1/72 unknown Me-262

by Franco Giacon (Italy)

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This is my first submission to ARC, sorry for the English and for the really common model!

I bought this kit some weeks ago in Ebay for only 2 euro : originally it was sold together with a magazine about 30 years ago and it was packed in a simple nylon bag, without any indication about  the producer.  I suppose it’s Airfix or Revell but.... The quality of the kit was simply awful : no particulars, no cockpit, no landing gear vane, anything but 16 pieces of a terrible plastic material...with the cockpit glass broken in 5 parts!!  But I very much wanted to try to transform this old kit into something that could appear as a plane!!  First of all I scratchbuilt the cabin floor and the landing gear vanes with a thin copper foil.  After, utilizing an aluminum foil and some pieces of electrical wire, I built the pilot seat and the safety belts.  The cloche is a section of a copper wire, the cockpit is made drilling a policarbonate pieces and filling the holes with Cristal Clear .

Click on images below to see larger images

  

After the mounting of the fuselage and about 2 tons. of putty to fix the wings, I tried to build the glass, utilizing the original one like a “stamp” to create the new one.  So I re-composed the “puzzle” and, after a good sanding, I fixed the glass  with thermo glue on a really solid steel nail.  Utilizing an electric warmer, I made a thin policarbonate sheet really soft and immediately I pressed it over the original glass.  Well, the result is not 100% OK but enough.  I had really fun building this toy, I hope you enjoy seeing it, also if not perfect ( I’m not so experienced in modeling).  My next model will be a terrible Heller G91 Gina !!  

Ah, I painted with Humbrol colours, varnished with Future and weathered with oil colours mixed to white petrol.

Greetings from Italy

Franco

Photos and text © by Franco Giacon