Me262 two for one.

[stona]

Latest project hoping to start building next week. I wanted to build an unpainted Me262 like this one:

But then I got my hands on this kit:

I've decided on a compromise. I will build the kit and attempt a natural metal finish c/w putty lines etc. I won't apply the national markings or fair over the gun ports (as the americans did) but treat that as the first "finished" model. I'll take a few piccies and then continue to finish the model as per the box art. This gives me two for one.This machine formed part of ISS1 (Industrieschutzschwarme 1) as marked here and later went on to form part of JV44. I've even got a piccy of it taken at war's end.

I'm trying to find out what colour the putty was,to say opinions vary would be an understatement. I've only got one good close up of the damned stuff and that's on a Dornier (Pfeil) unsanded.

The quest will continue!

Hopefully have something to show next week.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

What was the putty for? Or is that a daft question?

[stona]

Not a daft question at all. The germans used various combinations of binders,tapes and sealing pastes in the construction of their aircraft. They all tend to get referred to as putty. The stuff visible on the Me262 and Do335 was used to seal the seams against the elements. Once sanded smooth it also produced a smooth continuous surface by filling the panel line giving an aerodynamic advantage.

Quote from LDV 521/1 "Aviation seal 7242 (painted on) or 7243 (applied with a putty knife) is used as an after seal for riveted areas"

The binder was between the frame and panel and to be set back 2mm from the edge, "in such a way that it does not project from the seam"

Once finished and coated with the relevant aircraft lacquer a nice smooth seamless airframe should result as these Bf109G-4 fuselages at (judging by the camo) the Erla works show.

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

I've made a small start. After cogitating over whether to do the cannon bay in natural metal or RLM02 (plenty of evidence for both) I gave up and decided to stick the pilot together. I plan to do the eventual model on a runway at a state of high alert (sitzbereitschaft) with the pilot aboard. This brings me to todays prize for "best blob of plastic masquerading as a pilot".

Here he/it is!

I'll scrub him up and give him a black leather suit (perfectly feasible for this time) and hide most of him in the cockpit.

Cheers

Steve

[spanner570]

I love competitions.....

Here's my entry. Not finished yet, but the crew of yet another £1.99 Cost Cutter kit. (complete with scratched built bottle of wine!)

Sorry Steve, couldn't resist the temptation!lol

Ron





[ATTACH]22256.IPB[/ATTACH]

[stona]

They don't look too shabby Ron. My poor chap is,shall we say, lacking a bit of detail around the face (and everywhere else!). With my minimal figure painting skills I'm a bit worried that he'll end up looking like something from Dr Who. I'll pretend it's raining,close hood and have him even less visible LOL.

Steve

[Guest]

Was the pilot moddeled by Tony Hart and have a relative named Morph??

[stona]

Was the pilot moddeled by Tony Hart and have a relative named Morph??

He certainly looks like they may be related!!!

I've gone with an 02 cannon bay on the grounds that this was a fairly early aircraft and they might have had some of the primer left when it was built. The guns aren't so shiny to the naked eye. Instrument panel is waiting for drops of Klear on the dial faces (yet another use for it). As for the pilot....he's a bit of a mess at the moment.

Bit of a touch up and a wash to dirty it all up and I'll be zipping all this into the fuselage,never to be properly seen again.

Cheers

Steve

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[Guest]

That Cannon bay looks very Star Wars. Nice finish though.

Can I enter for the worst Pilot? This came with the Eduard Albatros. Even the instruction sheet has him marked as "Do not use" lol No idea what you are supposed to do with the left arm and I had no idea he was smiling until I saw this picture.....

[ATTACH]22266.IPB[/ATTACH]

[stona]

Not sure if he's smiling or grimacing Graham.It was bloody cold in those open aircraft and if it's the one I think it is the view forward was not too good either! Was his arm supposed to be draped nonchalantly over the edge of the cockpit? More seriously there's a pattern forming here,one involving really badly molded aircrew! Maybe that's why a lot of kits don't put any in at all.

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

Quick update. Two piccies. First one is something that always causes grief...sprue attachment points that intrude onto the mating surfaces Grrrrr.

Second one is an Me262 fuselage undergoing what looks like some weird Japanese bondage session to keep the two halves together. The sharp eyed will notice the absence of the cockpit,I have a cunning plan!

Work has intruded into this build,if I can't get it done by 1/4 it'll go on hold for a bit!

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[ATTACH]22284.IPB[/ATTACH]

[stona]

Latest state of play. I've got the hammer down on this one as I'm away from the bench all of next week and I want to clear the decks for the GB (for which I still haven't got anything to build!....must buy an Fw190,any Fw190!)

Fuselage done,few bits and bobs in progress including the first jet engines I have ever built. Good job I've got a few shades of Alclad in the cupboard. Poor old pilot is still a bit of a blob!

Cheers

Steve

[ATTACH]22316.IPB[/ATTACH]

[yak face]

welcome to the jet age steve! Looks to be coming on nicely ,tell me is it your usual 1/32? cant wait to see the putty riddled 'before' stage of the build , have you decided on the colour yet, ive seen pics of he 162's with a dark coloured putty , maybe like the paint stocks at this stage of the war,the putty also varied enormously in colour and type? I hope the GB doesnt slow the build down too much , cheers tony

[stona]

It's a Hasegawa 1/32 kit. It must be a rebox of an older effort (very few locating pins etc). It's not bad but needs building.

The putty has not revealed its secrets. Not one reference I've found mentions the colour,only important stuff about how and where it should be applied. Didn't they realise that people in the future would need to know this stuff LOL?

My instinct was to go with a light greyish RLM02 sort of colour but I agree with you that it seems somewhat darker than that in most of the photos. The one I posted of the rear engine area of a Do335 does look light coloured and I read somewhere (God knows where) that one of the putties may have been yellow! In an effort to roughly match the posted Me262 images I'll probably go with something closer to a dark grey (RLM66ish?). I plan to use four or five different shades of "aluminium" so it'll be a big masking effort.It'll be even bigger if I go for more than one colour of putty! Shame it will mostly be lost once I finish it as the ISS1 machine.

As for the GB I'm toying with the idea of one of those stripey "parrot squadron" aircraft. I don't know a lot about them but I'll be keeping an eye open for a suitable 1/32 D. I do know they flew airfield protection for JV44 which,coincidentally,is where my Me262 ended up. More complicated masking,I must be mad.

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

I was looking for a nice subject for the GB when I came accross this photo. It's of Lt. Heinz Sachsenburg and some of his mates infront of one of the colourful "Doras" of JV44's Schutzplatzstaffel. But look what they are all wearing. It's the black leather flying suit that I put my Me262 pilot in to hide how bad he is. I feel quietly justified now.

Cheers

Steve