After about six straight hours at the bench, I finished wiring the wheel wells on my 1/48 Trimaster Me 262. I used shielding from an old audio cable for the yellow cable bundles. They are strapped together with lead foil, painted black. The brackets holding them to the cockpit tub are also lead foil. Hydraulic lines were made from micro solder, painted black with brass and aluminum connectors. I added piping with unpainted solder to the front of the left well. The front and rear bulkheads, as well as the tub, are dryfitted. Some minor trimming will be necessaey for the cables. I will do this once the cockpit has been washed and drybrushed.
Here’s what I got done today. First, a view looking into the wheel wwell.
Next your going to install the hydraulic pumps for the gear and have them actually retract along with the gear doors. Great detail images Bill. And no thank you for sharing your talent. The pleasure is all ours!!!
sweet scratchin’ Bill!![tup][tup][tup] i’m really starting to get interested in scratch built items, i may have to try some pretty soon, thanks for the ideas in materials. later.
Thanks for the kind words ghettochild, woodbeck, Chuck, saltydog, fightnjoe, Rick, Mike, Akuma, Frank, Swanny, & maddafinga !
fightnjoe - next, I’ll be glosscoating the cockpit for a wash. The back of the instrument panel is visible through the windscereen, so it will be wired, too (it’s half done now). There are also wires to the gunsight and armored glass that I’ll be adding.
Trimaster did most of the work for me. All I had to do was add the wiring. It ca be T-D-US [banghead] , but patience & perceverance win in the long run. Bending the bundles of wire at the appropriate position and angle proved the most trying. It make PE feel easy by comparison ! It really adds a lot, and it’s cheap to boot. Pick up some fine wire from Radio Shack or the like, and give it a shot !
Thanks again ! It’s always a pleasure to share my work with you !
nkm1416 - finding wire that was fine enough was the key to adding the detail. You can find some of this in the shielding of audio (not speaker) cables, T.V. coax cables, and dipole antennas. Although not as easy to form as micro solder, it’s fine enough to use for 1/48.
1337 - This is only my 11th or 12th Me 262, but they’ve all been from the Trimaster/DML/Dragon molds. Seven or eight were lost (damaged) the last time I moved, leaving three others beside this one. Not quite enough for dedication of an entire website, I’m afraid.
I really like the way this turned out. It’s definately the best scratch work I’ve ever done, and it gives me confidence to try other detailing ideas I have.