VintageEagle

Just found that in December 2022 a trademark application was filed for RED PILL MODELS with the United States Patent and Trademark Office: RED PILL MODELS Trademark of BADE MAKINA MÜHENDISLIK ELEKTRONIK GIDAVE INSAAT SANAYI TICARET A,S - Serial Number 79364144 - Alter
 
Apparently, the company behind Red Pill Models is Bade Makina Mühendislik Elektronik Gidave Insaat Sanayi Ticaret in Turkey. They have a website, but it is hacked (message by Turkish hackers on the front page). 

Just found that in December 2022 a trademark application was filed for RED PILL MODELS with the United States Patent and Trademark Office: RED PILL MODELS Trademark of BADE MAKINA MÜHENDISLIK ELEKTRONIK GIDAVE INSAAT SANAYI TICARET A,S - Serial Number 79364144 - Alter
 
Apparently, the company behind Red Pill Models is Bade Makina Mühendislik Elektronik Gidave Insaat Sanayi Ticaret in Turkey. They have a website, but it is hacked (message by Turkish hackers on the front page). 

Chinese whispers (c).

That article references my posting on Aeroscale, which came from this thread.

Some news. Release expected early 2024 based on the following article.
 
https://hobbyzero.com/news/red-pill-models-to-release-new-f-4b-phantom-ii-model/

Some news. Release expected early 2024 based on the following article.
 
https://hobbyzero.com/news/red-pill-models-to-release-new-f-4b-phantom-ii-model/

Wow. Just wow. So glad I sold my GT Resin conversion and Tamiya base kit last year. A Navy Double Ugly B would be phantastic.

Hi Paolo, 
 
The first image does not show my model as I wrote in the description. It's Chris Wauchop's excellent Me 262 model. I just used it to illustrate how Revel wants you to assemble the cockpit sides and floor. Mine is in the 2nd photo and I have not yet added the wiring. I have done it already in the cockpit (see images further up in the thread) and you will see that I have not twisted the wiring. 
 
Cheers, 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

Thank you John! I appreciate your feedback, especially since your Me 262 B build is THE benchmark that I try to replicate as good as I can. I spent some time trying to scratch build the throttles. They had small spring-loaded levers in front of the push buttons that had to be actuated in order to change the position of the throttles. I made these small levers out of think plastic sheet and glued them onto the main levers. The buttons at the top of the throttles were used during start up to inject starter fuel from the small annular tanks in the forward section of the Jumo 004s.
 
It's been a while since my last update. I was on holidays and the hot weather in Europe kept me more outside in the evenings than at the bench. But I made some very good progress. The cockpit is basically complete except the seat harness, the wiring on the backside of the main panel and the side walls, which need some modification on the landing gear wheel bay sides before I can paint and attach them. I made the following modifications:
 
INSTRUMENT PANEL
I already covered the scratch built ZSK 244 auxiliary panel and other modifications in my first post. I used mainly decals from the Airscale 1/32 Luftwaffe instruments and placards sets. For the AFN2 I used the 1/48 Airscale decal set as both inlcude an AFN1, which had a diameter of 80mm while the AFN2 had 57mm. The decals for the ZSK 244 come from the Eduard Fw 190 cockpit resin and PE set for the Revell 1/32 Fw 190. I also added some decals from scratch, i.e. cut out of black and white decal paper. I used a die and punch set to cut out the decals and after a flat coat added gloss varnish to imitate the instrument glass faces. 
 
The red and yellow rings around the fuel content gauges, fuel pressure indicators, oil pressure and differential pressure indicators is the correct coloring of a standard mid-production example as I wrote in one of my earlier posts.
 
THROTTLES
I first used the kit's throttles, but removed the buttons and added my own ones built from scratch using the die and punch set. They looked to massive / broad compared to the rest of the console so that I decided to build them completely from scratch. I added the small levers, a small piece of wire to imitate the spring that was attached to them and a yellow painted wire as a cable that was attached to the push buttons. The tank selection levers as well as the trim lever were also completely scratch built. The Eduard PE levers looked too small in my opinion. I used a tiny strip of yellow decal paper that I added to the red tips of t he tank selector levers. It was a lot of work, but paid out in the end. It's a bit difficult to see the details in the photos as I am using a smart camera, but in real life it looks very good. The cockpit of the Me 262 is relatively well visible once the model is complete and it is worth to spend some more time with the cockpit.
 
