**** DONE: 1/48 Me262B-1a/U1 - The Jet Age.

[JKim]

Username: JKim
First name: John
Category: Advanced
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hobby Boss
Model Type: Messerschmitt Me262B-1a
Aftermarket addons: Eduard P.E. seatbelts

This will be mostly an out-of-box build. Keeping it simple so I can get out of this rut and get back on my Flogger with some momentum!

 

[JKim]

Okay... here's the kit. This is my 2nd Hobby Boss kit. Hobby Boss and Trumpeter are essentially the same company so if you dealt with one, you'll be familiar with the other. I really liked the Hobby Boss 190D-9 that I built last year so that pushed me to convert this 262B-1a into a U1 nightfighter instead of looking for the defunct DML/Dragon kit, which I heard is good too. The fact that this kit is available at my LHS also played a part.

On to the sprues... here are the wings. The plastic is typical Hobby Boss/Trumpeter with that subtly "pebbly" texture. Detail is fine and recessed. One thing that I've noticed about these Chinese kits is the presence of a greasy substance on the plastic surface. Probably something to help release the sprues from the molds? I'd advise washing these kits in warm soapy water before starting work.

The sprue containing the fuselage. I little bit of "modular" construction on the fuse as there are some access panels that can be posed open. On the left hand side of the sprue, you can see the radar array for the nightfighter version. Although this is boxed as a two-seat trainer, I've read that this kit is more representative of the nightfighter (no 2nd seat flight controls or instrument panel but Neptun radar display included) so that is another reason why I chose this kit as a base.

I had intended to build this kit a few months about but upon opening, I found that the two radar array pieces were both broken and returned it. So I had the LHS salesperson open this one up to check and sure enough, one of the two radar pieces were broken. It looked like an easy repair and I knew there were aftermarket parts available as well so I asked the salesperson if he could discount the kit due to the broken part. He gave me 15% off which equated to about $4.

A close-up of the cockpit tub. Not especially detailed but this is cramped quarters once everything is in place. The side instruments panels are separate pieces. The outside of the tub serves as the interior of the wheel wells and has some molded detail as well.

One of the bulkheads to show the quality of the molded detail. Not the crispest detail but should be adequate with some paint and weathering. I am planning to show most, if not all of the hatches, in the closed position so lots of this detail will not be visible anyway.

The interior of the fuselage has lots of internal ribbing but again, most of this stuff will not be visible.

One thing that always impresses me with Hobby Boss/Trumpeter are the clear parts and these seem to be good too... very clear with the front windscreen having a portion of the fuselage molded in to help avoid a difficult seam line. I wish more manufacturers would do this as it is very helpful to the modeler.

Here is the sprue that contains the majority of the cockpit and wheel well parts. Two sets of nose wheels?

The tires are molded in halves and feature crisp wheel details.

The instrument panel has molded dials but no details within the dials. Decals are provided for the instrument dials. I am going to punch individual dials from the decal sheet and apply them one at a time... more time but a cleaner result. The dials are not especially accurate but I'm

The back of the IP has some detail molded to depict the back of the instrument housings. Due to the relative position of the IP to the windscreen, this area is visible so I am going to add wiring here.

Sprue holding the engine nacelle parts. No representation of the BMW 003 engine is included in the Hobby Boss kit, which is fine by me since I don't usually show open panels on my builds.

Two different nose fairings are provided - 4 gun and 2 gun.

The nose cannons are fully represented with multiple parts but I will be buttoning them up under a close fairing.

The drop tanks are provided, which is good since most of the photos of the U1 variant shows them with these drop tanks attached.

And finally here is a sprue with the nose wheel well and some fairing covers. Hobby Boss has also provided a metal version of the nose well to help counteract the weight of the nose so that the model sits in the proper three-point stance. Do I assume that this is enough weight to do the job or should I add more?

Here is the decal sheet. This is one area where I am lacking. Obviously no red numbers here. I'll have to mull on a source for these. I may have saved the "12" masks from my Blue 12 Dora build that I could possibly use. Otherwise I may have to go to AM.

 

[Crimea_River]

Will watch with great interest as I will build one for the Nightfighter GB in the fall.

Here's a good article on the colours of the various birds of NJG 11 Me262B Night Fighter Camouflage

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Good one, hobby Boss are not far off of releasing the Nightfighter version...

