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What AM do I need for Trumpeter ME-262A1a TSM2260


Bill Cross

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I just purchased the Trumpeter ME-262 A1a (TSM2260) and want to know, other than resin wheels to replace the vinyl tires, are there AM things I should be considering?

 

The nose-mounted cannons, for example, don't look as though the barrels show.

 

The cockpit comes with PE seat belts, but I may go for Radu Brinzan ones.

 

And the nose-- do I need to weight it to keep the tricycle landing gear from having it rear back on its tail?

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The kit builds great out of the box, and has a nice cockpit and wheel well if you don't want to splash out. If you do decide to make some improvements, I recommend the Aires cockpit/wheelwell set. I used Radu seatbelts for mine.

 

I can't comment on the gun barrels as I built a glazed nose conversion, but yes, you will need some weight up front. Either roll thin lead foil into tubes and glue it in, or get some very fine lead shot (1mm) and mix with white glue.

 

It's a great kit, and one of my favourite.

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as above...plus...

 

barrels not so relevant if you're keeping it "zipped up", but Master Models make correct MK108 cannons

 

Eduard PE for dashboard....

 

fyi Aires is a must (for me) as the wheel well / bottom of cockpit tub will look bare otherwise; LSP Kev pretty much scratch-built his and that looks pretty cool, but kind of beyond my meagre capabilities and also patience!

 

EageCals or AdAstra masks if you want to freelance...

 

believe me, there is a LOT you can spend on this kit! coolio.gif

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[...] other than resin wheels to replace the vinyl tires [...]

 

Bill, in my opinion the kit's tyres actually come up quite well:

 

file-12.jpg

 

The main downside is the small but noticeable seam in the middle of the main tyres. The were also a bear to fit onto their respective hubs! But what you see above is unpainted, with a couple of Flory Models washes.

 

Kev

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You will need some weight up front. Either roll thin lead foil into tubes and glue it in, or get some very fine lead shot (1mm) and mix with white glue.

Where would you hide the weight? In the ammo bins? Especially if you want to take off the gun covers.

 

The Signifier wheels look nice. How do they compare to the Master Casters sets?

 

I really prefer resin to vinyl, especially after hearing they're a bear to mount.

 

The Aires cockpit/wheelwell combo looks... expensive, LOL.

Edited by Bill Cross
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Where would you hide the weight? In the ammo bins? Especially if you want to take off the gun covers.

 

There's plenty of space in the absolute nose, and between the lower front fuse walls and the nose gear well.

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The Signifier wheels look nice. How do they compare to the Master Casters sets?

 

It's mainly down to the tread, if I was going to use the Mastercasters wheels I'd remove the tread from the main wheels. It's all down to personal choice, as always.

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The Aires cockpit/wheelwell combo looks... expensive, LOL.

 

he he - you get what you pay for Bill; seriously, the detail in the kit is rather toy-like on the underside of the tub in comparison to the Aires set. and even atfer that you will need to add extra wiring etc if you want the real deal...not that you have to of course, but given your initial question i presume you are going for max accuracy and detail??

 

there may be another option though:

 

the Avionix / old BlackBox cockpit set which is available at both Hannants and Sprue Bros at present...

 

http://store.spruebrothers.com/132-avionix-cockpit---me262a-2-trumpeter-kit-av32033-p8080.aspx

 

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/BLC32033

 

i am slightly suspicious however as i cannot find a single review of this product, or indeed ANY pictures of the contents anywhere on the web after 5 mins or so searching

 

anyone know anything about this set? is it a full-on tub replacement a la Aires?

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The Aires 'pit, U/C bay set is fairly expensive but totally worth the money. I'll definately be using it on my 262, as for the nose weight, chuck it in the forward fuel tanks, loads of space, easy to sort out and does the trick nicely. I'm not a big fan of vinyl tyres but the ones in this kit actually work well, just a bit of a chore to put "flats" onto them. I think I might use resin ones on mine and certainly going to be using Radus seat belts.

I made the Me-262 nightfighter a couple of years ago, did it straight OOB apart from a couple of scratch-built details and loved every minute of it, might even try to get another one when I'm gainfully employed again.

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I used the Eduard Big Edition and it was nice (also easy). I also thought the kit wheels/tires were fine... Comparing the kit + Eduard PE to photographs it looks pretty close. The biggest omission was that it did not provide for any of the wiring behind the instrument panel. I have seen some great examples of scratched wiring in the landing gear bays/fuselage area that look fantastic and better than the P/E. IMO, unless you are fanatical, any resin is a marginal improvement over what a little PE, fine wire and evergreen can accomplish with this particular kit. The supplied seat belt p/e was pretty crude compared to the Eduard part (and photographs). You will probably need to scratch a gun sight no matter which a/m parts you get - I was not happy with any of them and this is very visible in the cockpit. Were I to do it all over again, I would probably forsake the big edition (unless I could get it on sale) for a cockpit only P/E set and scratch everything else.

 

I forgot to put weight in until after I had painted the darn thing. I had to slice off a panel next to the nose bay and shove some in...then repair/re-scribe/re-paint! (duh!)

 

If you are building a fighter (vs fighter/bomber), one thing I noticed in the Eduard set is that it includes a bomb release lever. I did not know this is what the part was for until later, and the aircraft I was modeling was a fighter. I am not so sure the pure fighters had this installed... It seems like I ran into a few other minor things like this in the process of working on the kit.

 

Good Luck!

 

Kurt

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Thanks, Kurt, for the information. I have yet to build a resin cockpit, always using PE to fix up the kit ones. I have an Aires for my Jug, so maybe I will be better able to evaluate whether to go for this Aires set.

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You should do an A-1a/U4......:)!

 

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/scottnegron/

 

I'd definately go with the Signifer wheels, the tread pattern on the kit wheels is wrong. Also a thumbs up on the Big Ed and Aires sets mentioned. I'd actually recommend the Big Ed set for the B-1a instead, it's a bit better (wing slats and some other parts) and will work fone with the A-1a. If you can score a set of bomb pylons, you can get the 21cm racketenwerfer rockets and tubs from Schatton, and decals to do one of the few birds that carried them. Email me and I'll send you my phone # if you want to discuss any of this, one of my favorite A/C and I've been all through it (I've got 40+ books on it).

 

Best regards,

 

Scott

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