1/48 Tamiya Me-262 A1-"White 3"

[mustang1989]

I've been wanting to build this aircraft for a very long time and have had two in my stash. I really wished I wouldn't have gotten rid of my Dragon Me-262A-1a Nachtjager version but this Tamiya A-1 kit was a good kit to build. I had set out to build Franz Stigler's plane from JV-44 late in the war. I read Adam Makos' book , A Higher Call several years ago and he was one of the main people that the story centered around. Long story short....he was going to shoot down a severely shot up B-17 and decided to lead them out of Germany instead. Afterwards he was assigned to JV-44 (pretty much Germany's last remaining fully operational air defense unit which was made up of the very best remaining fighter pilots) where he flew this aircraft. If you haven't read this book I won't give anything away but I'll just say that is a very powerful read.

The kit is one that has been around for a while from Tamiya:

There are a couple of schemes that could've been his bird but this is the one here that I went with as it just looks so dang cool....

I used Vallejo acrylics to replicate the paint and went with Eagle Cals for 95% of the markings and Peddinghaus for the #3 numerals on the side. Note.....never use the Peddinhaus offerings. Other than the #3 the stencils and other markings were just way out of scale. I had some trouble with the windscreen ended up removing it, sanding the fuselage and windscreen joints to get a better fit but that was about the only problem I had out of this awesome kit.

Anyhow....after 6+ months...here is the completed build:

Edited July 9, 2021 by mustang1989

[bamadon]

Great job! I enjoyed following this one.

[oldscool]

Very nice work!

[mustang1989]

4 hours ago, bamadon said:

Great job! I enjoyed following this one.

Thank you Don and thanks for following. I've got a Mustang build I'll be doing and I've given strong thought to building a Mistel. I'll have to build a display case just for that one though. lol 

 

3 hours ago, oldscool said:

Very nice work!

'Preciate that Gerald!! 

[Vietnam Vet67]

Saw this one at the Air Force  Museum years ago.

 

[bisc63]

This build was a fun ride and a nice change of pace. You've built a model to be proud of; just beautiful. Well done.

[Jim B]

Great looking Schwalbe.  I've always like this aircraft, and A Higher Call is on my "to read" list. (It's a long list.)

[TonyK]

This is amazing! Looking at your build was so impressive and then I saw the engine, cockpit and wheel wells and smiled at the excellent detail. Very cool. And I might have to read the book you mentioned. Interesting tidbit you gave us.

[PappyD340]

Looks great!

[mustang1989]

On 7/8/2021 at 10:20 PM, Vietnam Vet67 said:

Saw this one at the Air Force  Museum years ago.

 

Truly remarkable aircraft and this one's a beautiful example. Thanks for sharing that.

[mustang1989]

On 7/9/2021 at 12:59 AM, bisc63 said:

This build was a fun ride and a nice change of pace. You've built a model to be proud of; just beautiful. Well done.

Thanks Rusty. Glad to have had you along for the ride. Lots of good conversation.

On 7/9/2021 at 8:24 AM, Jim B said:

Great looking Schwalbe.  I've always like this aircraft, and A Higher Call is on my "to read" list. (It's a long list.)

Thanks Jim. I appreciate the good word and you're gonna love that story. White 3 will be showing up towards the last part of the book. 

On 7/9/2021 at 10:16 AM, TonyK said:

This is amazing! Looking at your build was so impressive and then I saw the engine, cockpit and wheel wells and smiled at the excellent detail. Very cool. And I might have to read the book you mentioned. Interesting tidbit you gave us.

Really thankful for your supportive comments Tony. I'd recommend this kit to anyone that wanted to build a 262. The book......well.....you'll love it. 

On 7/10/2021 at 6:51 AM, PappyD340 said:

Looks great!

Thank ya Larry!!! 'Preciate you stoppin' in man.