Messerschmitt Me 262

Cockpit Upgrade,

Main Wheels and

Four Gun Access Cover

Meteor Productions

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

The new 1/48 scale Tamiya Messerschmitt Me 262 is a magnificent model in terms of accuracy, detail and fit of parts.

Cutting Edge has released a small range of accessories that acknowledge the quality of the base kit, and improve or modify a few noticeable aspects:

CEC48368 - Me 262A Cockpit Upgrade

As the name implies, Cutting Edge's 1/48 scale Me 262 Cockpit Upgrade builds on the good basic Tamiya kit parts to add extra detail and a few new features to the front office of this pioneering jet.

Cutting Edge's Me 262 Cockpit Upgrade comprises 19 parts in grey resin and one acetate instrument sheet.

The kit tub, rear bulkhead and heel plates are used as a platform for the resin parts. The upgrade set includes a replacement seat with moulded-on harness, rudder pedals to replace the slightly undersized items in the kit, a better detailed control column, improved side consoles (including a short coiled oxygen hose) and a multi-part instrument panel.

As is Cutting Edge's usual practise, the modeler is given the choice of painting the instruments or sanding the back of the panel to open up the holes and glue printed acetate instruments to the back of the panel. In this case, the flying instrument panel is a separate resin part from the main (engine) instrument panel, and a third part is supplied to add relief detail of the rear of the instruments. Dedicated detailers will want to drill tiny holes behind each instrument to accommodate electrical wiring that will be visible behind the panel underneath the windscreen. I advise drilling these holes before the rear panel is glued to the front panel!

A few tiny details that were overlooked in the kit are also included. These are the headrest armour mount, canopy release lever, a replacement gunsight mount with a delicate cross-brace (plus a very nice Revi 16 gunsight), and the canopy jettison lever.

This is a simple yet effective enhancement for Tamiya's excellent Me 262.

CEC48370 - Me 262A Main Wheels

The tread detail on Cutting Edge's 1/48 scale replacement main wheels is truly a work of art. It really makes the simple cross-hatch pattern on Tamiya's kit tyres look clunky.

Cutting Edge has beautifully captured the subtle interlocking hexagonal brick pattern of the tyre tread. Furthermore, being one-piece tyres, there is absolutely no centre seam to contend with. Hub detail is equal to the high standard of the kit parts.

The tyres are subtly flattened. If they are bulged, it is so subtle that I cannot pick it - not necessarily a bad thing.

This is also a simple yet worthwhile accessory for the Tamiya kit.

CEC48371 - Me 262A 4 Gun Nose

Cutting Edge's 1/48 scale Me 262 Four Gun Nose is another simple and inexpensive modification for Tamiya's kit. Tamiya chose to release the two-gun Me 262A-2a as its first offering. This new accessory permits the modeller to depict any of the vast majority of day fighters that were fitted with four 30mm cannon.

Cutting Edge's Four Gun Nose is a single hollow-cast part. The nose is attached to its casting block with a thin semicircular strip of resin. This will be a very simple matter to remove and clean up.

The two upper guns have been added to this nose. The ports are blanked off with recessed "gun barrels". Detail and panel engraving is equivalent to the kit nose part.

This is a great accessory for anybody wanting to build the four-gun day fighters (or night fighters for that matter).

Each of these accessories is well justified on the basis of additional detail or alternative offerings. The quality of casting is well up to Cutting Edge's usual standard.

These accessories will look great on your Tamiya Me 262.

Recommended.