The tank selector lever tips in the German Museum's Me 262 are yellow. However, wartime photos show that they too had been red/orange-yellow back then. I assume they were either overpainted yellow at some point later or replaced with yellow plastic tips. 
 
COCKPIT FLOOR
No modification, but I used a sponge and light brown paint to imitate the wear. The original was made out of wood painted in RLM 66 and even in the restored NASM Me 262 you can see the wood due to some wear.
 
CONTROL STICK
The only modification is that I sanded the top lever down to a more realistic thickness. I added also the metal bracket that attached the side button used for manually charging the MK 108 canons to the stick. I painted the stick brown as some of the KG 13Bs had this color (anodized finish), e.g. in the German Museum's Me 262. The external wires still need to be added once the column is installed. I have already drilled the corresponding holes in the side button and wire terminal. 
 
SEAT
The only modification is that I added the attachmet points for the shoulder belts at the top. There was also a separation line in the center and two small holes next to it that I added. Chipping was done using a sponge. The leather effect was achieved by painting it dark brown first and then using a sponge again applying the light brown color in a random way. 
 
Seatbelts and the side walls are next and then I can finish the cockpit and move to the landing gear bay.
 
Roger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

National insignia sprayed and now ready for decals
 

 

 
With 2 bank Holiday weekends on the bounce coming up I'm hoping to get this on finished.
 
Regards. Andy 

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

Thank you Damian! Indeed, there is no cure  
 
 
Thank you Zac!
 
 
Thank you John! Thanks for the advice to contact Revell. I am afraid that it would take too long to get the replacement and I will use other decals for the main markings later. Therefore, I moved ahead with using small stripes of white and black decals and a small brush to apply the "text". But I will contact them as I have a second Me 262 in my stash that I want to build as a jet with R4M rockets.
 
OK, another smaller update: the decals on the left console are complete now. I have also added the pull wire for the RATO rockets for which I had previously added a small vertical bar that in the original kept the wire in its intended position and ensured that there was enough tension. You will notice that the forward section of the wire is slightly thicker. That is intended as in the original the forward section that the pilot would have gripped was also thicker than the rest of the wire. First the original (cockpit of the captured W.NR. 111711 with some American equipment installed for flight testing):
 

 
And now 32 times smaller:
 

 

 
 
The last detail to add besides the throttle levers  and fuel tank selector levers is a decal for the rudder trim control. I have already started with the throttle levers and tank selector levers, but need a smaller punch and die set to fabricate two throttle switches of the right thickness. I have ordered one and it is currently on its way to me. I will also need it to create a paint mask for some of the instruments in the main panel that had colored rings on the front. The decals I have did not fit (slightly too large) and hand-painting these rings is hardly possible in a proper way. Therefore, next will be the right console.
 
 
 
 

hi Roger,
beautiful work in every detail. if I may, the penultimate photo showing the partially twisted wiring leaves me perplexed: as far as I know these are left as straight as possible for several good reasons.
keep it going, it's a beauty!
cheers, Paolo

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

Thank you Kev!
 
 
Thank you Fanes. The reconnaissance version didn't have the ZSK 244 auxiliary panel as you probably know already, but two indicators for the cameras in the lower center section of the main instrument panel. I'm looking forward to follow your build if you plan to share your progress here.
 
 
Thank you Mark!
 
 
Thank you Maru5137!
 
Just a small update. I have made a small modification to the left console. The cylindrical part on the rear side is the hand pump for the windshield washing system. However, this was only introduced very late towards the end of the war and only few aircraft were fitted with it. One example is Me 262 W.Nr. 501232 'Yellow 5' that today is at the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB:
 

 
However, the majority of Me 262s did not have the windshield washing system and there was no pump installed. Therefore, I removed it from the kit part. The other modification is a hole that I added. In the original, that's where the oxygen hose came out of the console. Here are photos of before and after the modifications (the small black spot is a small hole that I filled with black c/a glue):
 
 
 

 
A small modification is also required on the right console. There was a bracket, two straps and two holes that were possibly used when a portable altitude recorder was installed. All wartime or postwar photos of German Me 262s only show the bracket and straps, but not what device had been installed there. In the Czech Avia S-92 there is a portable altitude recorder installed and it may well be that that was also the purpose of the bracket and straps in the German Me 262s. 
 
