Tamiya's 1/48 scale
Messerschmitt Me 262A

by Ian Robertson

Tamiya's 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a is available online from Squadron.com

This is an out-of-the-box build of Tamiya’s 1/48 Me.262A-1a. It is depicted in the markings of “white 5” from the experimental jet fighter unit known as Erprobungskommando (EKdo = Operational Test Detachment) 262 based in Lechfeld, late 1944. The aircraft is painted in standard RLM 74/75/76 with a distinctive yellow band around the fuselage. Of note is the large solid white swastika.

The WkNr for “white 5” is given as 170045 in a profile in Peczkowski’s “Messerschmitt Me262A Schwable” (Mushroom Model Magazine, 2002 – pg 70); however, it may be speculative as I haven’t tracked down a complete image of the tail for this particular aircraft. Several photographs of “white 5” appear in Murawski’s “Me.262 In Combat” (Kagero Publications, 2003 – pp 15, 22, 23, 42). A photo is also included in Osprey’s “German Jet Aces of WWII” by Morgan and Weal (pg 15, 3rd aircraft in lineup

Close up photos of the nose in the Kagero book reveal that the white “5” has a thin black outline.

The model was painted entirely with Polly Scale Acrylics. Decals were scrounged from spares.

The turf on the base is Heki grass, available online in the US at Scenic Express.

Images were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5400 digital camera.

The "sharpen edges" tool of Adobe Photoshop was used to restore some of the clarity and crispness lost during image compression.

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images:

German Jet Aces of World War 2 Aircraft of the Aces 17   Author: Hugh Morgan, John Weal Illustrator: John Weal US Price: $19.95 UK Price: £2.99 Publisher: Osprey Publishing Publish Date:  January 15, 1998 Details: 100 pages; ISBN: 1855326345 Shop Buy it from Osprey Publishing

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2005 by Ian Robertson
Page Created 06 December, 2005
Last Updated 06 December, 2005

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