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Tamiya Me-262a1 "White 3"


mustang1989

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I've been wanting to build this aircraft for a very long time and have had two in my stash. I really wished I wouldn't have gotten rid of my Dragon Me-262A-1a Nachtjager version but this Tamiya A-1 kit was a good kit to build. I had set out to build Franz Stigler's plane from JV-44 late in the war. I read Adam Makos' book , A Higher Call several years ago and he was one of the main people that the story centered around. Long story short....he was going to shoot down a severely shot up B-17 and decided to lead them out of Germany instead. Afterwards he was assigned to JV-44 (pretty much Germany's last remaining fully operational air defense unit which was made up of the very best remaining fighter pilots) where he flew this aircraft. If you haven't read this book I won't give anything away but I'll just say that is a very powerful read.

The kit is one that has been around for a while from Tamiya:

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There are a couple of schemes that could've been his bird but this is the one here that I went with as it just looks so dang cool....

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I used Vallejo acrylics to replicate the paint and went with Eagle Cals for 95% of the markings and Peddinghaus for the #3 numerals on the side. Note.....never use the Peddinhaus offerings. Other than the #3 the stencils and other markings were just way out of scale. I had some trouble with the windscreen ended up removing it, sanding the fuselage and windscreen joints to get a better fit but that was about the only problem I had out of this awesome kit.

Anyhow....after 6+ months...here is the completed build:


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Great looking build Joe! I think that you have just the right amount of weathering, plus wear and tear on the aircraft. 

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Great Build. Agree on the "Higher Call" book..Great Read and Interesting human retrospective. I have also built Stigler's Africa 109, his Late war Bf109G, and the Me 262. Enjoyed your Model.

Cheers

Bill

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Beautifully done and a fine tribute to Franz Stigler! I also read the book. Amazing. One thing I really was impressed with was the fact that when Adam Makos approached Charlie Brown about writing his story; Charlie told him he needed to write about Franz Stigler.  Adam refused since he only wanted to write about Allied personnel and their experiences. Charlie insisted that his story was just as much about Franz and if Adam didn't want to write about him, Charlie and his crew would not help him with the book. So Adam relented and the story is so much more effective because of it.

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8 hours ago, dmorrissette said:

Nice./ One of my favorite planes!

Dave

 

Thanks Dave! Mine too....surprised I haven't built any more of these.

7 hours ago, Stikpusher said:

Great looking build Joe! I think that you have just the right amount of weathering, plus wear and tear on the aircraft. 

'Preciate that Carlos! It was a balancing act for sure.

6 hours ago, wdedig said:

Great Build. Agree on the "Higher Call" book..Great Read and Interesting human retrospective. I have also built Stigler's Africa 109, his Late war Bf109G, and the Me 262. Enjoyed your Model.

Cheers

Bill

Thank you Bill. Wow! I may have to check out YOUR builds of all those!! 

4 hours ago, Mark Deliduka said:

Beautifully done and a fine tribute to Franz Stigler! I also read the book. Amazing. One thing I really was impressed with was the fact that when Adam Makos approached Charlie Brown about writing his story; Charlie told him he needed to write about Franz Stigler.  Adam refused since he only wanted to write about Allied personnel and their experiences. Charlie insisted that his story was just as much about Franz and if Adam didn't want to write about him, Charlie and his crew would not help him with the book. So Adam relented and the story is so much more effective because of it.

Thanks Mark!! I thought that was interesting about Adam's take at first but I know he's glad he did it Charlie's way. That was for sure an amazing book!!! 

Edited by mustang1989
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