Next is the right console. I have already started painting some of the parts and will then detail the instrument panel.

Hello,
 
After having worked for a loooong time on the Revell 1/32 Fw 190 A-8 I needed something else to get my mojo back. The Fw 190 A-8 is almost ready for paint, but when I went over the fuselage rivets again to prepare the surface for painting, the glue joints of the cockpit broke and the cockpit got detached. Fortunately not on all sides so that I can push it up again from the bottom, but that incident vaporized my motivation for a while. So hopefully a fresh start will bring the motivation back.
 
This time it is my favourite WW2 aircraft, the Me 262. I opted for 'White 17' W.Nr. 110958 of III./EJG 2 at Lechfeld for a number of reasons: 1) it is a very well documented bird, 2) there exists a color photo, 3) it had a very interesting camouflage with a nose section that came from a different aircraft (the nose tip appears to be from a 3rd aircraft).
 

 
The Revell kit has great details out of the box. I wanted to use the kit parts for the cockpit as I don't like Eduard's color printed P/E approach as it is too flat and it depicts a blind flying panel for a very late production variant that had a single-axis auto pilot and required a large repeater compass. Unfortunately, they don't offer resin parts anymore like they did for the Fw 190. The kit part is very good except that instrument layout is that of a early production model and has a cabin pressure gauge that was never installed in serial production aircraft (only in some prototypes or aircraft for testing):
 

 
Around the end of 1944, there was an effort to simplify the Me 262, the so-called 'Entfeinerung'. It is even mentioned in the cockpit overview of the pilot's manual, but I have also copies of wartime Messerschmitt documents that prove this. Very late production aircraft did not have the two differential pressure and oil pressure indicators anymore, just the fuel gauges and fuel pressure indicators and the two rpm indicator. W.Nr. 110958 was built around January 1945 and still had the differential pressure and oil pressure gauges. There exists immediate postwar footage of the cockpit of W.Nr. 110426 (captured by the Russians) and I own an original immediate postwar photo of the cockpit of W.Nr. 110836 that I use as reference for the required changes:
 
- Remove the cabin pressure gauge (left of the SZKK2 round counter box)
- Remove the indicators for the MK 108 underneath the SZKK2, the holes were sometimes left open or covered by a sheet of metall or fabric
- Remove the fuel warning indicators (again, the holes were sometimes left open or were covered)
- Remove the Junghans watch on the left side of the cabin pressure gauge as they were very rarely installed (in most cases the opening was left open)
- The casings of the ASI and rate of climb indicator on the backside are too short and needs to be replaced with longer casings
 

 

 
The second thing I wanted to correct was the relatively crude ZSK 244 bomb fusing auxiliary panel that was fitted to almost all the Me 262 As except for the recon versions and the ones (retro)fitted with R4M rockets. The ZSK 244 front plate is quite good, but the panel is flat and doesn't correspond to the original at all. The original had an angle of 15 degrees vs. vertical so that the pilot could better see and operate the instrument.
 

 

 
Here are two photos of the original part:
 

 

 
I constructed one from scratch using the dimensions of the original and photos as reference. The only part from the kit I used was the front plate of the ZSK 244. I had to carefully sand the kit part to the appropriate thickness. 
 

 

 

 

 
It was a lot of work, but now I am happy with the way the instrument panel looks. Next is painting. 
 
Roger
 
 
 

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger

After a longer break, work continues. As those of you who have built Revell's Me 262 know the fit of the two cockpit side walls with the center floor piece is not great at all. I knew this and spend a lot of time dry fitting and ensuring a more or less acceptable fit. While I managed this, I was still not happy and also noticed that the cockpit in the orignial was one piece with the steel floor riveted onto it on one side. Hence, I filled the seams and sanded it to become one part, then added rivets using rivet decals from Quinta Studios (I used the double row 1/48 scale rivets, which were a perfect fit for this puropse) and painted the steel part in RLM 02. It know looks like in the original. 
 
First, an example of how Revell tells you to assemble the parts (with the complete center piece in RLM 02 and panel line across the cockpit tube; photo is from Chris Wauchops excellent Me 262):
 
 

 
Then how it should look like:

 
Weathering and painting of the wooden blocks on the left still needs to be done, but the cockpit is then finally complete.
 
I have also started to work on the nose wheel landing gear & bay and have made some modification. I'll cover this next time. 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger