Madmax Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 The South African National Museum of Military History is a wonderful place. Situated in a sought after suburb of Johannesburg, it houses some real treasures, and this aircraft is arguably the jewel in its crown. Captured at Schleswig-Jagel at the end of the war, "Red 8" was flown to England where it was test-flown and evaluated. The engine life of the the Jumo 004 was a matter of some concern, and the aircraft was soon put out to pasture. Through some remarkable circumstances, WNr 110305 ended up being gifted to South Africa and has survived intact whilst other aircraft of the same shipment rotted away. It stood in a hangar at the Central Flying School in Dunnottar for many years. Fortunately a young aviation enthusiast (eventually historian) named Ron Belling was invited to see the aircraft in 1954, and he made detailed notes, drawings, and most importantly took colour samples. It was still in its original paint at the time. Then the SAAF decided to give it to the Military History Museum, but not before repainting it in some fanciful colour scheme. Ouch. Luckily the museum's curator got wind of Belling's research, and had him repaint the aircraft in the 1970's. This process was well documented in an article in this magazine. After Ron's meticulous work, the aircraft was virtually identical to how it looked in photographs taken at Schleswig-Jagel - right down to the style of mottling. Sadly it has been repainted (twice at least) in recent years, and all sorts of changes have crept in. Suffice it to say that although it is physically still sound, it is historically not. I was very keen to find out how the aircraft should look, and how difficult the process is, from research to application. I don't claim that this is a definitive outcome, but I believe it to be closer to how it looked in 1945, compared with what we see in the museum today. This is the Trumpeter kit, with Eduard's "Brassin" resin wheels, Master antenna, and some of the Montex masks. Zero77, Dany Boy, Tony T and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Very impressive, the 262's always been one of my favourites, so thank you very much for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Well now, that is a beauty! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 (edited) The 2-seater is a fave. Great show. Did you do the oil canning? Thank you. Sincerely, Mark Edited February 27, 2018 by dodgem37 red baron, Bill Cross and fab 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I never understood the need to repaint pieces of history into inaccurate representations. That is how valuable knowledge and information is lost forever. Nice model by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 hi very nice !!!!! that confirms my previous thought , you are a skillful modeller !!! Alain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Oh man, that motling is just perfect ! Very nice aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wackyracer Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Beautiful work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Bettencourt Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Good looking build! Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmax Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Hi Kagemusha and Kevin, thanks for your immediate response! Mark, here is how the dimples in the panel behind the wing were done. It is a very distinctive feature, and I'm not sure of its technical nature. Maybe a prototype "honeycomb" structure? After scraping the indentations with a scalpel, I sanded the panel smooth with a Tamiya sponge. G-Man, I'd hate to know just how much has been lost by re-painting. Alain, you are too kind! Small world indeed... Wackyracer and Rod, many thanks for you support. Thanks Zero77, the mottle on this aircraft is a major feature. Here you can see how it was originally, the way Belling painted it, and the way it looks today: The arrows point out other deviations that have occurred over time. Dany Boy and red baron 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimHepplestone Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Have seen the aircraft but never knew the history. Fascinating. Thanks for the post and a great model as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceofClubs Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Superlative work I love the way you made the dimples behind the wing. Great great model. Bravo. Ciao Filippo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red baron Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 very nice paint job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmax Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Greetings Tim, Grazie Filippo, and Merci red baron! MARU5137, the welcome banner and cheers are most appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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