1/72 Airmodel Products Messerschmitt Me 163D

Gallery Article by Thomas Brückelt on Dec 17 2015

 

      

Fictional rocket fighter

To improve the famous Me 163 Komet, a new design basing on this rocket fighter was developed and built. It was the prototype Me 163D V1, which had a longer fuselage to carry more fuel. The serial version of the Me 163D and Me 263 should have a retractable landing gear.

For my model I used the old vacu-kit from Airmodel Products. It can be built in two versions: The early design with the higher fuselage (Me 163D V1) or the version with the bubble canopy (Me 263V1). I decided to make the first version but I wanted to show it as a fictional fighter.

The kit includes the outer hull of the rocket fighter, all what´s inside and all small parts must be built from scratch.

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From the beginning I was sure to show my model airborne. I placed a wooden piece inside the fuselage with a short silicone tube inside. Later the display´s rod is put inside there. I built a cockpit with a pilot including instrument panel, visor, sidepanels, stick and a seat.  The top of the fuselage of the earlier version I used is a bit too wide in the area of the canopy. So I glued some bended plastic sheets on the outside of 
the fuselage-halves in the front. After that I milled the contour of the canopy from the inside. The rest I filled up with some putty.  The other parts from the kit fit very well.

The model was painted with brush (colors: Revell, Enamel). I used decals which were left from other models. The white crosses come from tailormadedecals.com.  Finally I sprayed clear varnish over the Me 163D.

I enjoyed making this old kit, which is still available, very much. I can recommend it to experienced modellers who like making a very individual model with some scratch build parts.

Greetings from Germany

Thomas Brückelt

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Photos and text © by Thomas Brückelt