1/32 Revell Me 262B-1/U1 Nachtjager

[Thunnus]

Thank you Johnie!  Great photos... interesting to see to the side panels made of wood too.  Would it be appropriate to show an oxygen hose from the rear hole and maybe drape over the seat?

[johnie hopper]

It is possible, but I think (as I could see on photos) that pilots usually didn't let it over the seat but scroll it next to seat or somehow fix it under left board (maybe on some hook). 

Here you can see how the hose looked.

And here are few examples of operated machines.

And here's how it looks in the rear cockpit.

 

 

[Thunnus]

Thanks Johnie!  I appreciate the great photos and insightful information!

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  It has been a few days and I  HAVE been working on the 262 but it has been slow progress.  It's taken me about three evenings now, applying the decals to the cockpit parts.  I've been evaluating each section, determining where the decal fits, where to divide the decals to get a better fit, and substituting PE replacements or hand-painting where appropriate.  Walters Solvaset has been working very well to literally melt the decal pieces into place over all of the raised detail.  I've gotten more adept at centering the decals over the appropriate details and even daring to CAREFULLY touch and prod the decal as it softens.  It's been a slog and I'm not finished yet but I'm able to post some progress shots at least.

 

Rear cockpit side panels...

 

 

Rear cockpit instrument panel... I still need to add clear lenses to all of the instruments as well the shroud on the radar display.

 

 

Radar unit....

 

 

Front cockpit starboard side panel.

 

 

Still working on the port side panel as it houses the throttle quadrant.  All of these components will get a bit of weathering but I'm not going to sweat that too much since it will be difficult to see inside the cockpit with all those canopy frames in the way.

 

And speaking of... while waiting for decal solution to dry, I've performed a dry fit of the clear canopy parts to the fuselage.  The majority of the canopy rests on the  separate cockpit sill part which I needed to verify for the painting process.

 

[johnie hopper]

At the first I have to simply say "I don't know how you do it". Nice work!

I would like to say few notice (most of them are not so important, because they will not be seen through closed canopy). Hope that I will not annoy you.

1) The ventil in the left rear panel should be bright blue (as whole oxygen system) and both instruments were used (it is Revell's fault probably)

2) There were a push button and the switch on the top of the right low box on the operator's instrument panel (again it is Revell's fault probably) - it could be visible. And some ring around the radar tube could look fine.

3) right front panel - the biggest Revell's mistake is that they used the same panel as for A-1 version, but it wasn't the same. The radiostation FuG16ZY was mounted and operated manualy from the rear cockpit and there was no need to use devices for its "remote control" (used in A-1/A-2 version). 

It should look like this (there were lever switches in two rectangle holes and usual push button in round holes).

4) and one more "don't forget" - wear off the spray pipe in front of windshield

 

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by johnie hopper

[johnie hopper]

Here you can find, how the battery box (sammler) behind the front seat looks (there was used its bigger version in B-1/U1 version):

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-german-luftwaffe-sammler-1798474551

 

[monthebiff]

As ever John, such lovely clean work and your attention to detail is superb as always. Very much enjoying this one.

 

Regards. Andy 

[MikeA]

Beautiful work - especially with those decals. Those small ones can be beggars to fit correctly on raised detail, but you've certainly managed well.

 

Cheers

[AlbertD]

Looks great so far. The decals over the kit parts a far superior to the flat PE parts. The PE has its place but this look perfect to me.

[Rockie Yarwood]

Really coming along nicely, John!

[Thunnus]

Thank guys!  Especially Johnie Hopper for those excellent photos.  Progress has been painfully slow but yes, we are moving forward, half step at a time.

 

All the cockpit bits are in different stages and I'm just trying to kick all of the balls forward as best as I can.  Not very systematic but I don't really have a choice given the strange modular construction order.  I've filled some of the instrument dials with UV epoxy glue.  This stuff is really handy.  Not only does it dry on command once you shine the little UV light on it, it is very strong.  The front instrument panel for the radar operator has been finished with the UV epoxy in the dials and the shroud for the radar display (an Eduard PE part) has been added.

 

 

The foot panel was painted brown since it was made of wood.  Now the previously sprayed silver parts can be coated with hairspray and then RLM 66 Dark Grey (Mr Hobby Aqueous).

 

 

After giving the grey a couple hours to dry, I used a stiff paint brush dipped in water to "activate" the hairspray layer.  The grey paint comes off in little chunks, mimicking paint chipping off due to constant wear.

 

The front cockpit bulkhead has been painted RLM 02 Grey.  The lower part of the bulkhead will form the frontal wall of the wheel wells while the upper circle highlights the circular cockpit area, which will be painted in RLM 66 Dark Grey.  Another handy use for the Silhouette Portrait cutter is to make as-needed paint masks.

 

 

Although the front bulkhead will be all but invisible (at least from the cockpit), I wanted to at least give the raised details a pastel wash.  So I created an new batch of dark brown wash.  I use pastel chalks scraped into a small container with a bit of water and a drop of liquid soap to help suspend the pastel particles.

 

 

The port pilot sidewall has been completed.  I used the Eduard PE parts for the smaller levers but used the kit double throttle and added some wiring to it.

 

 

And finally, I've started to assemble the front cockpit assembly.  The sidewalls have been given some tan chipping to represent the wood material that these panels were made of.

 

The port sidewall is glued onto the rear bulkhead as well as the control stick.  I've added a wire to it.  The radio box will be under the seat so I didn't bother painting it besides the black base color.

 

[alaninaustria]

This is outstanding craftsmanship! Just amazing work John!

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers

Alan

[PeterOlsen]

lovely fine detailing in the pit, very Nice,

Cheers,

Pete

[Thunnus]

Thank you Alan and Peter!

 

Finally making some noticeable progress on the cockpit.  The front bulkhead has been glued onto the frontal cockpit assembly.  The sidewalls of the cockpit are a separate piece and they are double-sided and form not only the cockpit enclosure on the inner side of the tube but the wheel well surfaces on the outside of the tube.  Because the attachment of the front bulkhead was quite flimsy due to the three small attachment points, I used the "tube" as a temporary brace to hold the front bulkhead in place as the glue dries.

 

 

Once the glue dries, I can remove the front cockpit assembly from the tube.  Both surfaces of the tube need to be painted prior to assembly so I'll have to get to that soon.  But first I'm going to continue on with this front cockpit.

 

 

Revell has kindly molded the instrument casings on the back of the instrument panel.  So I glued a single wire into the back of every casing.

 

 

These were then bent into painting position and trimmed to appropriate length, trying to keep the wires separate to facilitate snaking the paint in between the strands.  These will not be attached to anything, just bent down into the dark space between the IP and the bulkhead.

 

 

The wires were painted randomly light grey and yellow.

 

 

The wires are then pushed into final position and the instrument panel is glued into place.

 

 

The rear cockpit assembly is glued together next.  I forgot to chip the floor so I may have to do some retro-fit hair spray to match the front cockpit.

 

 

The attachment tabs offer a nice tight fit so I can temporarily place the two cockpit assemblies together to check the fit.

 

 

Again, the tube is used to make sure that the components are in the right position.

 

 

The whole assembly is taped into the fuselage.

 

 

The view from the top.  Everything seems to fit together well without the need for any significant adjustments.

 

 

Once the wing bottom is attached the view into the wheels wells is greatly reduced.

 

 

A small check on how the radar unit sits on the cockpit sill.

 

 

There is still a lot of work left on the cockpit but now I feel quite relieved that I've been able to dry-fit the cockpit assembly into the cockpit and found no significant fit issues.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Brett M]

Great cockpit work, John. Happy Thanksgiving!