Kit: No. 12410
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Academy, from Model Rectifier Corporation, 732-225-2100, www.modelrectifier.com
Price: $22
Comments: Injection-molded, 93 parts, decals
Pros: Awesome decal sheet featuring 12 marking options; easy build
Cons: A couple of minor fit issues

Possessing technology far in advance of its adversaries, the Messerschmitt Me 262 might have turned the tide of the air war in Europe had it been produced earlier in the campaign and properly employed. The arguments persist even today, and the Me 262’s mystique as the world’s first operational jet fighter remains undiminished. The Messerschmitt legend lives on in real life as a full-scale replica has recently taken to the air, and others are under construction.

Academy’s new offering is molded in gray plastic with recessed panel lines. Though it’s not noted on the box, the kit includes an optional aft fuselage and tail section for the rocket-equipped Me 262C version. Armament choices consist of two BR 21cm air-to-air rockets and 24 R4M 55mm air-to-air rockets. The instruction sheet states the 30mm cannon was “capable of carrying 24 55mm rockets” – obviously a mix-up.

The seat and gunsight are somewhat simple, but otherwise the interior is well done. I added masking-tape seat belts. The fuselage comprises six parts, two being the separate aft fuselage/fin assembly. The lower-wing center section completes the exterior outline.

The upper fairing with the cannon ports fit the body pretty well, but its contour didn’t match the rest of the nose section, being bulged in both plan and side views and needing to be sanded down to match. The sprue diagram shows tabs on the aft fuselage sections which don’t exist on the parts. So, to reinforce the butt joint, I added styrene strip inside the aft fuselage where the tail section attached. When all was assembled my kit’s wings weren’t square with the tail, but I may have caused this in construction – I won’t know for sure until I build a second kit. With the separate tail section, care has to be taken to get the fin perfectly vertical when the fuselage is built up.

The detailed engines and nacelles look great and fit well to the lower wings, but putty was needed to build up and fair in the pylons’ upper surfaces both forward and aft of the wing.

The clear parts are a little on the thick side but are optically clear. The separate canopy may be posed open or closed. Landing-gear parts are nicely executed, with the exception of a couple annoying ejector-pin marks on the tires.

The decal sheet is a highlight of the kit, featuring no fewer than 12 markings choices – including two captured U.S. aircraft – with complete stenciling and data. All the decals went on well and needed just a touch of setting solution in places.

The model scales out on the money with the data in John Taylor’s Combat Aircraft of the World, and it captures the lethal, shark-like look of the 262. I spent 18 hours building this kit; its ease of construction will appeal to modelers at all skill levels. – Walt Fink