1/48 Dragon Me 262B-1aU/1

by Rafi Ben-Shahar

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Amongst Dragon's offerings, this is my favorite kit. Five examples that fell into Allied hands were well documented although two others seems to have never been photographed. The kit is a challenge to build because of the high level of detailing. Perhaps, the best way to go about it is to practice first with the single seat version that sells for half the price of the equivalent Tamiya kit. The objective is to leave the putty in the toolbox. It is possible.

Additional detailing entailed antennae rods, gun bay from the single seat version, brake pipes and a spare CMK radar console. The Wk Nr. decal was also taken from the CMK 2 seat conversion kit because it resembles the real scripts. The most important detailing is the separation of wing slats from the base. On the real aircraft, the slats were closed only for maintenance and hight speed experimental flights. you do not have to buy aftermarket accessories for this amendment because they are expensive and are difficult to assemble. The best way to achieve a realistic result is to cut away the slats, make a filling in the gap between the wing halves from a styrene sheet and thin the trailing edge of the slats. The rods are also made from pieces of a styrene sheet. However, the attachment of the wings to the fuselage is more difficult with slats detached.

Any one knows about the camouflage patterns of the two obscured Me-262Bs?

Rafi

Photos and text © by  Rafi Ben-Shahar