Messerschmitt Me 163 S, Academy 1/72

[Rheged]

Nano-bots.... I'm tellin' ya..... you all think I'm mad.... but you'll see 

Ian

It might not  be nanobots, it  could  be witchcraft..................on the other  hand, it might just  be a supremely  talented whiffer. However  you are doing it,I am  vastly impressed!!

[MichelC]

Thank you people for the additional comms! 

Ian, sorry to disappoint you but no links nor even pics of earlier builds as I didn't post before, feeling happy modeling all by my little lonesome... This changed when I started posting with the B&V 194, which you know already. But there is something I'm working on that you might find interesting. It's kind of a different thing even by Whatifmodelers.com standards! It's a work in progress but no way that I can show it before it's complete, you'll understand why when you get to see it. That should be around the time I finish the Komet, to which it is intimately related, so please bear with me!

Michel 

[dumaniac]

my eyes hurt just reading this - my old eyes barely cope with 48 scale

very nice work indeed

[MichelC]

Thank you Dumaniac for the kind words.

I have now pressed the 'pause' button on this build and hope it won't be for too long. I want to finish it before spring and I'll update this post as soon as I get back to it.

Michel

[MichelC]

Hi folks!

After close to 2 months away from the bench, gosh does it feel good to get glue on my fingers and the smell of paint in my nostrils!

Not much of an update but I thought I'd drop by and say hello. So here we go. 

Some work was done on the tail, removing the nozzle as the S had no engine.





Problem is, the joint will be visible on the inside. I think I'll just plug up the whole thing with a FOD cover. Simple and plausible.

Next I cut out the rudder. Just couldn't resist...



Before assembly of the fuse parts I covered the ejection ports from the inside (no weapons on the S either) with pieces of soda can. The aluminum finish will be left unpainted.





There are props for the tub in the lower fuse part but somehow the tub wouldn't fit, maybe because of the added PE, not sure. I made quick work of them. 





The fuse parts still woudln't join.



To pinpoint the trouble area I daubed some red paint onto the bottom of the tub and pressed the fuse parts together. Culprit caught in no time.



I got the fuse buttoned up after that with no more problem, just the tedious clean--up/re-scribing work.





That's where things stand.



See you soon with more news. 

M

[PR19_Kit]

Magic work as usual MichelC. 

I like the use of 'Modeller's Red' to pinpoint the fouling areas, makes a change from the Real World's 'Engineer's Blue'. 

[MichelC]

Yeah, beats dentist's black too! 

Thanks Kit, for the kind words.

M

[NARSES2]

I like the use of 'Modeller's Red' to pinpoint the fouling areas, makes a change from the Real World's 'Engineer's Blue'. 

Yes one to remember.

Great work as usual 

[MichelC]

Thanks Narses2 and hello everybody !

This Komet now has got a tail, although some work was needed to make that happen!

I removed the socket for the engine nozzle at the rear end of the fuse as the S didn't have an engine. However, I later realized that without the nozzle the seam on the inside will be visible. Hmm...we'll solve that later.  



The small vents were not present on the S so I filled them with bits of styrene melted with Tam Extra Fluid, my preferred filler for larger gaps.



I re-scribed the missing panel lines.



The small access panel was present only on the left side. The one on the right side was filled with CA.



The inside was tackled next. I find tail wheel bays are usually neglected by manufacturers and this kit is no exception.

Ejector pin marks were filled with CA.



Some Evergreen and aluminum foil were used to make the inside of the well.





Once the tail parts were glued together I closed off the rear opening with a FOD cover made from a piece of sprue of the right diameter, cut straight and at a 90 degrees angle and fitted so it exactly matches the opening.





Although the fuse/tail joint is a complex one, all went well and only some filler was needed where the joint doesn't follow a panel line.



Wings are on by now but I'll post pix later.  

M

[MichelC]

Here's the latest but first a pic of what I found in the mail box yesterday:



One more Komet book! 

Before gluing the wings I added the small Eduard PE parts around the gun ports. Later I'll plug the holes as the S had no guns anyway.



The wing/fuse joint is a pretty good fit, praise to Academy. To get it perfect I used the engineer's blue trick again (no red paint this time but a black felt pen). It worked so well that the seam almost disappeared in some areas and I had to re-scribe it!



The next shot was taken not for your benefit but to verify the dihedral. Yep, looks pretty much like zero, which is right. (Lest you wonder: I verified before gluing!)



Besides a good fit of the wings Academy also did the wing's warp very well. Without it the tailless bird would have been unstable.



That's were things are at.





Easter's coming up in this part of the world. Time to paint the eggs!






M

[dumaniac]

Cripes - i get eye strain just imagining your work - cracking stuff !

thanks for the pics

[NARSES2]

This really is amazing work and in this scale...well I'm lost for words 

[MichelC]

Thanks Dumaniac and NARSES2,

Getting ready to spray some paint tho I'm afraid I'll have to tackle the canopy first...

M

[crudebuteffective]

 

i dont think the real thing was built this well!!!!!

CBE

[MichelC]

Thanks a lot, CBE!

M