Me 262 V-3

[No.1]

[Second Air Force]

Something "modern-day" to add to this talk of the Zwiebel on the Jumo 004---I usually work on jet engines at my job, and I nicknamed the exhaust cone "the onion" many years ago. I did so because of my research on the Jumo and BMW turbine engines of WWII and their name for this component. Several of us now use "the onion" when talking about this part of the engine and others often have a puzzled look on their faces when they hear us!

[No.1]

Onion is interesting term

[Second Air Force]

I don't know if it was a BMW or Junkers employee that gave the tailcone that name, or if it was someone else, but it does resemble one!

Okay, now I have a question for all you model builders--have you ever been awakened in the night with an idea? Early this morning I woke up realizing that I have no idea how I'm going to build the canopy for this project.......! All three sections are quite different from the production version and I hadn't really thought about this issue. I reckon I'll build a form and vacuform the parts.

[Second Air Force]

Forgetting about the canopy problem for a while, the tailpipes were installed and faired in on both nacelles. Next some primer and fine-tuning before placing on the wings:

Me 262 V-3

The Eduard PE set arrived yesterday, very rapid shipment from Squadron Mail Order . I quickly built-up the instrument panel and added some very thin plexiglas for the instrument glass:

Me 262 V-3

Me 262 V-3

[No.1]

Cockpit will look great mate

[Second Air Force]

Yes, a nice addition.

Notice that this PE set was designed for the HobbyBoss kit, but it works well with the Tamiya parts. Eduard makes a great comprehensive airframe set for the Tamiya model but I wouldn't be able to use many elements on this V-3, so I picked the cockpit-only set you see here.

[Sall]

Great!!

[Second Air Force]

More cockpit elements are in place. The side panels were a bit more of a challenge to adapt to the Tamiya parts but they still work very well with some trimming. Next will be to wire the instruments on the front side of the panel as this will be partly visible when finished.

Me 262 V-3

Me 262 V-3

Eduard certainly makes detailing the cockpit more fulfilling!

[No.1]

This is wonderful

[Second Air Force]

It is fun to build when the kit and accessories are both top-quality!

[Second Air Force]

On to the engine inlets.

The Versuchs airplanes had very early experimental Jumo 004 engines (in fact, the two on V-3 were the first airworthy examples) that have subtle differences from the production model. The most evident difference is the inlet center-cone that housed the Reidel starting motor. On V-3 this is shaped quite more bluntly on the forward end and also has no starter cord handgrip. So, back to the trusty Unimat lathe and a pair of new covers are fabricated from aluminum stock:

Me 262 V-3

[No.1]

Unimat perform greatly as I see (actually craftsman who work on it ) and great info about this inlet details

[Sall]

 
Great job!! Can't wait more!!

[Second Air Force]

Here is a little more, Sall.

Both engine inlet assemblies have been finished and are ready for mounting on the nacelles:

Me 262 V-3

Next was to upgrade the seat with the beautiful Eduard PE seatbelt set:

Me 262 V-3

Seat installed into the cockpit tub:

Me 262 V-3

Then on to enhancing the area in front of the instrument panel with appropriate wiring and instrument tubing. This will be visible through the windscreen when the model is finished. Also the wiring was added in the fuselage halves:

Me 262 V-3