SPA Modeler

Still in the procrastination mode and filling with some of the final small details. The loop antenna was redone to fine tune its shape and also so that it is oriented vertically when mounted at an angle.


The plastic radar array will be replaced with this Master brass Neptun upgrade.


Very easy to assemble.


Mounting to the narrow stalks on the plastic part was very dicey as it was very difficult to drill the necessary holes. I was barely able to manage it.


I'll shoot this with primer. If the joint is too messy, I'll have consider re-doing the connection.

Thatvarray looks sharp, as does the loop antenna. You are a wizard.

Yikes on those antennas! I’m surprised that no mounting brackets were provided made from brass also.

That is a huge detail upgrade!

I'm taking in your entire build and it is very inspiring to me. I have this kit and was thinking of leading off with it. I'm not so certain at this time. I may take a different tack for my first build. I cannot follow this, and it would be remiss to at least see it through till the end to learn all I could before even attempting it.

Awesomeness on these pages.

Thanks guys! The radar assembly is quite delicate but I guess necessarily so. Hopefully, I won't be clumsy and break one off.

Dragline wrote:I'm taking in your entire build and it is very inspiring to me. I have this kit and was thinking of leading off with it. I'm not so certain at this time. I may take a different tack for my first build. I cannot follow this, and it would be remiss to at least see it through till the end to learn all I could before even attempting it.

Awesomeness on these pages.

Hey, don't be afraid to jump in with the 262! It's a good kit and an enjoyable build. In fact, please join me so that we can team up against all of these Mustang builds and show them what true air superiority looks like!

Still futzing around and being gun-shy about starting the painting on this build. I still need to paint the wheels so I did that instead. I'm using the resin replacements from Barracuda Studios, which come with some nice hydraulic line details for the main wheels.


I've painted the rubber portions first, with a mix of flat black, grey and brown to simulate worn rubber. The color is progressively lightened as I travel from the wheels to the tread surfaces.


I scanned the wheels and made adhesive masks with the Silhouette Portrait. I really LOVE having the Portrait... so useful! The metal hubs are painted in black and then the wheels were given a gloss coat.


To highlight the tread, you can either go light and portray dirt/mud in the treads or go dark. I'm going dark since I think this gives a better impression of an aircraft operating off tarmac, which may or may not be true of these jets.

Those tyres are really high quality ones, paintwork done, as expected, perfectly!

And indeed, nice detail the hydraulic lines

- Kari

Oh wow! I really like those antennas John.

I enjoyed the Zoom meeting on Saturday... it was fun talking shop with a bunch of like-minded people! Looking forward to the next one.

I had my laptop set up in my hobby room and as the attendees could see, I couldn't help tinker with what was on my workbench, which were the wheels for the Me262. After the gloss coat, I applied the kit-supplied decals on the wheels which included the red alignment markers. The tread was given a dark wash as explained previously.


The last step was to introduce some stains using a light-colored pastel wash. Instead of trying to avoid the tide marks that are sometimes associated with pastel washes on flat surfaces, I use them to create discrete stains on the tires. Since it is a water-based wash, it wipes off easily. So I use a few iterative steps to create stains and wiping them off partially.



In the meantime, I am adding some bits and pieces to the main model. The drop tank racks have been glued in.


The kit aileron control linkage has been upgraded with the PE bits from Eduard.

The landing gear looks great John. The tires & wheels look perfect. I agree with you about the 262s operating off of a paved runway. I can’t imagine the jets operating off of a rough airstrip. Too much chance for FOD ingestion.