 

[Catch22]

Cool choice, looking forward to it.

 

[fubar57]

Good one John. Tamiya includes a nose weight in the Meteors I'm building but it is just barely enough. I'll add a bit more to the F.3 before I button it up.


Geo

 

[JKim]

Thanks for the reference Andy... that should come in handy once I am ready for camo painting. Jumping right into this build, I looked at trying to salvage the radar pieces. First I glue the broken piece back into place. Kinda clunky eh?

Having AM as an ultimate safety net, I decided to see if some surgery and stretched sprue could yield more delicate results. First the surgery...

And then the stretched sprue... Better but still not satisfied, especially compared to the photos of the real radar arrays... they are very delicate looking. I'm going to cut off the cross pieces entirely and replace with stretched sprue. If that doesn't work, I'll go aftermarket.

Jumping to the instrument panel... the Revi gunsight is supplied in gray plastic, not clear.

Here is the back of the panel after I've drilled holes in the backs of the instrument housings.

I've wired the panel using a combination of thin lead wire and single and braid pieces of thinner electrical wire.

Wires are bent downward using tweezers and the panel is mounted in place to check clearances... a-ok.

Back to the Revi gunsight, I've elected to replace the reflector glass with tiny pieces of clear acetate. Wow, that looks pretty good but I'll have to be careful with this so that it stays in one piece!

I've hacked off a little nub from the left pilot console top and fashioned a proper throttle using pieces of sprue.

Straps for the foot pedals have been fashioned from flattened pieces of lead wire. I don't know I've bothered since this will be quite invisible as they are tucked under and behind the IP. Modeler's compulsion I guess.

That's all for now!

 

[JKim]

QUESTION... does anyone have any info on the attachment of the radar to the nose of this nightfighter? The restored South African U1 (Red 8) has a very distinct triple brace that is replicated in this kit, which I'm thinking was added during restoration.

A photo of Red 8 from the end of the war seems to show a simpler single brace.

 

[Wurger]

 

[fubar57]

Any help?

W.Nr. 110305


Geo

 

[Wurger]

Here you are... "Red 8" of 10./NJG11 Wk/Nr.110305 . I have enlarged it a little bit but it should be enough to see the attachment.

 

[fubar57]

Cross posted my friend.




Geo

 

[Wurger]

No problemo. You have edited your post haven't you?

 

[fubar57]

Yes, added a larger photo and the number. I had a drawing there but it looked like it was based on Johns photos.


Geo

 

[JKim]

Perfecto guys! That confirms the single attachment point. I'll modify the kit piece to reflect this.

 

[Wurger]

Yes, added a larger photo and the number. I had a drawing there but it looked like it was based on Johns photos.


Geo

Perfecto guys! That confirms the single attachment point. I'll modify the kit piece to reflect this.

 

[Crimea_River]

John, you have me itching to break out my Dragon kit and join you. The decal sheet in my kit has your Red 12 plus reds 8 and 10. You can have the red 12 and the corresponing W. Nr. if you like.

I have the Kagero Monograph series and in there the speculate that the braced antenna supports could be either a field mod or they might have been added after the capture.

 

[JKim]

Jump on in Andy! I'd be very interested to see (a) the Dragon in comparison to the HB kit and (b) your take on the Nightfighter scheme. I have some thoughts on it myself... just some rough ideas of what I'd like to try but it'd be neat to see your approach. If I do Red 12, I assume you'd do Red 10 or Red 8? It seems like they each have slight differences in their color patterns... even the mottling is unique on each one. Let's do it!

 

[Wurger]

I have the Kagero Monograph series and in there the speculate that the braced antenna supports could be either a field mod or they might have been added after the capture.

Andy, I don't think the braced antenna supports are the field modification done by Germans. Judging by well known images of other captured and tested planes it must have been done much later. Look at these pictures below. Also I would like to pay your attention to that the additional antenna struts required a larger hole in the fuselage and it should be seen in the second shot of the post #9 with the close-up image of the Red8 nose. However, please make a focus on the antenna at the area of the joint with the horizontal support. It looks like would be damaged and re-welded. The paint at the area looks like being affected by heating. So the second idea of when it was done is more likely.