To combat the hordes of Allied bombers over Germany late in World War II, at least two Me 262A-1a airframes (Wnr 11899 and Wnr 170083) were test-fitted with 50mm Mauser Mk.214A-V3 cannons. To do this, the entire nose had to be redesigned with a pronounced hump to cover the gun and nose gear that swiveled 90 degrees to retract. The resulting aircraft was designated Me 262A-1a/U4 “Bomber Destroyer,” intended to act as pulkzerstörer (formation, or pack, destroyer).
HobbyBoss’ new kit represents the second such aircraft, Wnr 170083. After its capture it was dubbed Wilma Jeanne, for the wife of Col. Harold E. Watson, leader of a volunteer squadron of American pilots who learned to fly German aircraft so they could be shipped to the U.S. for study. The aircraft, renumbered V083 and renamed Hunter II, crashed on its way to Cherbourg, France.
Inside the box, sprues are separately bagged. A single sheet of instructions covers a six-step assembly and decal application. A four-view color and markings sheet is printed in full color and includes a list of colors referencing five brands.
The decal sheet includes swastikas, the instrument panel, and side panels in the cockpit. Considering the big bubble canopy, it is a shame no seat harnesses were included. (I added photoetched-metal parts from my spares box.)
Parts are cleanly molded and nearly free of mold lines and flash, the engraved panel lines are consistent, and the detail is good. Optional parts include a metal or plastic nose-gear well and two styles of nose wheels; I installed the metal well, which helps keep all three wheels on the ground.
The instrument and side console decals required several applications of Micro Sol to settle them over the parts’ raised detail. The finished cockpit, gun tray, and rear fuselage equipment made the fuselage halves a very tight fit. I used rubber bands, bar clamps, alligator clamps, and lots of solvent to join the halves.
The gun cover, fuselage hatch, and windshield were poor fits. The first two fit below the surrounding surface, and the windshield sits too high. I shimmed the gun cover but missed the fuselage hatch by gluing it from the inside, not noticing its incorrect position until too late. I left the windshield as it was.
The upper wing panel was slightly off, but the horizontal stabilizers fit perfectly. Wing-to-fuselage fit was good, and there were no problems with the landing gear or their doors. The R/JATO pieces (Part G15) were unexplained and not in my references. Tabs on the canopy go into slots in the starboard canopy rail for open display. The tabs are easily removed if you want the canopy closed.
The decal images are exceptionally thin and tend to curl under the backing paper during application. (Sliding the image into a puddle of water on the model solves that problem.) Instructions call for Decal 14, a fuel triangle, to be applied to the nose wheel; it probably should have said Decal 30.
I painted with out-of-production Floquil Military and AeroMaster Warbird colors. References leave doubts about how this particular plane was painted; I followed the instructions with RLM 83 dunkelgrun. In detail painting, some parts have no color callouts (G37 and G21 for example).
The finished model may be several scale inches small according to published references, and the troublesome fit of some parts may challenge modelers, but this kit should still attract Luftwaffe enthusiasts who have some modeling experience.