He 162 Volksjager, 1946

pyro-manic · July 04, 2008, 04:36:46 PM

Right, I'm in for this. I need to get on with doing things like painting (scares the hell out of me!), so I'm going to do a quick build as part of this GB. I'm going to do a He 162 in fictional 1946 markings.

Here's the kit I'm using:

Nice little kit - not the most detailed one around, but it looks decent enough. And for four quid, you can't really argue.

Main assembly done (very quick to build), and base-coated with primer. A few little seams and gaps to fill, and then I can get on with final assembly and painting.

cthulhu77 · July 04, 2008, 05:14:51 PM

There you go, making the rest of us look lazy !

pyro-manic · July 04, 2008, 05:29:19 PM

Just watch me fail to finish it.

There's only about 9 pieces glued together there anyway. Doesn't exactly take long.

The scheme I'm going to do is a fictional airshow display scheme. The idea is that somehow the war in Europe ends without Germany being completely wiped out (maybe Hitler is assassinated, and the new leaders broker a peace deal with the Western Allies), and the He162 (with the major bugs ironed out) is displayed at airshows to show off German technology. I'm thinking a bare metal and white finish, with red details.

John Howling Mouse · July 04, 2008, 06:57:45 PM

You can do it, P-M! Don't let the paint worry you. That should be the FUN part!

Weaver · July 05, 2008, 02:57:55 AM

Nice idea - I like display/manufacturer's demonstrator schemes; have a few in mind myself.

If it's a company demonstrator, then it could have an "appropriate" civil reg. like D-VOLK or D-LZRD....

(BAe's demo Hawk is registered G-HAWK, Aermacchi's uprated MB-339C demo was I-GROW, and the corresponding single-seater MB-399K with guns was I-BITE)

BlackOps · July 05, 2008, 06:56:11 PM

Get one color down and the rest will follow

GTX · July 05, 2008, 07:27:05 PM

Some possible inspiration:

See here for more.

Regards,

Greg

BlackOps · July 05, 2008, 09:00:06 PM

Inspiration? Heck that's downright intimidating! Gorgeous though

pyro-manic · July 06, 2008, 01:33:55 AM

Bloody hell. I'm not going to be able to match that!

pyro-manic · July 09, 2008, 02:34:52 PM

Well, the weather is trying to sabotage my build it seems, the rain having been pretty much constant since the weekend, so very little progress has been made. I stood the aircraft on it's landing gear, only to realise that it's very tail-heavy. I may have to make a base and glue the thing down to solve this. I'm hoping the weather clears tomorrow, so I can get the base colours on (I'll be hand-painting the details, but there's no way I'm painting the white uppers by hand!). Fingers crossed...

pyro-manic · July 13, 2008, 03:06:52 PM

I've got the base colours on, at least. Doubtful I'll get this thing finished by the deadline, but it'll be done in the next few days. Photos to follow when I take the masking off...

EDIT: Bleh, that's torn it. The white paint has turned out all bubbly and pitted. I'll have to sand it down and start again.

pyro-manic · July 15, 2008, 04:23:20 PM

OK, here's the basic colours after the masking has been taken off. I think I managed to mostly fix the bubbly effect on the white spray, and anything else can be corrected when I hand-paint the details. The metallic belly colour is Halfords Mercedes Brilliant Silver, and the upper white is BMW Alpine White. It's actually more of a light grey, but it's pretty nice. I think I my have sprayed it on a little too thickly - when I took the masking off, it left a little flaky bit in some areas, but I should be able to remove this carefully with a sharp blade.

Still to do is the detail painting, and then markings. I'm thinking of keeping them simple - just the crosses on the wings and fuselage, and badges/ID numbers on the rudders. I'm also going to highlight some of the details in red - the wingtips, the engine intake lip, and maybe the rudders. I might also put a lightning bolt or something down the sides of the engine.

Thoughts, comments and criticisms, please.

Also, if a mod could move this to "current projects", as I failed to finish for the 1WGB.

pyro-manic · July 25, 2008, 09:29:30 AM

A little more progress on this build - I've started adding the accent colours. The paint is going on a little streaky, but enough coats should even it out eventually. I'm still undecided about the amount of weathering I should do. This is a display ship, so there shouldn't be too much grime, but the white would show up any dirt rather easily...

Also, a gratuitous shot of my new dedicated modelling area. Up 'til now I've been pretty much working out of a box, so it's fantastic having a space (however small!) solely for "me" stuff.

A cheap table and stool from Ikea, and it makes a huge difference. You can see my current projects on the table, as well as some of my 1/100 scale Gundam models at the back. The stash and other bits and bobs are in the boxes underneath.

pyro-manic · July 26, 2008, 03:30:15 PM

A little more progress - the main markings are on. I'm not sure whether to put swastikas on the tails, or leave them off (I'm not sure which way to go with the alt history - is the Nazi regime still in power, or did it fall with Hitler's death/the peace treaty with the West?). They'd look good on the red, but I'm not sure I want to clutter it up too much...?

Your thoughts?

Chap · July 26, 2008, 03:47:28 PM

Very Nice, the Swastika is your personal choice; however I think it would look nice with a red sunburst pattern on either the top or bottom of the wings. Similar to the Pitts Special (just minus the stars):

~Steve