Messerschmitt Me 163 S, Academy 1/72

[MichelC]

Last pix before painting!

The pitot was redone with a hypo needle.



The rudder was put in place before painting or it'd be impossible to keep the mottling consistent. The other controls will be painted separately.





Ready to go!



M

[MichelC]

Hi folks, 

The heavy use and abuse this whif Komet trainer has been subjected to warrants signs of wear. Hence an undercoating for chipping purposes.

I did the wings first. The Komet had wooden wings, primed with a reddish-brown paint. I made my own mix, approximating what can be seen on pics of the real thing.



Next I did the fuse with MM Aluminum Plate.





Next up: fix the boo-boos revealed by the metalizers.  

M

[tc2324]

Loving the look of this, not to mention the attention to detail. 

[PR19_Kit]

Metalizers? Shouldn't that be 'woodalizers' for the wing? 

Looks amazing, and even more so when you know just how much work has gone into it. 

[MichelC]

Thank you guys!

Kit, woodalizers didn't point up any boo-boos, only the metalizers did! 

I fixed those, BTW. The fun part is about to start.

M

[MichelC]

Well I found some boo-boos on the wings too after all! Why is it that one always has to overlook scratches only to find them later? I do anyway...



That's White-Out. Dries hard and extremely fast.

Other than that the Gunze RLM 76 Lichtblau went on like a breeze. I lightened it with flat white at a 35% ratio for scale effect and later darkening through washes, etc. 





I applied liquid masking stuff (Gunze) to the wings roots and other strategic spots on the fuse for the chipping. I daubed it on with a sponge.



Next I'll add some variety to the monotone with different shades of the same color.

M

[MichelC]

Some piccies of the the bird after post-shading.











That concludes the RLM 76 chapter. I'll try and finish with the painting this w/e. 

M

[NARSES2]

I'm still struggling with this being 1/72. The real thing wasn't built/painted with as much care 

[PR19_Kit]

I'm still struggling with this being 1/72. The real thing wasn't built/painted with as much care 

What Chris said! 

On my laptop the piccies are LARGER than life size! 

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

I really feel for builders' when 'in progress' build threads attract comments like "Can't wait to see it finished..." or "What scheme are you going to do ??...", simply because it puts so much more pressure on the poor modeller. That said, I really can't wait for the next batch of Michel's progress shots, each time it's a privilege and an education.

Just incredible work, friend. And I really am looking forward not just to seeing this in its' finished glory, but also to your next project.

Ian

[MichelC]

Thank you all for your nice words.  

Ian, true it might put pressure on the modeler but I don't see it this way. Comments like those act as a motivation for me. We're all suckers for appreciation I guess. Human nature. But modelers are really an extremely nice bunch. In my book, it's worth taking up the hobby just for the company! So here's to all of you!  

And now to the build.

After post-shading the RLM 76 it was time to add some more color. I wasn't sure what I was going to spray this bird with and have been pondering the matter since the beginning of the build. The RLM 81/82 scheme usually seen on Komets didn't appeal. Then I saw a 163 in a nice 74/75/76 scheme on another forum. I really liked that one but then the guy'd just done it so I didn't want to copycat. But then it clicked! Recombine the two standard patterns and voilà!

A Komet in 75/82/76 scheme! Never seen on a Komet, at least not on any that survived (to my knowledge, I might be wrong).

And here're the piccies.





The 82 is lightened with 30% flat white. 20% for the 75. Might seem a bit too light but you have to realize that the real thing is about half size of what you see in the pic so scale effect is about right. (Plus I like faded colors.)

Done with Gunze, free-handed.

Next I'll break the monotone with some random post-shading and then tackle the mottles.

M

[MichelC]

Did the post-shading yesterday night and here're the pics.







Tonight I'll do the mottling. 

M

[MichelC]

Yesterday I did the really fun part: mottling!





















I used the same paint as for the wings, lightened to the same ratio. Some of the mottles were picked out with a slightly darker shade of the same color, sprayed into the center. To make it look like what you can see on the pics of the real thing, ya know...

Hoping you like it.

A final pic to put things in perspective. 



Cheers!



M

[NARSES2]

I'm glad you included the photo with the paint pot, it just brings out just how small this is

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Oh yes, love applying a mottle too, used to scare the life out of me, but now I really enjoy it !!

Ian