1/32 Me 262B-1, Revell or Trumpeter?

[Tony T]

7 hours ago, Darren Howie said:

Might be nice if Radu chimed in but i believe the story for the two seater Revell kit is different than the single seater.

Single seater A ok.

Two seater released first had the final round of engineering changes omitted/ignored so kit went to tooling with size issues on internal bulkheads etc creating numerous fit problems that have been seen in reviews and builds.

Similar issues to the initial run of the F-18E.

F-18E has been tweaked a but but still has a lit of work AND instructions tell you now to modify numerous parts to get some fit with less issues but still issues.

No idea if the 262 two seater has had anything modified.

There was a long post where Radu spoke about the production issue at the time ie Revell going live while issues remained in the engineering.

Pretty sure the single seater was fixed ie bulkhead fit etc as i have one that fitted well.

 

That's useful to know. Will pay attention and do lots of dry fitting with my Own B/U.

 

Sandingsticks rather than fiddlesticks.

 

Tony

[Radub]

7 hours ago, Darren Howie said:

Might be nice if Radu chimed in but i believe the story for the two seater Revell kit is different than the single seater.

Single seater A ok.

Two seater released first had the final round of engineering changes omitted/ignored so kit went to tooling with size issues on internal bulkheads etc creating numerous fit problems that have been seen in reviews and builds.

Similar issues to the initial run of the F-18E.

F-18E has been tweaked a but but still has a lit of work AND instructions tell you now to modify numerous parts to get some fit with less issues but still issues.

No idea if the 262 two seater has had anything modified.

There was a long post where Radu spoke about the production issue at the time ie Revell going live while issues remained in the engineering.

Pretty sure the single seater was fixed ie bulkhead fit etc as i have one that fitted well.

 

 

 

There is a lot to unpack here, so please bear with me. Not everything in the above statement is correct. The F-18 and the Me 262 models have nothing in common. Different designers, different research team, different tool shop. Putting the two together is misleading. The only connection is the label on the box. 

Secondly, no change was made to the tooling between the two-seater and the single-seater. The mold uses inserts to change the fuselage in the cockpit area, but everything else is identical. The reason why no one is complaining about any "fit issues" with the bulkhead on the single-seater is because there may actually not be any "fit issues" as such. The bulkhead is the same between the two kits, the fuselage is the same in that area between the two kits. Let us address the issue of the "ill-fitting" bulkhead. This was first mentioned on this forum by a member who put all the cockpit parts together with masking tape, tried to fit it all together, it did not fit and concluded that the bulkhead was the problem. This caught like wild fire and was used as the battle cry by those who insisted hat this model is worse than the Trumpeter model. It is still mentioned as an issue. I remember having a conversation a few years ago with the editor of a model magazine who said that he would never build the Revell two-seater Me 262 kit because of the "bulkhead issue". I asked him if he tried building it and he said that he did not even get the kit because he read the "tales of horror" on the internet. The thing is that if one was to assemble the model following the instructions (not just slap it together), the bulkhead fits fine. Evidence of that is that the "bulkhead issue" magically disappeared when people built the single-seater Me 262 (which, as explained, is identical in that area). The fit of the bulkhead into the groove on the inside of the fuselage may be a bit tight and my advice was to "chamfer" or "bevel" a bit the edges of the bulkheads (that is the extent of the "trim" needed) and things should work fine. Dry-fit and adjust if needed, just like any other model. 

Now, the cowls over the cannon bay is an issue that I agree is problematic, but it can be fixed with a little bit of careful fitting. There were some problems with the tooling of the part with the cannon ports. However, I am surprised that no aftermarket manufacturer ever thought about making a replacement resin part for the top part of the nose, or even a whole cannon bay section for that matter. 

As for what to choose between the Revell and Trumpeter kit, just get the one you want. Either will build in to a good looking model. Either has some issues. Either requires some work, neither is a shake-and-bake model. However, the Trumpeter two-seater has some severe accuracy issues with the cockpit and canopy. The canopy is too tall and the cockpit lacks the very noticeable canopy jettison system, affecting the model irrespective of whether it is displayed with the canopy open or closed - these issues were discussed before. 

HTH 

Radu 

[oyoy5]

Thank you Radu for explaining, this was very helpful.

[Thunnus]

I noted on my build of the Revell 262B that the bulkhead at the front of the cockpit had some subtle but noticeable "tabs" on its edges.

 

 

Since the accepting groove in the fuselage is uniform, a modeler may be tempted to sand the tabs on the edge of the bulkhead down to create a correspondingly smooth mating surface.

 

Radu said he did not recognize the tabs from his CAD work for the model and recommended removal but I found that the bulkhead fit fine without trimming or modification.  

 

[Kongo]

On 4/8/2022 at 2:20 PM, thierry laurent said:

Revell Is more accurate ( canopy, wing,etc.).

Please, where exactly is the wrong shape of the wings and Canopy of the Me-262 A-1a Trumpeter?
Is it possible to put photos?

Edited April 16, 2022 by Kongo

[thierry laurent]

43 minutes ago, Kongo said:

Please, where exactly is the wrong shape of the wings and Canopy of the Me-262 A-1a Trumpeter?
Is it possible to put photos?

I do not have access to such kits now. So this is coming out of my memory. I can tell you it looks they mixed features of the trainer and nightfighter and this resulted in a too tall canopy. Trumpeter also forgot the canopy internal mechanism. With regard to the wing, the angles of the Trumpeter ones are not fully accurate but it is only obvious if you put it close to a model without such a problem. Moreover, the depiction of the slats is quite basic. And various sections of the engines are underscaled. Last, the cockpit tub fixing points are clumsy and visible from the main LG bay. Those are the main issues I am remembering.

 

[Kongo]

I always thought that the Trumpeter Me-262A-1a is an enlarged copy of the Me-262A-1a Tamiya 1/48

Thierry ,thank you so much for your reply

 

 

[Tony T]

4 hours ago, Kongo said:

I always thought that the Trumpeter Me-262A-1a is an enlarged copy of the Me-262A-1a Tamiya 1/48

Thierry ,thank you so much for your reply

 

Radu has said the canopy issue is with the Trumpy two seater not the A-1a single seater.

The Trumpy wings on all its Schwalbe are 1⁰ out on each wing = looked at as hands on a clock they are collectively two degrees short in sweep. 

 

HTH

 

Tony