Me 262

[hayaman]

Ok,your lights please,i m thinking of doing one of these,which one should i prefer,Has or Trump?- i ll use det.sets for cockpit-w.wells so i care about general appearance-shape and fit,also any problems-tricks to any of them?-thanks,cheers

[D Bellis]

The Hasegawa Me 262A kit dates to the '60s or '70s - and it shows. Detail is basic, fit leaves a lot to be desired, surface details are raised, etc... However, the overall shapes are ok with the glaringly obvious nacelles which are oversize and appear bloated.

 

The Trumpeter kit is a modern tooling with excellent detail, shapes and sizes. It has 3 main drawbacks that may or may not be deal-breakers for you:

1) The entire surface is festooned with petite divots/rivets. The real thing was puttied smooth, including the panel gaps. 

2) The cockpit tub is located with large tabs & sockets that are visible in the main wheel wells. These can simply be cut off and sanded smooth since the tub is firmly located by the fore & aft bulkheads.

3) The main gear legs are about 5 mm too long (the oleos are fully extends as thou the aircraft is weightless). I cut the oleo section down to allow for the proper 'sit'.

 

There are other nits, but the Trumpeter kit is the clear winner between the two. The only other possibility is that Revell might do their own '262A after they release their '262B kit later this year.

 

HTH,

D

Edited September 8, 2016 by D Bellis

[MikeMaben]

Yep, Trumpeter. One of their better 1/32 kits.

[LSP_Ray]

I agree with D: For a 262A, Trumpeter is (currently) the undisputed leader. If you want to do a B, you might want to wait to see how the Revell release is received. As D alluded, it appears Revell may follow with an A, and it could be nicer than Trumpy's, but we probably won't know that for a year.

[Astro32]

The Hasegawa kit is old, as already noted, but has enough, in my view, shape issues that are noticeable: 1. The engine nacelles are noticeably larger than scale, since the pattern makers decided to make the engines to scale. Compare them to the Trumpy kit and you'll REALLY see the difference! 2. The rudder has a 'knob' at the bottom that's not there on the real aircraft. The rear fuselage at the bottom of the rudder post also has that 'knob'. The rudder post from the top of the vertical fin to the bottom of the rear fuselage is more or less straight, as is the rudder. Years ago I built their High Grade night fighter. I used the engine nacelles from the even more ancient and generally horrible Revell kit, re-shaping it as needed. Much better! Better to go with the Trumpy kit. It's a little fiddly but it's really good overall, and one of their best kits as far as I'm concerned. Just tone down the surface detail and you're golden. HTH!

[DoogsATX]

I'd definitely go with the Trumpeter kit vs. the Hasegawa. The rivets aren't a big deal to fill if you're so inclined - personally, I built mine to represent an A-2a left in field off a runway at Innsbruck that had been puttied in places but generally not painted, and having all that surface detail really helped. 

 

 

In addition to the impending Revell B and the possibility of an A at some point, I'd also caution that there's an outside chance that Tamiya's next 1/32 subject may well be a 262. There are a few precedents in the mix - they tend to toward popular (even iconic) subjects that will sell at volume, they tend to release subjects they've already released in 1/48 (exception is the Spitfires being late Merlins vs. early), and they're following 1/48 releases chronologically (Zero before Spitfire before Mustang before Corsair before Mosquito). The next three 1/48 subjects released after the Mosquito were the Fairey Swordfish and then the Me 262 and P-47. 

 

IF the precedents bear out (big if) then we could very likely see a 1/32 Tamiya Me 262A next summer. 

[Wegener]

Also remove the raised circular plates on the fuselage sides by the cockpit on the Trumpeter kit. And they missed the ammo feed chutes for the upper 3cm guns for some reason.

 

I thought the kit cockpit and wheel well would be fine with some detailing so haven't replaced them. The bomb panel under the instrument panel is not appropriate for the fighter either.

 

Decent kit though. Obviously I've not finished mine but it is progressing.

[lpiccec2010]

Gotta be Trumpeter kit hands down!! I have one that has been a "work in progress" for approx 11 years (!!), it's a gorgeous kit I just cant seem to finish it.

[lpiccec2010]

My Trumpter Me262 

[hayaman]

ok,message received,thank you all

[Paul2660]

DoogsATX, that is a beautiful model, love both the idea and the creation.  

 

Thanks for sharing that. 

 

Paul C