Subject: Re: Me262 A-1a Submission
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:14:52 -0800

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
ARC Air - Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.arcair.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [email-masked] 
  To: Aircraft Resource Center 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 6:20 PM
  Subject: Me262 A-1a Submission

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  "1/48 Scale Tamiya Me262 A-1a" 

  by "Burt Gustafson"

  Please include your ARC Discussion Forum Name with your submission 
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  For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my Tamiya 1/48 scale Me 262. The Me 262 Schwalbe (English: "Swallow") was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Development of the Me 262 started in 1939, before WWII began. In July of 1942 Me 262V3 made its first flight. However, engine problems prevented the Me 262 from entering service with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Compared with fighters of its day it was much faster and better armed, it was more than 100 mph faster than the P-51D.

   Me 262 fighters were packed with firepower that consisted of four 30mm cannons as well as W.Gr21 and R4M air-to-air rockets. Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied kills. The Allies countered its effectiveness in the air by attacking the aircraft on the ground and while taking off or landing.

  Me 262s carried 440 imp gal (530 US gal) of fuel in two 200 imp gal (240 US gal) tanks, one in front and one behind the cockpit, along with a 44 imp gal (53 US gal) tank beneath the cockpit. An Me 262 had a total flight endurance of 60 to 90 minutes. Fuel was usually brown coal-derived J2, with the option of diesel oil or a mixture of oil and high octane B4 aviation fuel.

   The Me 262 appeared in relatively small numbers in the closing year of World War II. Messerschmitt factories produced 1,443 Me 262s, but only about 300 saw combat. The others were destroyed in training accidents or by Allied bombing attacks. Engine reliability problems and attacks by Allied forces on fuel supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war. However, the Me 262 influenced the designs of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabrejet and the Boeing B-47 Stratojet. Only nine Me 262s survive in museums around the world today.

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  Construction

  Construction started with the cockpit, which goes together easily, and fits nicely into the cockpit tub. I used the decal provided for the front instrument panel, and hand painted the side instrument panels. This provides enough detail so the cockpit looks busy with a closed canopy. The instructions don’t call for a nose weight because the nose gear bay is metal and has enough weight to prevent tail sitting. As for the reset of the construction, I simply followed the instructions and the model went together without any big problems. The parts fit was pretty decent, but some filling and sanding was required in places. The two piece canopy fit perfectly. On the dark side, the part monster ate one of the engine exhaust cones. I kludged up a replacement cone from an old sprue.

  Painting
  The kit instructions provide four paint schemes for Me 262s. I chose the paint scheme for and Me 262 named “Red 13”. The underside of the model was airbrushed with MM RLM 76, Light Blue. The top side of the model painted with the camouflage scheme of Red 13. The paints used here were MM RLM 83 (Light Green) and MM RLM 82 (Dark Green). The Dark Green was a little on the light side so I added some Black to it so there was a good contrast between the Dark green and the Light Green. The landing gears were painted with MM Medium Gray. The wheel wells and the insides of the landing gear bay doors were painted with Floquil Bright Silver. The tip of the nose and the top of the tail were painted with Floquil Signal Red.

         
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  Decals

  The decals for this kit were flawless. They are well printed, easily placed on the model and snugged down nicely to the model. The kit provides a set of common Me 262 decals and decals for four Me 262s. I went with the decals for an Me 262 designated Red 13 III/EJG2, Lechfeld, March 1945.

  Comments

  To sum up, this was an enjoyable kit to build. Tamiya did a nice job with this kit. It is reasonably well detailed out of the box, has very few fit problems, and has clear instructions. I recommend this kit for any modeler.

  "Burt Gustafson"

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  Just delete any of the boxes below you don't need.....it's not important to include them.....they are there to give you an idea of the finished article.  It is best to limit your article to no more than 60 or so photos, so the finished webpage won't take too long to open.

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         Photos and text © by "Burt Gustafson"