Someone once asked me, on this forum, if I built anything but Me 262s. Well, I haven’t built one since the winter, so it’s about time I did !
This is Trimaster’s Me 262A-1a, with lots of white metal, photo etch, tube, and wire.
I’ve started with the metallic components first, using Alcad II. I used Aluminum, White Aluminum, Duraluminum, Dark Aluminum, Polished Aluminum, and Steel.
I added hydraulic lines to the cannon with micro solder, and wires from the shielding of an old audio cable painted yellow.
I cut the intake “bullets” open to paint the fan blades brass. I got a little on the bullet, so touchup is necessary.
Pix, I wish you hadn’t done that. Now I won’t ever start my Tamiya -2a purely out of shame. That, and the fact that I had just begun when I happened to notice in my haste I had bought Eagle decals for the -1, and I haven’t seen any sheets for the bombers. But now that I have that expensive sheet, I have to find one of those old TriMaster -1a kits with the PE and metal parts. When DML or Dragon bought those molds, they kept the PE and did away with the cast metal parts – or, it may have been the other way around, but they took away one of the goodies from the old TriMaster kits, but otherwise kept them the same.
I’m just set in my ways I guess, but I can’t bring myself to use kit markings, even if the rest of the build is OOB. I need a little bit of uniqueness (oh, I can hear the English teacher wincing out there).
Looks like a great start to another masterpiece. Maybe you should try to open up some panels, where possible, so that all of those beautiful parts will be able to be seen when the project is finished.
BTW, Pix, what’s the best reference to use for things like your gun bay detail? All I have are a bunch of engineering type drawings and good cockpit photos.
tom
pix. thanks my friend. i really enjoy your in progress pics. and the descriptions. the new build looks very good and detailed. it will be a pleasure to watch this one take shape.
Good to see you again my friend, and with a “262” on the table… yep, that’s Pix’s work! [:)] Hope you’re doing well, and look forward to seeing another masterpiece born of your hands!
woodbeck - some of the earlier production aircraft had the bays painted in RLM 02. Later in the war, gear doors were sometimes painted RLM 76, or the entire interior (minus cockpit) was left unpainted. Wartime photos that show the gearbays are rare. I like the looks of the natural metal (ESPECIALLY when it’s Alcad !), so that’s what I use on mine.
Karl - I wholeheartedly agree !
sharkskin - the original is the Trimaster kit, with white metal and two frets of PE. Brass tube and wire is also included. This is what’s in the Trimaster kit:
The resin wheels are True Details - the vinyl kit tires can be trouble.
DML next boxed the kit, replacing the metal parts with injection molded ones, and also cut back the number of PE parts. The Dragon boxings had no metal or PE parts, but the Me 262 Mistel has the limited PE selection of the DML releases. Great Models Webstore has this Trimaster kit on sale for under $26. It’s NOT an easy build, but it is the BEST 1/48 Me 262 ever produced.
dagne - I really don’t care for opened or cutaway models. I prefer to have them look realistic. Cutting them open just looks too “show-offy” for my tastes.
This is going to make me start crying again, but two of my fire losses were two different Trimaster Me-262 kits like Pix just showed us. One was a nightfighter. Worst is that I’ll never be able to replace them. Second worst is that I got both of them in a package deal from a LHS in Houston for, gulp, sniff…$25 for the pair.
tom
Looks great as usual. I’m gonna have to crack open a couple of those Alclad2 colors I’ve got in my drawer. Haven’t used them yet… (with no good reason why not…)
Murray - I use their gloss black primer. Their gray primer is VERY close to most model’s plastic color, so an even coverage is not easy to detect. The plastic will craze if it’s not properly primed. Ask me how I know this. [banghead] You have to sand it down, because the plastic is damaged.
Rick - I have six more unbuilt Trimaster Me 262s (and many aftermarket markings), so there WILL be more in the future. [8D]
I painted the RLM 66 on the cockpit parts before working on the metallic areas. I started painting the details today.
