Me 262 B-1

New brush christened, as I want to try to bring out the instrument panel gauges. 

Basic colours laid down before assembly. 

Busy cockpit looking okay so far. 

Some cockpit colour added, to frame the grey instrument panels. 

The co-pilot's office is looking very empty. 

The co-pilot's office was empty, so I faked some panels with tape, and the tip of a cocktail stick was used for the dots/switches. Now it looks more purposeful. 

Still looking too bland.... 

So, a few brightly-coloured knobs and switches added, to catch the eye. I've since also added knobs to the two boxes, at the sides. 

Fuselage closed up, with lead in the nose. 

Central section of the wings added. 

Filler on the joins, and rubbing smooth started. 

Wings to be added next. 

Starting to take shape....bare plastic and some filler, and now primer too, so far. 

 

....and now some light blue-grey to the undersides. 

I'll have mask the upper sides before adding the next colour, but everything has to thoroughly dry first. 

Started on the small parts too. 

Masking tape harnesses. Should be okay when the canopy is on. 

Areas marked out with masking tape. Dark green first... 

Dark green brushed on, two coats. 

Hmmm....violet brown? A mix of blue and red perhaps? 

Bold! But definitely a strong violet, I guess.... 

Hmm... Definitely needs to be more brown. 

Soft mottling of green to sides, and onto the violet too, next. 

Mottling done, but the violet was too strong. So, a dilute coat of dark brown over the violet has been added. Much better 🙂 

I think that's it til it all dries, then I'll gently sand down any edges, where the paint built up at the edges of the masking tape. 

A gentle tickle with a very fine sand-paper has evened out most of the paint ridges, and also emphasised the raised panel lines. I'll touch in where the primer is shining through too much before applying a gloss coat. 

Decals being added, after a gloss coat. Just some stencils to add, plus signs on the front of the engines. 

I should have rubbed the paint ridges down more. Next time.... 

Soo tricky to centre the decals on circular features - they disappear as soon as they are wetted 🙁 That filler joint should have been better too..... I may re-visit it, and tidy up the paint above the wing root too. I'll have to progress the canopy soon, too..... 

Red dotted lines added. 

So, decals all done, undercarriage installed, pitot and aerials added. Oh, and the canopy painted (loose fitted for now). 

Definitely not a nose-sitter. I've added hub caps to each wheel, glued to the protruding ends of the axles. Tidier appearance, and the wheels still rotate 

 

 

 

Last peep inside the cock-pit. 

The canopy can now be fixed, with white glue.