, and is essentially self-straightening...though a straight-edge guide can always be used.

 

Anyway, great work, and a truly lovely build!

Cheers

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