1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1 "2Z+BM" (Werksnr. 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6

Dizzyfugu · April 09, 2016, 05:55:10 AM

In the meantime, before the Cheetah GR.2 build for the "Cold War" GB started, this was finished: 1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe or Sturmvogel (English: "Swallow"/ "Storm Bird") was the world's second operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944.

The Me 262 was faster, and more heavily-armed than any Allied fighter, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor which entered service in the UK a month earlier than the Me 262. One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II, the Me 262 was used in a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance, and even experimental night fighter versions.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The latter was a variant that was direly needed, and the development of a fast night fighter led to several prototypes and an operational interim version. Several two-seat trainer variants of the Me 262, the Me 262 B-1a, had been adapted through the Umrüst-Bausatz 1 factory refit package as night fighters, complete with on-board FuG 218 Neptun high-VHF band radar, using Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae with a set of shorter dipole elements than the Lichtenstein SN-2 had used, as the B-1a/U1 version. Serving with 10 Staffel, Nachtjagdgeschwader 11, near Berlin, these few aircraft (alongside several single-seat examples) accounted for most of the 13 Mosquitoes lost over Berlin in the first three months of 1945.

Anyway, the Me 262 B-1a's deficiencies were clear from the start and in parallel Messerschmitt already worked on a dedicated night fighter variant that would offer a better performance (primarily concerning range and speed) than the converted trainer, which was, nevertheless, rushed into service and gathered valuable information.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Initially, the idea of a night-fighter 262 was developed independently by Messerschmitt as the Me 262B-2. It was to have a longer fuselage accommodating the two crew, internal fuel tanks with the capacity comparable to that of a single-seat variant, and a Berlin radar antenna hidden inside the modified nose cone. However, by the end of 1944 the war situation deteriorated so rapidly that it was realized that an interim solution must be found before the B-2 could reach production status.

Instead of the complex B-2 Messerschmitt also proposed a less ambitious approach which would use as many Me 262 fighter components as possible, primarily the aerodynamic surfaces, the engines and the landing gear. This proposal was accepted by the RLM in September 1944 and became the Me 262 G.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

This variant received a completely re-designed and aerodynamically refined fuselage. It was, from the start, tailored to carry the heavy radar equipment, a second crew member as radar operator and navigator and a bigger fuselage tank (the trainers that were converted into night fighters had part of their fuel capacity reduced to make place for the 2nd seat). The result was a slender, streamlined aircraft with a considerably smaller cross section than the Me 262 day fighter/bomber.
The crew was separated into two cabins in front and behind the fuselage main tank. This arrangement also offered enough space for a "Schräge Musik" installation (a pair of guns firing upwards, either two 20mm MG 151/20 or two 30mm MK 108), to allow the night fighter to attack RAF bombers from their belly blind spot.

The main armament was a pair of MK 103 30mm cannons - while this was a reduction of firepower compared to the Me 262 B-1a, the MK 103 was much more accurate, had a longer range and a much higher muzzle velocity (860 m/s (2,822 ft/s) versus 540 m/s (1,800 ft/s) with HE/M), so that targets could be engaged at longer distance with less expenditure of ammunition and further outside of the bombers' defensive fire.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The first operational version, the G-1, was ready for service in December 1944 and exclusively delivered to the NJG 6, based in southern Germany after withdrawal from Romania and regrouping.The G-1 still carried the FuG 218 Neptun radar, still coupled with a high drag Hirschgeweih antenna and with a FuG 350 Zc Naxos radar warning receiver/detector, but the G-1 was still faster than the B-1a and had a longer range on internal fuel than the B-1a with two external 300l drop tanks, which further reduced top speed. Later versions (G-2) were supposed to carry the more modern FuG 240 with a parabolic dish antenna under a more treamlined thimble nose radome, and a single seat long range reconnaissance version (G-3) was also planned, which would carry no guns but an camera array in the radar operators's place.

Anyway, only about 20 Me 262 G-1 were delivered to NJG 6 at all, and probably less than a dozen were operational when Germany surrendered. The G-3 recce variant remained on the drawing board, while two prototypes with radomes for the FuG 240 were under construction and underwent wind tunnel tests.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length overall: 11.67 m (38 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 12.60 m (41 ft 6 in)
Height: 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 21.7 m² (234 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,795 kg[101] (8,366 lb)
Loaded weight: 6,473 kg[101] (14,272 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,130 kg[101] (15,720 lb)
Powerplant:
Aspect ratio: 7.32

Powerplant:
2× Junkers Jumo 004 B-1 turbojets, 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf) each

Performance:
Maximum speed: 900 km/h (559 mph)
Range: 1,050 km (652 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,450 m (37,565 ft)
Rate of climb: 1,200 m/min (At max weight of 7,130 kg) (3,900 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.28

Armament:
2x 30mm MK 103 cannon in the lower front fuselage with 120 RPG
2x 30mm MK 108 cannon "Schräge Musik" installation with 80 RPG,
angled 70° upwards, between the cockpits
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles (rarely used)

The kit and its assembly:
Connoisseurs will immediately recognize this kitbash - and the Me 262 G was spawned from the thought that the Japanese Ki-46 was such an elegant aircraft - wouldn't a jet version somehow make sense? So, initially this was supposed to become a Hikoki '46 model, but when I held some Me 262 parts next to the Ki-46's fuselage the idea of a Luftwaffe night fighter was born.

And this actually worked better than expected. This whif is a kitbash of an Airfix Ki-46 fuselage with wings, tail, engines, landing gear and Hirschgeweih from a Revell Me 262 B-1a.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Mating the parts went pretty straightforward, even though I made a mistake when I measured the position of the wing under the fuselage. Somehow it ended up 4-5mm too close to the nose - while the flaw was acceptable I decided to add a 5mm plug behind the pilot cockpit to compensate... And the added length just underlines the elegant Ki-46 lines.

In order to keep the model on its three feet lots of lead beads were hidden in the fuselage, the nose tip and even the front ends of the engine nacelles. Since the Ki-46 fuselage is considerably smaller than the Me 262's I had to fill the wing roots with putty, but that was a rather easy task.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings:
I wanted something different from other German night fighters/bombers I had already built, yet a simple livery. Since many German night fighters left the factories in an overall RLM 76 finish I used this as a basis and just added mottles in RLM 75 on the upper surfaces - inspired by a Ta 154 Moskito night fighter prototype.
The cockpits were painted in very dark grey (RLM 66) while the landing gear and the respective wells were painted with RLM 02. Everything very conventional.

The markings were puzzled together - the national markings and stencils come from the Revell Me 262 B-1a sheet while the registration was created from single aftermarket letters, matching a hypothetical aircraft from 4. Staffel, II./NJG 6 in code and colors.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The kit received a light black in wash and some dry-brushing to emphasize panel lines. On the fuselage, however, I painted some panel lines with a pencil, since the Airfix Ki-46 is completely bare of details. Some soot stains around the guns were added with graphite and finally everything sealed under matt acrylic varnish.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 262 G-1; aircraft "2Z+BM" (Werksnummer 112306); 4. Staffel II./NJG 6, mount of Oberleutnant Hermann Handrick; Munich; April 1945 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A simple kitbashing project, and I am amazed how plausible the Ki-46/Me 262 mix looks, despite the mistake I made with the wing position. I wonder how a Ki-46 III with its streamlined cockpit would look in this case?

NARSES2 · April 09, 2016, 05:59:40 AM

That works really, really well

Dizzyfugu · April 09, 2016, 06:00:52 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on April 09, 2016, 05:59:40 AM
That works really, really well

Doesn't it? Thanks a lot!

Gondor · April 09, 2016, 06:11:11 AM

Very nice indeed

Gondor

TomZ · April 09, 2016, 08:56:01 AM

very nice idea

TomZ

nighthunter · April 09, 2016, 08:57:13 AM

That works very well!

su27rules · April 09, 2016, 09:13:53 AM

Interesting, works well!!

Tophe · April 09, 2016, 07:55:00 PM

Wonderful! Like a big brother of usual 262s...

(and I understand that a radar-equipped plane of that time should be as big as a Black Widow)

Dizzyfugu · April 10, 2016, 01:54:35 AM

Quote from: Tophe on April 09, 2016, 07:55:00 PM
Wonderful! Like a big brother of usual 262s...
(and I understand that a radar-equipped plane of that time should be as big as a Black Widow)

Actually, this "version" is not much bigger than the standard Me 262 night fighter. I also considered converting one of the fat P.1099 projects into a night fighter, but the Ki-46 solution appeared so plausible because it offered the same space for crew and equipment like the B-1 trainer, but with a much better layout, so that component storage would be more effective while relying on the given engines and wings. And the thing really looks good.

Thank you all very much for the positive feedbcak!

zenrat · April 10, 2016, 02:44:52 AM

Nice job Dizz.
Makes me wonder how it would look using a smooth nosed Ki-46?

Dizzyfugu · April 10, 2016, 02:49:53 AM

Quote from: zenrat on April 10, 2016, 02:44:52 AM
Nice job Dizz.
Makes me wonder how it would look using a smooth nosed Ki-46?

I wondered that, too. I have/had a Ki-46III in the stash, but that's earmarked for a different conversion. Should look very futuristic, though, maybe the G-3 recce variant mentioned in the background? The conversion itself was rather simple and easy, I'd love to see further mutations of this combo.

dumaniac · April 10, 2016, 03:32:58 AM

great imagination - great kitbash

PR19_Kit · April 10, 2016, 04:02:43 AM

That's amazing, who'd have thought that such a mix-and-match would have worked so well.

It's a good thing that the various manufacturers all use similar sorts of styrene. Imagine if Revell plastic wouldn't glue onto Airfix plastic, this conversion would have been impossible and we Whiffers wouldn't exist as an entity.........

Captain Canada · April 11, 2016, 05:09:39 AM

Woah...that has to be one of the nicest shaped aeroplanes I've seen in awhile ! Everytime I see an aeroplane that I want to pick up and fly around the room I know I'm in love. I can see an afternoon full of take offs and landings. Nice. Great job on the camo as well.

DogfighterZen · April 12, 2016, 11:43:09 AM

It is hard to keep up with the number of great builds this guy keeps putting out...
Keep'em coming!