Tamiya's 1/48 scale "Clear Edition"
Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a

by Hank Gruben

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Here are some pictures of my 1/48 clear edition Me262 from Tamiya. The kit is built straight out of the box with the exception of the decals (spares box) and the lap belts which are from Eduard.

As is different from the earlier offerings from Tamiya, this one comes with a clear fuselage, clear engine pods and decals to show off the clear stuff once you’re through building. As a bonus, you also get two complete engines with stands to show them off! I choose to build one for display in the clear pod and one for the engine rack.

I wanted to show a late war camo (all the squiggly lines, et al) so I applied some spares box super scale decals and painted the Reich defense bands using a combination of Vallejo and Tamiya clear colours. Before applying the camo, I clear coated everything with future to get a brilliant gloss. The camo was applied with a Paasche single action airbrush at 40 psi.

The display engine is painted completely with Alclad paints. Even the black!

The base is from my local craft store with balsa wood strips and generic greenery. All parts, paints, planks and plants are from my favourite hobby shop.

In conclusion, this is a pricey kit but the plethora of extra parts, combined with the challenge of building a great fitting clear kit are worth it…

 

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Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2004 by Hank Gruben
Page Created 30 April, 2004
Last Updated 29 April, 2004

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