Matchbox Me 262

Decals with the paper on. Trying to remove the protection paper carefully....

Raised and recessed panel lines.

Paper removed, very dirty decals. I want to use what is possible, but I have a spare decal sheet for the 262 to complement or replace these.

Little pilot in his cockpit...

Primed in Vallejo grey primer.

Huge gap between engine mounting and the wing... I already filled it with putty before. Seems shrinking is a thing.

After some rounds of filling and sanding did my first try on preshading the raised and recessed panel lines by airbrush.

RLM76 Lichtblau

Painting the Lichtblau RLM76 up the sides. I am goning for the look of the cover picture.

RLM83 Dunkelgrün

RLM82 Hellgrün. Also trying to airbrush the Flecktarn or whatever the speckles are called. Low pressure (abut 9 or 10 psi), and about a 1:1 mix of thinner and Vallejo Model Air color.

On the cover the front of the engines look like metal or Lichtblau. I went for the metal look.

Airbrushed the yellow stripe with RLM04 Gelb.

Test with a decal that has no reference on any picture of the box or manual... it works 🙂 or at least it is placeable. No adhesion at all to the surface as soon as it is dry. Well, let's see what Mr. Mark Setter can do.

This worked better than expected. I was able to use all decals of the kit. The crosses on the wings seem a bit thick, but it seems thats what Matchbox had in mind. I thought about replacing themn with the thinner ones from the "Stürmbird" set, but decided against it. But I used the red lines of the "no step beyond" lines and some smaller warning signs like on the front of the engines. Next step ist gloss clear coat and then some glossy-ish finishing.

Finished! 🙂

The kit needs the bomb racks and these are so clunky, that the bombs are necessary.

Looks at least a little bit like the cover art 😉

Kommentarer

49 20 January 2023, 12:41

Roy McKay
Welcome aboard! I liked this kit as a kid. Haven't seen one since. It really reminds me of a shark. How accurate is the shape of this compared to the real thing?

20 January 2023, 23:11

DerMattes
Thank you Roy, I never built a Matchbox kit but remember them from toy stores as a kid.
I have no idea how accurate the shape is, but I will compare it to the Revell 262 kit. Also the gear bay doors fit perfectly in the fuselage, surprised by that.

21 January 2023, 10:07

Andy Ball
In many respects Matchbox were ahead of the game in their 70's moulding technology. I'll settle in for this one....

23 January 2023, 13:26

Dave Flitton
Watching

24 January 2023, 01:16

DerMattes
Thank you guys for the likes 🙂

24 January 2023, 07:52

Neil Patrick
Looking very nice already. I always thought that Matchbox captured the shapes much better than the old Airfix attempt and it wasn't really bettered until the Hasegawa and Revell versions appeared in the 1990s. Matchbox got a regular slamming for their panel lines, but I'd say the current Airfix kit's panel lines are only fractionally finer than this.

29 January 2023, 00:45

DerMattes
Thank you Neil! I never saw the old Airfix kits in stores here in Revell-Country, rarely there was a Italeri kit to be seen. I also never built an Airfix kit in my life, I hope this is not some kind heresy or something 😉
There are some Airfix kits in my stash and I am looking forward to build them, espacially the Buccaneer and the Harriers.

For the 262 I am going to do the decals today, I hope at least the white 10s are usable. Everything else is replaceable from the Aeromaster "Stürmbird" set. Yes, "Stürmbird", just keep the bird instead of Vogel and replace the U with a Ü to make it more german... 😄 😄

29 January 2023, 09:17

Jan Peters
Great work on this oldie 👍🏻

29 January 2023, 09:26

DerMattes
The decals worked better than expected. It seems all the dirt was on the paper. There was no adhesion left, but decal solutions worked pretty good. 🙂

29 January 2023, 16:10

DerMattes
I had fun building this old kit. But i think the next Me 262 will be the Revell one 😉

12 February 2023, 21:58