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Me163 Komet, `Lil Red Tomato


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I`m a little late to the GB. My entry is the old almost ancient kit from Hasegawa. The parts are still in great shape, with very little flash. Panel lines are raised, i`ll be rescribing the kit. The markings will be the kit ones in Wolfgang Späte, commander of EK16. It was painted in red the night before its first combat mission, Wolfgang apparently displeased with the paint and ordering it repainted after the mission. http://www.xs4all.nl/~robdebie/me163/pkql.htm Gives a little more info. Will start tonight on the build.

Don

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This is a really old kit, with the fabric covered control surfaces having an exagerated fabric pattern. I cleaned it off by scraping away all the pattern with a knife blade, working gently and slowly. I left a little bit of a pattern as the plastic was getting a little thin and i didn`t want to break through. I`m planning on rescribing the rest of the kit using the Dragon and Academy kits as patterns. Wings are pretty simple, fuselage will be fun as there is a lot going on for such a small plane. First two pics show the aileron rework.

This shows the pattern on the bottom surface. The ailerons, flaps and slats all look like this

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Shows the result after scraping and sanding the aileron and flap on the top of the wing.

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The wing has a few access panels on the top, these are raised details i wanted to rescribe.

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I started by taking a piece of paper and laying it over the surface. I then took a pencil and rubbed it over the details and access panels, making sure i included reference points to line it up.

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I then sanded off the raised panels. I flipped the paper over and covered the surface by coloring in the areas under the panels. Flipped the paper over and taped it to the wing surface making sure the reference points lined up.

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I then took my scribing template and a scribe and traced over the access hatch outlines through the template. Removed the paper and had the outlines in pencil on the wing. I then rescribed as usual. I did it this way as the details were a little vague and i don`t have a lot of luck rescribing around existing raised detail.

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Don

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Don, I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance!

Looks good so far. :thumbsup:

Hello Mikester!! Had to clear a A-7D off the bench first before starting this build. Didn`t want to miss a Luftwaffe build!! Been busy scribing, scraping and riviting the build. The fit of the major parts is OK, but the raised details had to go. I used the Dragon kit as a pattern for most of the build, but several walkaround pics showed some errors. I did what i could and have finished most work. The top panels on the spine over the fuel tanks and ammo boxes will be done after the fuselage halves are assembled. There won`t be much in the way of cockpit work other than what was in the box. I finally figured out that i can`t scratch build `pits and their detail and if i want detailed work i need to go aftermarket. Anyway, a couple of pics showing some of the work with a wash to see the detail.

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Don

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looong time between updates!! I have to say, i almost launched this build as the panel lines across the spine took 4 tries before i said enough!! Had to fill with super glue and rescribe 4 times as i made many mistakes, still not the greatest but will live with it. Painted it last night, first priming with light grey then with Tamiya Flat Red. Glossed with Future and let dry overnight. Today i applied the kit decals. They worked well with HOT water and Set/Sol. Will hit it with a sealing coat of Future tomorrow then do a panel line wash Thursday. Just remembered, still have to do the dolly and other small parts.

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Don

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Hey guys, thanks for the feedback!! Yup, this thing is bright!! And small!! I`ll have to take pics beside a modern jet when it is done. Tonight i washed the panel lines with Promodeller Weathering wash. I then hit it with Model Master Acryl flat coat. I think i should have wiped a little more of the wash off, too late now as it has the sealer on it. Some pics for the nite.

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One pic to show the templates i use for scribing. These are from TriMaster and Verlinden. I bought these a looooong time ago. I also use Dymo tape and some scrap PE strips with evenly spaced holes as templates for riveting. I use scrap pieces of PE as well especially if the template wouldn`t let me align things because it hides reference spots.

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Don

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One pic to show the templates i use for scribing. These are from TriMaster and Verlinden. I bought these a looooong time ago. I also use Dymo tape and some scrap PE strips with evenly spaced holes as templates for riveting. I use scrap pieces of PE as well especially if the template wouldn`t let me align things because it hides reference spots.

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Wow, that's a great set of scribing templates Don! I've got some Hasegawa ones and some from Lion Roar, but you have some I don't recognise. Great work on the Komet too!

Kev

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Hello all!! Thanks for the feed back!! Scribing has always been "fun" for me. I think the Trimaster tools are the same as the Hasegawa set, haven`t seen the Verlinden set for a while. Never seen the Lion Roar set, should try and track them down. I don`t think i could ever use the words scribing and easy in the same sentence, unless it is "it`s real EASY to mess up when SCRIBING panel lines". Finished the build today, a few pics below.

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A couple to show how really small this thing is. The vertical tail just fits under the wing of the Tomcat, is about half the span of the `Cat.

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Don

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